Nathan Marchand's Blog, page 6
December 29, 2019
The Monster island Film Vault, Episode 7: ‘Half Human’ (Mini-Analysis)
I was making so merry for Christmas I forgot to share the latest episode of my podcast here! That will be amended! Enjoy!
Merry Christmas, kaiju lovers!
As part of Nathan’s continuing series on films covered in his absence on Kaijuvision Radio, this mini-sode examines Ishiro Honda’s 1955 film Half Human, which is infamous for being banned by Toho. Heck, it was stashed so far back in the Island’s film vault, it took Goji-kun and Bro Kong (the podcast mascots and possibly Godzilla and Kong’s “little” brothers) a long time to find it for Nathan to watch. Strange as it may sound, it’s serendipitous that this episode was released on Christmas Day because the film takes place partly on New Year’s Day. It follows a group of scientists and students investigating the appearance of the Abominable Snowman in the Japanese Alps, where they encounter a savage tribe who worships the Snowman. Nathan’s analysis focuses on the natives, their parallels to the Ainu (Japan’s indigenous people), and how this portrayal got the film banned. He argues that, despite possible insensitivities, Half Human is unfairly censored and deserves to be viewed by a wider audience.
All this plus our first listener feedback letters and the Monster Island Christmas party—wherein Nathan learns that kaiju can sing Christmas carols (or so his intrepid producer, Jimmy From NASA, tells him even though he hasn’t fixed the ORCA yet).
Here’s the Kaijuvision Radio episode on the film: Episode 38: Half Human (1955) (Genetic Origin of the Ainu People).
Here’s the blog with the rules for the Destroyer novella giveaway.
This episode featured “We Three Kings” by Jay Man (OurMusicBox on YouTube).
See you in 2020, listeners!
#JimmyFromNASALives
© 2019 Nathan Marchand & Moonlighting Ninjas Media
Bibliography/Further Reading
“Ainu people” (Wikipedia)“The Ainu of Japan: an indigenous people or an ethnic group?” by Kaori Tahara (Public Archeology, vol. 4, no. 2-3).“The Ainu People” (Ainu Museum; website now closed)“The Ainu: Reviving the Indigenous Spirit of Japan” by Sarah W. with art by Aya Francisco (Tofugu)“Half Human (1955) Kaiju Film Review” (YouTube) by Adam Noyes of AN ProductionsIshiro Honda: A Life in Film, from Godzilla to Kurosawa by Steve Ryfle and Ed GodzisewskiMushroom Clouds and Mushroom Men: The Fantastic Cinema of Ishiro Honda by Peter H. Brothers“The Untold Story of Japan’s First People” by Jude Isabella (Sapiens)“Who are the indigenous Ainu people of Japan?” by Isabella Steger (Quartz)
The post The Monster island Film Vault, Episode 7: ‘Half Human’ (Mini-Analysis) appeared first on The Worlds of Nathan Marchand.
December 11, 2019
Check out the latest episode of my podcast, where I’m joi...
Check out the latest episode of my podcast, where I’m joined by my friend and fellow writer Nick Hayden. Enjoy!
Hello, kaiju lovers!
In the latest episode of the “Kong Quest” (which is finally mentioned by name on the air!), Nathan is joined once again by author and “Golden Ticket Tourist” Nick Hayden of the Derailed Trains of Thought podcast to discuss the wacky but fun King Kong Escapes. Like with the 1933 film, this is Nick’s first time seeing this 1967 Toho classic, which was the second (and sadly last) of Toho’s Kong films, as it was made in the last year they held the rights to the Eighth Wonder. This is a first for the show as it’s the first tokusatsu film directed by the great Ishiro Honda covered on the podcast. It’s a crazy nexus of ideas borrowed from other productions and some that seemed to anticipate others. For one thing, its villain, Dr. Who, is both a derivation and a precursor to the famous British TV series! Nathan and Nick also note some funny connections to Rankin-Bass’ classic holiday special Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer given that they collaborated with Toho on this live-action cartoon.
The Toku Topic is how Toho’s Japanese-American co-productions paralleled Japan-America relations.
Stay tuned after the credits for a Marvel-style stinger and an important announcement.
Timestamps:
Intro: 0:00-3:25
Entertaining Info Dump: 3:25-11:25
Toku Talk: 11:25-52:57
Toku Topic: 52:57-1:19:25
Outro: 1:19:25-1:24:50
Stinger: 1:24:50-end
© 2019 Moonlighting Ninjas Media
Bibliography/Further Reading:
“The Contradictory Nature of U.S.-Japan Relations” by Roger Baker“How the U.S. and Japan Became Allies Even After Hiroshima and Nagasaki” by Olivia B. Waxman (Time Magazine)Ishiro Honda: A Life in Film, from Godzilla to Kurosawa by Steve Ryfle and Ed GodzisewskiKaijuvision Radio:
–Episode 23: Godzilla vs. Biollante (1989) (Human Genome Project, Ascension of Emperor Akihito)
–Episode 37: Shin Godzilla (2016) (Great East Japan Earthquake/Tsunami/Fukushima Meltdowns)King Kong: The History of a Movie Icon from Fay Wray to Peter Jackson by Ray Morton“The Kongs of Tsuburaya: Obie and Smoke” by Peter H. Brothers (G-Fan #48)Mushroom Clouds and Mushroom Men: The Fantastic Cinema of Ishiro Honda by Peter H. Brothers“King Kong Escapes (1967) Review – Kong-A-Thon Episode 4” (DMan1954)Kong Unmade: The Lost Films of Skull Island by John LeMay“The Myth Goes Ever Downward” by Paul di Fillipo (Kong Unbound: The Cultural Impact, Pop Mythos, and Scientific Plausibility of a Cinematic Legend [edited by Karen Haber])“Reflections on the History of U.S.-Japanese Relations” by Tadashi Aruda“Japan-United States relations” (Wikipedia)King Kong Escapes Wiki Articles and Etcetera:
–Wikipedia
–Gojipedia –Wikizilla
–IMDB
–Toho Kingdom
The post appeared first on The Worlds of Nathan Marchand.
November 28, 2019
What I’m Thankful for (2019)
I neglected to post my annual “thankfulness” blog last year for Thanksgiving. It wasn’t because I wasn’t thankful; I just forgot to do it. I’m remedying that this year. So, here are 100 things I’m thankful for in 2019.
God
the FatherJesus
ChristThe
Holy SpiritMy
salvationThe
BibleMy
wonderful familyMy
two nephewsMy
amazing friendsMy
equally amazing writer friendsThe Fort Wayne
Ballroom Company (FWBC)My “dance family”
at FWBCThat I continue to
perform at FWBC’s showcases and other events with wonderful
instructors/partnersBallroom/social
dancingFor all the conventions
I attended this yearTatsumaki (my car)My new churchMy gaming consoles
and video gamesMy book collectionMy movie collectionMy laptopMy music
collectionMy new podcast, The
Monster Island Film VaultFor being a PFW grad
studentMy graduate
teaching assistanceshipMy cosplaysThat I’m a
published authorHades
Publications, which published my first novel and still has me under contractCreateSpace,
which publishes my self-published booksThat
I have some exciting writing projects in the works My strong sense of
justiceThe Fortress of
Solitude (my apartment)My talent for
writingall for One
ProductionsVolunteering for
afOMy YouTube channelFor being part of
the team writing at Children of the WellsThat I’m creativeMy intellectual
mindMy poet’s soulMy warrior’s heartThat I can readMy iPhone 11That I’m an
AmericanThat I’m a HoosierSummertimeOctober (the
“sweet spot” of autumn)Changing seasonsChristian Gamers
GuildNerd ChapelTheology GamingMy sense of humorAllen County
Public LibraryThe Constitution,
which lists my unalienable rights.My “superpowers”
(rarely get sick, my “BS” sense, look much younger than I am, heal fast from
injuries).My healthNetflixDisney+My RodeCaster ProMy knack for
photographyPretzelsExercising at the
gym.My comic book
collectionChimp’s ComicsB.E. ComicsMy board game collectionMy nerdinessThe police and
their serviceThe military and
their serviceMy journal(s)My website (www.NathanJSMarchand.com)My fandomsGen-ConThe family petsBookstoresSpaghettiHighland toffee
(the family recipe)www.Amazon.comMovie theatresMy college degreeRunning waterThat I’m tallThat I still have
all my hairFootball(Most of) My coworkersThe generosity of
othersThe TUFW Alumni
and Friends CenterThat I attended
TUFWThat I moved to
Fort WayneFor living in the
countrysidePlumbingThe Internet
(though I sometimes wonder if it’s that great…)My gig with
InstaCartFacebook (again,
sometimes I wonder if it’s worthwhile…)HolidaysFamily reconciliationMy intelligenceArizona Tea
Herbal Energy Tonic (cheaper than any energy drink!)YouTube (though
again, it’s merits are often debatable)CandyAnd
finally…MORE STAR WARS!
What are you
thankful for this year?
The post What I’m Thankful for (2019) appeared first on The Worlds of Nathan Marchand.
November 14, 2019
The Monster Island Film Vault – Episode 4: Timothy Deal vs. ‘Son of Kong’
I know I haven’t been blogging much lately, but here’s the latest episode of my podcast to tide you over. I’ll write more about the lack of posts later.
Hello, kaiju lovers!
After Jimmy From NASA flies him back to Indiana to get his microphone, Timothy Deal of the Derailed Trains of Thought podcast returns to Monster Island to continue the “Kong Quest” with Son of Kong, the almost forgotten sequel to King Kong. If the 1933 masterpiece is a grand myth, the sequel is a pleasant bedtime story. Screenwriter Ruth Rose, when talking about writing this film, said, “If you can’t go bigger, go funnier,” which is an apt statement about this film and sequels in general. Nathan and Tim’s lively discussion connects Son of Kong to the Russian film Battleship Potemkin, Raiders of the Lost Ark, and Terminator 2: Judgment Day—and gives Jimmy a lot of work for “Jimmy’s Notes.” They also theorize about what happened to “Mrs. Kong”/Kiko’s mother, which actually puts this and the first film into perspective…sorta. The Toku Topic builds off of the previous one with a philosophical discussion of how 1930s filmmakers addressed the Depression in their movies, touching on themes like escapism and collective rage.
Here’s the
Kaijuvision Radio episode on King Kong
vs. Godzilla for you to listen to as part of MIFV’s Kong coverage: Episode 8: King Kong vs. Godzilla (1962)
(The Japanese Economic Miracle (The Golden 60s))
Timestamps:
Intro: 0:00-3:49
Entertaining Info Dump: 3:49-9:43
Toku Talk: 9:43-56:24
Toku Topic: 56:24-1:19:44
Outro: 1:19:44-end
© 2019 Moonlighting
Ninjas Media
Bibliography/Further Reading
“Culture and Politics in the Great Depression” by Alan Brinkley
“Escapism
and Leisure Time 1929-1941” (Enclopedia.com)
“How
the Great Depression inspired Hollywood’s golden age” by Paul Whitington
King Kong: History of a Movie Icon from Fay Wray to
Peter Jackson by Ray Morton
Kong Unbound: The Cultural Impact, Pop Mythos, and
Scientific Plausibility of a Cinematic Legend
(edited by Karen Haber)
Kong Unmade: The Lost Films of Skull Island by John LeMay
Son of Kong Wiki Articles
–Gojipedia
–Wikizilla
–Wikipedia
Son Of Kong (1933) Review –
Kong-A-Thon Episode 2 (DMan1954)
Tracking King Kong: A Hollywood Icon in World Culture (2nd edition) by Cynthia Erb
The Uses of Enchantment: The Meaning and Importance of
Fairy Tales by Bruno Bettelheim (pg.
45-60)
“Why Fantasy Matters Too
Much” by Jack Zipes
The post The Monster Island Film Vault – Episode 4: Timothy Deal vs. ‘Son of Kong’ appeared first on The Worlds of Nathan Marchand.
October 24, 2019
The Monster Island Film Vault, Episode 3: The Godzilla Anime Trilogy (Mini-Analysis)
Enjoy the latest episode of my kaiju/tokusatsu podcast! In this one, I discuss the divisive Godzilla anime trilogy from netflix.
Hello, kaiju lovers!
Welcome to our first minisode! (Well, our second, according to my intrepid producer, Jimmy From NASA). This is the first of a series of episodes where I’ll be analyzing films I was unable to cover on my previous podcast. In this one, I’m discussing the divisive Godzilla Anime Trilogy. Fans either love it or hate it. Me? I like it—a lot. I debunk some of the unfair criticisms of the trilogy, but the meat of my analysis is focused on how each of the four races in the trilogy—the Humans, the Bilusaludo, the Exif, and the Houtua—each exemplify different philosophies and how most of them take their worldviews to the extreme.
There’s a lot of material here—so much that Monster Island’s Board of Directors calls to say I violated my contract! Listen as Jimmy acts as my agent to keep me from being shot into space (he deserves a bonus for practically being my agent).
Here are the podcast episodes I mentioned in the episode. I recommend listening to them—especially the Redeemed Otaku episodes—if you want to hear a review of this trilogy from me.
Kaijuvision Radio Episodes
Episode 47 (1/3): Godzilla Anime Trilogy (2017-18) – General Reflections
Episode 47 (2/3): Godzilla Anime Trilogy (2017-18) – Main Discussion
Episode 47 (3/3): Godzilla Anime Trilogy (2017-18) – Bigger Than Human Existence
Redeemed Otaku Episodes
Godzilla: Planet of the Monsters
Godzilla: City on the Edge of Battle
Godzilla: The Planet Eater
Bibliography/Further Reading
American Humanist Association: “Definitions of Humanism”
“Godzilla back as anime has human drama, fewer monsters” by Associated Press
Humanity +: “Philosophy”
–“Max More – Transhumanism and the Singularity” (YouTube)
Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy: “Nihilism”
“There is no sharp distinction between cult and regular religion” by Tara Isabella Burton (Aeon Magazine)
“Transhumanist Values” by Nick Bostrom
“Updated Charts: Screen Time, First Appearance, Attendance” by Joker Cluster
“What is a Cult?” by James M. Rochford
Wikipedia Articles:
–Aum Shinrikyo
–Clarke’s three laws
–Humanism
–Jonestown
–Mass suicide
–Transhumanism
The post The Monster Island Film Vault, Episode 3: The Godzilla Anime Trilogy (Mini-Analysis) appeared first on The Worlds of Nathan Marchand.
October 10, 2019
New MIFV Episode – Episode 2: The Tourists vs. ‘King Kong’ (1933)
Check out the first full-length episode my of new podcast, The Monster Island Film Vault, featuring Nick Hayden and Tim Deal from the Derailed Trains of Thought podcast and my friends Joe and Joy Metter. Enjoy!
Hello, kaiju lovers!
Our “Kong Quest” begins! 
September 25, 2019
The Monster Island Film Vault – My New Podcast Premieres!
After a year of prep and a summer of hype, my new podcast, The Monster Island Film Vault, premiered today. You can listen to it on several podcatchers, but it’s also on YouTube. The video version is below. Click here for the audio version.
Enjoy!
Hello, kaiju lovers!
Listen as Nathan Marchand, co-creator and season one co-host of the Kaijuvision Radio, regales you with the origin story of his new podcast. It includes a vacation to a resort on the fabled Monster Island (formerly Monsterland), where he met his intrepid producer, Jimmy From NASA (who miraculously survived the infamous War in Space), and got a new job as the curator of the Island’s film vault. Between bantering sessions with his detail-obsessed, fact-checking interrupter of a producer, Nathan explains the podcast’s philosophy of film appreciation and lays the groundwork for the upcoming episodes.
And what will Nathan, Jimmy, and their many guests be discussing first? The filmography of Monster Island’s other most famous resident: KING KONG!
Hold onto your butts!
The Monster Island Film Vault: A podcast seeking entertainment and enlightenment through tokusatsu.
Check out the epic three-hour KVR episode on Shin Godzilla: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZyQsL…#JimmyFromNASALives
© 2019 Nathan Marchand/Moonlighting Ninjas Media
The post The Monster Island Film Vault – My New Podcast Premieres! appeared first on The Worlds of Nathan Marchand.
September 21, 2019
Grad School Update: My Ishiro Honda Independent Study
Honda on the set of 1962’s King Kong vs. Godzilla.One unique and unusual
aspect of my current semester of grad school is I’m doing my first ever
independent study. Specifically, a study on several films directed by Ishiro
Honda, the lauded director of many Godzilla films. It took a little work to
convince my university’s resident film professor (and most reclusive man in the
English department) to do this with me, but he agreed. Not only that, but he
actually liked the first film I wrote about in this study, 1955’s Half Human, and said the cinematography
reminded him of Akira Kurosawa! I’m excited to be introducing him to films he
isn’t familiar with.
One fun thing about this
is I got to write my own syllabus for it. Here’s an excerpt:
Objective: The goal of this study is examine six films directed by Ishiro Honda and connect their stories to contemporaneous cultural and historical events in Japan. Films are never made in a vacuum, and knowing and understanding their original contexts is vital to appreciating them.
There will be a special focus on discriminated people groups in this study since half of the films being covered will involve such groups.
While Honda is best known for his Godzilla films, I will be focusing on several of his non-Godzilla genre pictures spanning a ten-year period that included what’s considered the “golden age” of Toho tokusatsu (special effects) filmmaking. Honda also directed dramas, war epics, and light comedies, but these films are sadly unavailable in the U.S. currently.
The films and related
topics I’ll be examining are Half Human/The Ainu; The Mysterians/Japan and the U.N.; Varan the Unbelievable/The Burakumin; Atragon/Japanese WWII holdovers and the
resurgence of Japanese nationalism; Matango/Japan’s
newfound opulence;and Frankenstein
Conquers the World/The
Hibakusha.
This came about because I
wanted to fill a few credit hours and make the research I’m doing for my new
podcast, The Monster Island Film Vault,
count as school credit. Because why not?
There are reasons why
grad school might be the best thing in my life right now. J
The post Grad School Update: My Ishiro Honda Independent Study appeared first on The Worlds of Nathan Marchand.
September 15, 2019
My Upcoming Book Signings (as of 9-15-19)
I will be tabling at a small
convention, and I have applied to table at another local author event. Both
will be in downtown Fort Wayne, Indiana.
The first will be Fantasticon Fort Wayne, which is being held September 21-22, 2019. Eric Anderson, founder of Nerd Chapel and my co-author on the 42 books, will also be there, but we’re not tabling together. The con announced that they would be selling five heavily-discounted tables last week, so I jumped at the opportunity. I wasn’t sure I’d snag a table, but I got lucky (or was “blessed,” if you’re the religious type). I’ll be selling and signing my books (although Eric will be selling the 42, so get them from him) and promoting my upcoming podcast The Monster Island Film Vault, which is launching September 25.
According to the
convention’s website,
Fantasticon is a mid-size show created for true comic book and pop culture collectors and fans. The fans that come to our shows are true collectors that are looking for those rare items for their personal collections. Most leave very satisfied as we pride ourselves on having great dealers and artists at our shows. If you collect it, you will find it at a Fantasticon Show.
Fantasticon is proud to have a presence in multiple cities throughout the mid-west. Currently we are in five different cities, in three different states including Michigan, Ohio, and Indiana.
We also, are very proud of the fact that our admission price is the lowest of any other comparable shows. And the cost for being an exhibitor or artist at the Fantasticon is far less than any comparable comic cons out there.
While I haven’t received a
confirmation yet, I have applied to table to table at the annual Local Author
Book Fair, which will be held November
30, 2019, from 10am-4pm at the main branch of the Allen County Public Library. Find
out more info here
on ACPL’s blog.
Be there or be square!
The post My Upcoming Book Signings (as of 9-15-19) appeared first on The Worlds of Nathan Marchand.
September 4, 2019
Year 2, Week 1 at Grad School
Image taken from www.centsai.com.Last week saw the start
of my second year of grad school. It was also the start of my third semester as
a graduate teaching assistant (a very different GTA). I’m taking two
classes and an independent study (well, one of the classes was turned into an independent
study). These are Writing for Multimedia, Survey of Children’s Literature, and
an independent study on director Ishiro Honda (hey,
it lets me get school credit for the research I’m doing for my new podcast). This makes my
schedule a bit odd, but I’m getting used to it.
This was the best first
week of teaching I’ve had. Admittedly, I’ve only been doing this a year, but it
was still the best. I’m more confident as a GTA and trying some new methods
that should encourage my students to be more engaged with the material. That’s
hard to do when it’s a gen ed freshman composition class. My students are the
liveliest I’ve had yet, which is exciting, but it does present its own set of
challenges. Now instead of trying to make them talk, I have to keep them quiet.
It’s almost like me a substitute teacher again.
Also, my new students
have some incredible names. I have a Latino boy named Axel (his parents are
Guns ‘n’ Roses fans); a guy whose last name is Harkenrider (he belongs in a Star Wars movie or a fantasy novel, so I’m
stealing that name); and a black girl named
Peyton Mann (but ironically her parents aren’t Colts
fans).
I might be having too
much fun. But you can never have too much fun, right?
Right?!
Have you gone to grad school or
worked as a teacher? What are some fun experiences you had?
The post Year 2, Week 1 at Grad School appeared first on The Worlds of Nathan Marchand.
