web01.fireside.fm Fri, 12 Jun 2026 16:26:51 -0500 Fireside (https://fireside.fm) Weird Studies - Episodes Tagged with “Trash Stratum” https://www.weirdstudies.com/tags/trash%20stratum Wed, 24 Nov 2021 11:15:00 -0500 Professor Phil Ford and writer J. F. Martel host a series of conversations on art and philosophy, dwelling on ideas that are hard to think and art that opens up rifts in what we are pleased to call "reality." en-us episodic Art and philosophy at the limits of the thinkable Phil Ford and J. F. Martel Professor Phil Ford and writer J. F. Martel host a series of conversations on art and philosophy, dwelling on ideas that are hard to think and art that opens up rifts in what we are pleased to call "reality." yes weird, art, philosophy Phil Ford and J. F. Martel admin@weirdstudies.com Episode 111: What Is Best in Life: On "Conan the Barbarian" https://www.weirdstudies.com/111 d9e38962-009a-4e2d-94f1-5745c697aaef Wed, 24 Nov 2021 11:15:00 -0500 Phil Ford and J. F. Martel 111 What Is Best in Life: On "Conan the Barbarian" full Phil Ford and J. F. Martel Phil and JF explore the ethics and metaphysics of sword and sorcery through the lends of John Milius' 1982 film starring Arnold Schwarzenegger and James Earl Jones. 1:21:30 yes <p>A wish-fulfilment fantasy for pubescent boys of all ages, or a subtle disquisition on the ethics of a sorcerous world? John Milius' <em>Conan the Barbarian</em> (1982) manages to be both, although one may be easy to overlook. In this episode, JF and Phil leave the heights of Hesse's <em>The Glass Bead Game</em> with a headlong dive to the trash stratum. Their wager: that <em>Conan the Barbarian</em>, a film without a hint of irony, is a spiritual statement that is equal parts empowering and disquieting, and a prime of example of how fantasy is sometimes the straightest way to the heart of reality.</p> <p><strong>REFERENCES</strong></p> <p>John Milus (dir.), <em>Conan the Barbarian</em> (1982)<br> Richard Fleischer (dir.), <em>Conan the Destroyer</em> (1984)<br> <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_E._Howard" rel="nofollow noopener">Robert E. Howard</a>, American writer, author of the Conan stories<br> <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jack_Smith_(film_director)" rel="nofollow noopener">Jack Smith</a>, "On the Perfect Filmic Appositeness of Maria Montez"<br> Weird Studies #3: <a href="https://www.weirdstudies.com/3" rel="nofollow noopener">Ecstasy, Sin, and "The White People"</a><br> H. P. Lovecraft, <a href="https://www.hplovecraft.com/writings/texts/essays/shil.aspx" rel="nofollow noopener">"Supernatural Horror in Literature"</a><br> <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fritz_Leiber" rel="nofollow noopener">Fritz Leiber</a>, American writer<br> Weird Studies #95: <a href="https://www.weirdstudies.com/95" rel="nofollow noopener">Demon Seed: On Doris Lessing's <em>The Fifth Child</em></a><br> Dungeons &amp; Dragons<br> Weird Studies #20: The Trash Stratum (part <a href="https://www.weirdstudies.com/20" rel="nofollow noopener">1</a>, part <a href="https://www.weirdstudies.com/21" rel="nofollow noopener">2</a>)<br> Masaki Kobayashi (dir.), <em><a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0058279/" rel="nofollow noopener">Kwaidan</a></em><br> Jerry Zucker (dir.), <em>Ghost</em> (1990)<br> <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0099653/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1" rel="nofollow noopener">Roget's Thesarus of English Words and Phrases</a><br> <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maria_Montez" rel="nofollow noopener">Maria Montez</a>, Dominican-American actress</p> Conan the barbarian, analysis, meaning, symbolism, sword and sorcery, fantasy, metaphysics, paganism A wish-fulfilment fantasy for pubescent boys of all ages, or a subtle disquisition on the ethics of a sorcerous world? John Milius' Conan the Barbarian (1982) manages to be both, although one may be easy to overlook. In this episode, JF and Phil leave the heights of Hesse's The Glass Bead Game with a headlong dive to the trash stratum. Their wager: that Conan the Barbarian, a film without a hint of irony, is a spiritual statement that is equal parts empowering and disquieting, and a prime of example of how fantasy is sometimes the straightest way to the heart of reality.

REFERENCES

John Milus (dir.), Conan the Barbarian (1982)
Richard Fleischer (dir.), Conan the Destroyer (1984)
Robert E. Howard, American writer, author of the Conan stories
Jack Smith, "On the Perfect Filmic Appositeness of Maria Montez"
Weird Studies #3: Ecstasy, Sin, and "The White People"
H. P. Lovecraft, "Supernatural Horror in Literature"
Fritz Leiber, American writer
Weird Studies #95: Demon Seed: On Doris Lessing's The Fifth Child
Dungeons & Dragons
Weird Studies #20: The Trash Stratum (part 1, part 2)
Masaki Kobayashi (dir.), Kwaidan
Jerry Zucker (dir.), Ghost (1990)
Roget's Thesarus of English Words and Phrases
Maria Montez, Dominican-American actress

]]> A wish-fulfilment fantasy for pubescent boys of all ages, or a subtle disquisition on the ethics of a sorcerous world? John Milius' Conan the Barbarian (1982) manages to be both, although one may be easy to overlook. In this episode, JF and Phil leave the heights of Hesse's The Glass Bead Game with a headlong dive to the trash stratum. Their wager: that Conan the Barbarian, a film without a hint of irony, is a spiritual statement that is equal parts empowering and disquieting, and a prime of example of how fantasy is sometimes the straightest way to the heart of reality.

REFERENCES

John Milus (dir.), Conan the Barbarian (1982)
Richard Fleischer (dir.), Conan the Destroyer (1984)
Robert E. Howard, American writer, author of the Conan stories
Jack Smith, "On the Perfect Filmic Appositeness of Maria Montez"
Weird Studies #3: Ecstasy, Sin, and "The White People"
H. P. Lovecraft, "Supernatural Horror in Literature"
Fritz Leiber, American writer
Weird Studies #95: Demon Seed: On Doris Lessing's The Fifth Child
Dungeons & Dragons
Weird Studies #20: The Trash Stratum (part 1, part 2)
Masaki Kobayashi (dir.), Kwaidan
Jerry Zucker (dir.), Ghost (1990)
Roget's Thesarus of English Words and Phrases
Maria Montez, Dominican-American actress

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