The Insurrectionary People's Picture Show Theater

Romance! Prostitutes! Anarchists!

Love and Anarchy (Italian: Film d'amore e d'anarchia) is a 1973 film directed by Lina Wertmüller and starring Giancarlo Giannini and Mariangela Melato. The story, set in Fascist Italy before the outbreak of World War II, centers on Giannini's character, an anarchist who stays in a brothel while preparing to kill Benito Mussolini. Giannini's character, while preparing to assassinate Mussolini, falls in love with one of the whores working in the brothel. This film explores the depths of his emotions concerning love, his hate for fascism, and his fears of being killed while assassinating Mussolini.

Night of the Living Dead is a groundbreaking film in the history of the horror genre. Zombies where not from the Haiti, but Pennsylvania — this was Middle America at war, and the zombie carnage seemed a grotesque echo of the conflict then raging in Vietnam. I don't know what would have been more frightening for the times: zombie hordes, or a black male lead.

This is a must-see. There's nothing else that needs saying.

My Oma came straight from post-war Germany. She is a very traditional German woman. When I was a child, she would read a German children book about a boy who would suck his thumb getting them cut off with giant scissors. The illustrations in the book had this little boy bleeding with no thumbs. Why this stands out was, as a child I DID suck my thumb.

I recently found out the name of this traditional German childrens book: Struwwelpeter. Here is an animated interpenetration of the story that still haunts me, The Story of Little Suck-a-Thumb.

On a July day in 1990, a confrontation propelled Native issues in Kanehsatake and the village of Oka, Quebec, into the international spotlight. Director Alanis Obomsawin spent 78 nerve-wracking days and nights filming the armed stand-off between the Mohawks, the Quebec police and the Canadian army. This powerful documentary takes you right into the action of an age-old Aboriginal struggle. The result is a portrait of the people behind the barricades.

I think Marilyn Mansons second album, Antichrist Superstar, is one of the greatest albums ever. That album is a beautiful, hard rock explosion of nihilism that shows the destructive urge is a creative urge. I never listen to Manson when the album came out, and I don't think any of his subsequent outings are particularly good, but Antichrist Superstar stands out as one of my favorite albums.

The Beautiful People is a exploration into "the culture of beauty", and that culture's connection to Friedrich Nietzsche's theory of master-slave morality — the song's "weak ones", who are "always wrong", are oppressed by and exist solely to "justify [the existence of] the strong".

This is a great film. I've been somewhat hesitant to post it, as it's not political, and I was worried that some folks would think it "ableist". I would argue that it is the opposite. It does not demonize those with deformities, rather celebrates there differences. The physically deformed "freaks" are inherently trusting and honorable people, while the real monsters are two of the "normal" members of the circus who conspire to murder one of the performers to obtain his large inheritance.

Freaks is a 1932 United States horror film about sideshow performers, directed and produced by Tod Browning and released by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, with a cast mostly composed of actual carnival performers. Director Browning took the exceptional step of casting real people with deformities as the eponymous sideshow "freaks," rather than using costumes and makeup. Browning had been a member of a traveling circus in his early years, and much of the film was drawn from his personal experiences.

This is my 50th post on the blog. Let's celebrate with some mind blowing psychedelics!

I really don't know what to say. It sort of reminds me of a statement in the french magazine La Revolution surrealiste: "Let us swim in our own bodies, leave our souls within our souls; we have no need of your knife-blade of enlightenment."

Hattip to geekologie.

Andrew Nellis is an anarcho-syndicalist activist from Ontario. He is one of the lead organizers for the Ottawa Panhandlers Union. Denis Rancourt was a professor of Physics at the University of Ottawa, known for his radical pedagogy. This is a very good interview for Denis Rancourt's radio show The Five O'clock Train. Listen and enjoy!

Andrew Nellis Interviewed by Denis Rancourt for The Five O'clock Train.

I just wanted to a prevue of Coming attractions to The Insurrectionary People's Picture Show Theater. I am slowing going to show some old, non-political films mixed in with very political films. Here's what to expect in the next couple of weeks:

Nineteen Eighty-Four : Released in 1984, based upon George Orwell’s novel of the same name, following the life of Winston Smith in Oceania, a country run by a totalitarian government. The film was directed by Micheal Radford, and stars John Hurt, Suzanna Hamilton, and Richard Burton in his last film role.

Freaks: a 1932 horror film about murder at a sideshow. Directed and produced by Tod Browning (who had been a member of a traveling circus in his early years) the film was based on a Tod Robbins’ short story “Spurs”. Director Browning took the exceptional step of casting real people with deformities as the eponymous sideshow "freaks," rather than using costumes and makeup.

Reefer Madness (aka Tell Your Children): 1936 exploitation film revolving around the tragic events that ensue when high school students are lured by pushers to try "marihuana": a hit and run accident, manslaughter, suicide, rape, and descent into madness all ensue. It was originally financed by a church group and made under the title Tell Your Children.

The Grapes of Wrath: 1940 American drama directed by Academy Award Winner John Ford. Based on the Pulitzer Prize novel written by John Steinbeck, the film follows tells the story of the Joads, an Oklahoma family, who, after losing their farm during the Great Depression in the 1930s, become migrant workers and end up in California. Stars Henry Fonda as Tom Joad.

A Place Called Chiapas: Canadian documentary of first-hand accounts of the Ejercito Zapatista de Liberación Nacional (EZLN, or the Zapatistas) and the lives of its soldiers and the people for whom they fight. Director Nettie Wild takes the viewer to rebel territory in the south west Mexican state of Chiapas, where the EZLN live and evade the Mexican Army.

Super Board on a Monday night, so here's Eastern Europe's favorite cat and mouse team!

Hey folks. I just wanted to throw a quick post out there. I have to apologize, I'm not up to my regular schedule. Missed posting a movie on Friday, probably won't post any Emma Goldman this weekend. Grandparents are in town, along with the anarchist book fair, and works hell, so I've had little time to blog. Promise that everything will be back in schedule by next week.

In the mean time, here's Alan Moore talking about his conception of anarchism. Moore's comics like V for Vendetta and The Watchman explore political and anarchist themes. He is definitely one of my favorite comic book writers out there.

To kick off the 2009 Winnipeg D.I.Y Fest and Anarchist Book Fair, the Manitoba Craft Council is having a screening of the documentary Handmade Nation. Handmade Nation documents a movement of artists, crafters and designers that recognize a marriage between historical techniques, punk and DIY (do it yourself) ethos wile being influenced by traditional handiwork, Modern aesthetics, politics, feminism and art. Fueled by the common thread of creating, Handmade Nation explores a burgeoning art community that is based on creativity, determination and networking.

Here's the event info and a trailer:

When: June 19th @ 7:30 pm
Where: Ellice Theatre, 585 Ellice Ave, Wpg
Cost: $5 @ the Door
DIY Craft Salve @ 7 pm

This is a short video out of New York, taken at the Coney Island Mermaid Parade in 2007. The Mermaid Parade takes place every year by the sea in Coney Island, Brooklyn, New York City, usually in mid-to-late June.

This is the kind of things I would like all Wobs to get involved in. The IWW is historically a lively, singing union. Instead of tiered old protest marches or walking the picket that seem more like funeral processions then anything that could effectively challenge authority, wobs should bring some life back into the radical movement. Strikes become street party, joyous events where we are taking back a peice of our life and fighting back!

Enjoy!

Today I'm going to post something special. Here is a short art film called De la Menthe et des Pantomimes (or, Of Mint and Mimes), made by a friend for the Winnipeg Film Group's 48h film contest.

To quote Le Manifeste du Surréalisme, "Surrealism is the "invisible ray" which will one day enable us to win out over our opponents." I think that, as an art form, surrealism is the most dangerous and insurrectionary style, as it denies accepted reality and places all hope in total imagination, thus freeing us from the restrictions of capitalist mind-cogs.