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aion-rsa · 4 years

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The Horror Movies That May Owe Their Existence To H.P. Lovecraft

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With Lovecraft Country finishing its acclaimed first season, you may be looking to fill that new gap in your viewing schedule with more content based on or inspired by the works of the enigmatic author from Providence, Rhode Island.

Let’s get one thing clear upfront: Howard Phillips Lovecraft was very much a product of his time and upbringing, and his views on race, ethnicity, and class — while commonplace for where and when he lived — were truly noxious, an aspect of his legacy that Lovecraft Country addresses in its own themes. But it’s also clear that Lovecraft was arguably the most influential horror writer of the 20th century, with a reach that extends to this day.

While there have been a number of movies based directly on stories by Lovecraft — including titles like Die, Monster, Die! (1965), The Dunwich Horror (1970), Re-Animator (1985) and its sequels, From Beyond (1986), Dagon (2001), The Whisperer in Darkness (2011), and Color Out of Space (2020) — you may be surprised just how many more readily available major horror films and cult favorites have been influenced by his writing in terms of plotlines, themes, mood and imagery.

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Here is a readout of 20 movies, spanning the last 60 years, in which the pervasive presence of H.P. Lovecraft had an undeniable impact, making many of these efforts into mostly effective and often great horror films. Even the Great Old Ones would approve…

X: The Man with the X-Ray Eyes (1963)

Legendary filmmaker Roger Corman had just adapted a Lovecraft story in The Haunted Palace (although the movie was marketed as part of his Edgar Allan Poe cycle), but this sci-fi film also clearly channeled some of the author’s sense of cosmic horror.

Ray Milland plays a scientist who invents a formula that allows him to see through just about everything, eventually peering into the center of the universe itself. What he views there leads him to a shocking decision that fans of Lovecraft’s work would appreciate.

The Shuttered Room (1967)

This British production was based on a short story by August Derleth, Lovecraft��s publisher and a noted author in his own right. Derleth based his story on a fragment left behind by Lovecraft after the latter’s death, with the movie expanding on the tale even further.

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Gig Young and Carol Lynley star as a couple who inherit Lynley’s family mill only to find something horrifying living at the top of the house. Lots of Lovecraftian elements — a cursed house, a family secret, and strange locals — are all here.

Alien (1979)

Lovecraft’s work arguably existed on that knife edge between horror and science fiction — the Great Old Ones of his Cthulhu Mythos were, after all, ancient entities that existed in the darkest corners of the universe.

One of the greatest sci-fi/horror hybrids of all time, Alien, clearly took a cue from Lovecraft’s work: the origins and motivations of its xenomorphs were utterly unknowable to human understanding, and even the look of the alien echoed the gelatinous, glistening flesh of the Old Ones (too bad later movies like Prometheus and Alien: Covenant ruined it by explaining far too much of the alien’s history).

Scorpion

City of the Living Dead (1980)

Italian director Lucio Fulci directed several films inspired by the work of Lovecraft, starting with this gorefest starring Christopher George (Grizzly) and Catriona MacColl. When a priest hangs himself on the grounds of a cemetery in the town of Dunwich (a town created by Lovecraft), it opens a portal to hell that allows the living dead to erupt into our world.

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Fulci’s movie is often nonsensically plotted and more reliant on gore than Lovecraft ever was, but the otherworldly, surreal atmosphere is definitely sourced from the master.

The Beyond (1980)

The second film is Lucio Fulci’s “Gates of Hell” trilogy (the third was The House by the Cemetery) is perhaps the most heavily Lovecraftian, with Fulci regular Catriona MacColl inheriting a hotel in Louisiana that turns out to be — you guessed it — a portal to the world of the dead.

Like the director’s other work, it’s inconsistently acted and directed, but it oozes with a surreal, unsettling atmosphere that almost becomes intentionally disorienting. Hell of an ending too — literally.

The Evil Dead (1981)

Sam Raimi was just 20 when he and friends Rob Tapert and Bruce Campbell set out to make a low-budget horror movie called Book of the Dead, based on Raimi’s interest in Lovecraft. The finished product, The Evil Dead, featured plenty of Lovecraftian touches: a book of arcane evil knowledge, entities from another dimension, reanimated corpses and more.

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It also became one of the greatest cult horror movies of all time, spawning an entire franchise and — even as it veered more into comedy — staying true to its cosmic horror roots.

Universal

The Thing (1982)

Even though it’s squarely set in the science fiction genre, John Carpenter’s brilliant adaptation of the 1938 John W. Campbell Jr. novella Who Goes There? (filmed in 1951 as The Thing from Another World) is unquestionably cosmic horror.

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Although the title creature lands on Earth in a spaceship, its immense age, apparent indestructibility, utterly alien intelligence and formless ability to shapeshift make it one of the most Lovecraftian — and terrifying — monsters to ever slither across the screen. The remote, desolate setting and growing paranoia among the characters add to the terror and awe.

Ghostbusters (1984)

Yes, it’s one of the best combinations of horror and comedy to ever emerge onto the screen. But Ghostbusters’ second half — in which an apartment building designed by an insane architect turns out to be a gateway to a realm of monstrous demons led by “Gozer the Gozerian” — is pure Lovecraft.

The monstrous nature of the menace, the ancient rites and secret cult used to summon it — all of this is still quite cosmically eerie even as it’s played mostly for laughs and thrills.

Prince of Darkness (1987)

The second entry in what came to be known as John Carpenter’s “Apocalypse Trilogy” is perhaps the least influenced by Lovecraft. But it still packs a cosmic wallop with its arcane secrets long buried in an abandoned, decrepit church, its portal to another dimension ruled over by an Anti-God, its mutated, reanimated human monsters and its mind-bending combination of religious legends and scientific speculation (credit as well to British writer Nigel Kneale, an even more massive inspiration here).

In the Mouth of Madness (1995)

Carpenter completed his trilogy (arguably his greatest achievement outside of Halloween) with the most Lovecraftian of the three, in which a private insurance investigator (Sam Neill) looks into the disappearance of a famous horror author and learns that his books may portend the arrival of monstrous creatures from beyond our reality.

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Not only are the ideas right out of Lovecraft, but the movie oozes with allusions to the writer’s work and ends up being as disorienting and genuinely disturbing as some of his most famous stories.

Event Horizon (1997)

While we will always argue that the execution of this film was faulty, which stops it from becoming a true cult classic, we won’t debate its central premise: a spacecraft with an experimental engine rips open a hole in the space-time continuum, plunging the ship and its crew into a dimension that appears to be hell itself and endangering the rescue team that arrives to find out what happened.

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Director Paul W.S. Anderson provides some truly macabre touches to an often incoherent movie, and again the whole invasion-of-evil-from-outside-our-universe concept points right back to old H.P. and his canon.

Hellboy (2004)

Hellboy creator Mike Mignola has often cited Lovecraft as a primary influence on his long-running comics starring the big red demon (Lovecraft’s vision has impacted a slew of other comics over the years as well), and it’s no surprise that Guillermo del Toro’s original movie based on the books touches on that too. The film’s Ogdru Jahad are a take on Lovecraft’s Great Old Ones, while the movie is stuffed with references to occult knowledge, forbidden texts, alternate realities and more.

Del Toro’s own direct Lovecraft adaptation, At the Mountains of Madness, remains abandoned in development hell, but his work here gives us perhaps a taste of how it might have looked.

The Mist (2007)

Stephen King has often cited the influence of Lovecraft on his own vast library of work, and both the novella The Mist and Frank Darabont’s intense film adaptation are perhaps the most overt example.

While the premise is vaguely sci-fi — an accident at a secret government lab opens a portal to another dimension, unleashing a fog containing all kinds of horrifying monsters — the mood and the entities are Lovecraftian to the extreme, as is Darabont’s unforgivingly bleak ending (altered from King’s more ambiguous one).

The Cabin in the Woods (2012)

Director/co-writer Drew Goddard and co-writer Joss Whedon take on two of horror’s most criticized subgenres, the slasher film and the torture porn movie, in this sharp satire that ends up being a Lovecraft pastiche as well. The standard set-up of five young, horny friends heading to a remote cabin in advance of being slaughtered turns out to be a ritual performed by trained technicians as a sacrifice to monstrous deities — the Ancient Ones — that reside under the Earth’s crust. The ending — in which the survivors decide that humanity isn’t worth saving after all — would have met the misanthropic Lovecraft’s approval.

Stephen King’s It (2017/2019)

The more metaphysical elements of King’s gigantic 1987 novel (such as the emergence of the godlike Turtle and the journey into the Macroverse) didn’t really make it into either this two-part theatrical version of the novel or the 1990 miniseries.

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But the influence of Lovecraft is still felt in the title menace itself, an unimaginably ancient, shape-shifting entity that can exist in multiple realities and feeds on fear and terror. The way that It slowly corrupts the town of Derry and its inhabitants over the years has precedent as well in Lovecraft tales like “The Dunwich Horror” and “The Shadow Over Innsmouth.”

The Endless (2017)

Indie horror auteurs Justin Benson and Aaron Moorhead have touched on certain Lovecraft tropes in all their films, including Resolution and Spring, but The Endless is perhaps the most directly influenced by the author. The writers/directors also star in the movie as two brothers who return to the cult from which they escaped as children, only to find it has become the plaything of an unseen time-bending entity.

Genuinely eerie and more reliant on character and story than special effects, The Endless is a good example of what a modern twist on the Lovecraft mythos might look like.

The Void (2017)

A small group of medical personnel, police officers and patients become trapped in a hospital after hours by an onslaught of hooded cultists and macabre creatures in this virtual compendium of well-loved Lovecraft tropes and imagery. Writer/directors Steven Kostanski and Jeremy Gillespie channel an ’80s horror vibe, with all its pros (and some cons) but the overall atmosphere is surreal and the story taps effectively into the sense of cosmic horror.

Annihilation (2018)

Alex Garland’s (Devs) adaptation of Jeff VanderMeer’s frightening novel Annihilation is brilliant and terrifying in its own right, and both serve as loose rewrites/reinventions of Lovecraft’s classic “The Colour Out of Space.” In this take, four female explorers are tasked with penetrating and solving the spread of an alien entity over a portion of the coastal U.S. that is mutating all the plant and animal life within. The sense of awe and cosmic dread is strong throughout this underseen gem.

The Lighthouse (2019)

The second feature from visionary writer/director Robert Eggers (The Witch) is more a psychological drama than an outright horror film — or is it? The story’s two lonely lighthouse keepers (Robert Pattinson and Willem Dafoe) may be going insane or may be coming under the influence of an unseen sea entity and the beam of the lighthouse itself.

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With its black and white cinematography, windswept location, half-glimpsed sea creatures and sense of reality crumbling around the edges, The Lighthouse is just a Great Old One away from being a genuine Lovecraftian nightmare.

Underwater (2020)

It’s hard to believe that this Kristen Stewart vehicle came out in early 2020 — given the way the world changed since, it seems like it came out five years ago. Although its story of workers on a deep sea drilling facility battling monsters from the deep was an overly familiar one, the creatures themselves were more unusual than most. Director William Eubank took it a step further by saying that the movie’s climactic giant monster was none other than Cthulhu itself, the Great Old One sleeping under the ocean and namesake of Lovecraft’s entire Cthulhu Mythos — which takes us back to where we began.

The post The Horror Movies That May Owe Their Existence To H.P. Lovecraft appeared first on Den of Geek.

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#aion-rsa #Den of Geek

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cepmurphy · 4 years

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“It’s easier for me here, it’s more dangerous for you.”– Rosa

We thought we were getting a ‘celebrity historical’ as codified in 2005. What we’re got was something older: the closest thing in generations to the original Hartnell pure historicals, where history can’t be changed (not one line!), where we learn a lesson about the past, and where people are going to kill you.

This is one of two key things about Rosa. We’ll come back to it later.

The first key thing, as sneering baddie Krasko will outright say, “tiny actions change the world.” His plan to change history is to simply nudge it subtly, so Rosa Parks never sits down in a specific time and place. It’s not plausible that this alone will prevent the US civil rights movement from succeeding but it’s a good lesson for kids, so we’ll let it slide. Instead of history and its celebrity figures being solid forces, Rosa is simply a tired activist who reaches the end of her tether one night and might have moved another night. We even see this at the start, with her first run-in with the bus driver James Blake: she does briefly attempt defiance, sitting in a Whites Only seat temporarily to get her purse, but that’s as far as she dares go.

Instead of a grand technobabble battle, the Doctor and her chums have to keep history on track with their own subtle actions – a fake raffle here, a delay there, a few full seats. This is the show again looking to practical, dirty-hands action. The need to get things exactly right and to undo Krasko is an intellectual puzzle, one emphasising how easy it would be to change what we think of as the arc of history.

Krasko is a weak point after a while. When we don’t know he’s incapable of doing physical harm, his sociopathic swagger, his humblebragging his murders, and his tactic of simply opening fire makes him a menace. But once we know he can’t touch them, the threat is gone, he’s just a puzzle to be figured out, and he lacks a strong enough personality to engage on that level.

But that leads us to the second key part of the episode: the greater threat. The one the Doctor can’t stop.

The real threat in Rosa is being alive in 1950s Alabama.

In a superb scene, the Doctor lets Krasko grab her by the neck and taunts him knowing he can’t pull it off. In every clash, she’s standing up to him, unimpressed with his intimidations. She never does this with the regular Alabamans. In their first encounter, where a random man backhands Ryan and threatens to lynch him, she is visibly terrified and trying to calm the man down. When a swaggering policeman shows up, Ryan and Yaz have to hide behind the bins while the Doctor can only delay him, quietly denying his racism but not having the bravado to challenge him.

Krasko is a science fiction villain and is no match for a science fiction franchise lead. A racist cop with a gun in 1950s Alabama (indeed, in much of 2019 Alabama) is not science fiction. This is a real man who can kill the Doctor’s friends. TV methods will not stop him.

I don’t know what parts of this episode arewas Chibnall’s work and what parts are Malorie Blackman, but these parts are almost certainly Blackman. This is the sort of material she’s touched on in the Noughts and Crosses series. It’s an obvious plot beat that as soon as Yaz says “time travel’s awesome”, they run into a nasty racist from the past but the sudden violence, the threat of worse, the entitlement of it, this is new.

And the whole episode is like this. It’s not just one man and one angry cop. The cast can’t eat in a restaurant without facing hostility. Getting about in Montgomery to do their clever plan means being on the bus and directly experiencing the racism. The murder of Emmett Till for allegedly touching a white woman is raised, a thing that could happen to Ryan. Rosa Parks is clearly irritated at points by these stupid English tourists who don’t understand what’s going on, who are blundering around making her already hard life harder. In one scene, Yaz can’t even be sure where she fits in the racial hierarchy as a “Mexican”; the rules are arbitrary and she can’t be sure what’s safe. The entirety of Montgomery is oppressive, an obstacle that you can’t puzzle through with clever minds. Nobody is safe here.

It is not the first time Doctor Who has acknowledged time travel can be piss – Martha faced racism in Human Nature, for example. But in the end, she could stand up to the racists and she was not presented as being in physical danger. In The Idiot Lantern, the 1953 bigot is a threat to the people in the past but can be humiliated in his own home with no splashback by the Doctor & Rose. This has different rules. This is more akin to The Aztecs in 1963, where the cast had to be aware of the social mores and structures, and if pushed too far the Aztecs might kill them for crimes against the norm. Humans are the enemy, not monsters.

And in no other story I can remember do we have a companion angry he has to hide behind a bin during what’s supposed to be a wonderful sci-fi adventure. And Ryan and Yaz both discuss that, while things have improved, they still have to deal with racism in 2018. In the end, in the triumphant discussion of how Rosa Parks changed the world, we will hear how much she struggled after her protest and how old she was before being granted honours by President Clinton. There is optimism for the future – indeed, Krasko makes it explicit that racial equality wins – but tempered with the knowledge we have a way to go.

The story would have been stronger as a pure historical, the Doctor realising things aren’t quite happening right and the threats all from our friendly local policemen. Those are the parts that sing the most. See also the utter dismay from Graham when he realises he’s trapped in history, he’s part of the reason Rosa Parks can’t sit down, and he doesn’t want to be – he wants out. The clever-clever puzzle of keeping history on track ends with the character’s having to sit and watch and be complicit, rather than being part of the victory.

With the TARDIS regulars, something interesting has happened: Graham and Ryan are getting on better. Here, for the first time, Ryan publicly reaches out a hand to his granddad by helping him process his grief. They mutually remember the lost Grace, Ryan saving Graham from a depressing moment by joking “she’d start a riot” if she was there. Following that, they work together for the Doctor’s plan and driving James Slate away from his fishing trip is very much a team effort. They work together and banter and generally troll him into defeat. Over three episodes, we’ve gone from them being frosty to chummier.

Travelling with the Doctor has made them get on.

A nice touch too, for Yaz, when Ryan is threatened – she instinctively tries to make the man back down in the same way she would as a copper. Sadly, that will not work here.

A very annoying touch: Ryan zaps Krasko with his time gun and sends him very far back. When Krasko was firing at them, it was presented as killing-by-other-means (so why doesn’t he zap Rosa Parks?? Oh well). The episode after the Doctor admonished Ryan for using a laser gun on mindless robots, she’s fine with him de facto killing a man!!

But points like this don’t drag down the episode. It’s still a powerful piece, teaching Brits about part of the world they may not have known, making us look unflinchingly at the past.

#doctor who #doctor who reviews #Jodie Whittaker #doctor who s11

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thebeautifulisalwaysbizarre · 5 years

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I was tagged by @vildeliens thank you Queen (of clowns and headcanoons) ❤️

Pick 5 shows, then answer the following questions, don’t cheat. Tag 10 (or however many) people.

Skam France

The Walking Dead

Doctor Who

Torchwood

1. Who is your favourite character in 2? Well that one is easy as hell. Lucas Lallemant, without the shadow of a doubt. I just adore that boy... I really do believe that he’s the most developed character of the whole skam universe. Also, i relate to him so so much, being parisian and 17 and queer and just, globally similar. And that Acting (TM) sure helps (will i ever be over axel’s acting? I dont think so)... I am gonna stop before i write essays (you all think this is a joke but i actually write random stuff about Lucas when i get bored in class, thats how bad it is). I just really love this boy folks...

2. Who is your least favourite character in 1? Well that’s an easy one too. Vernon Schillinger, because he is a neonazi, which is enough. And he is just plain BAD (rapist, murderer, coward, blackmailer... you name it)... And it’s not even a love hate situation, i despise the guy so much, he makes me wanna crawl off my skin whenever he is on screen. Also i think he’s quite one dimensional which is very weird for that show but yeah. He is The Bad Guy.

3. What is your favourite episode of 4? Well that’s a harder one lmao, because you know, the show has been going on since 1963, which means i have many many favourites... Imma go only with reboot, cause thats the one i know better and i have to say it’s the one i enjoy the most. I think my all time fave is the two parts one, The Empty Child and The Doctor Dances, because those are just so perfect in every aspect imo. But i also love love love the library arc from season 4 (i think lmao) because KUDOS FOR MAKING US INSENSITIVE ABOUT A CHARACTER’S DEATH ONLY FOT IT TO KILL US LATER (and overall the episodes are so so good). Also, because i’m a hoe for big dramatic moments, the episodes with the Master (end of s3 and end of s4 mainly, i dont really like Missy) and the two parts The Stolen Earth/Journey’s end (i remember being so hyped by all of them squading up). Also, it’s not an episode but it deserves its place there: the entire season 6. Because Matt Smith, Karen Gillan, Alex Kingston and Arthur Darvill are just so good. I didnt really enjoy seasons 8 to 10 (even tho i adore Peter Capaldi), but season 7 also has some that i loved (Angels in Manhattan and The Name of the Doctor killed me). And the 50th anniversary. I MEAN THIS IS COMPLICATE I LOVE THIS SHOW SO MUCH IT HAS SO MANY GOOD EPISODES (and it’s the first show i got obsessed with so theres that)

4. What is your favourite season of 5? I think i’ll go with season 2 (?), because i love the og squad and they were all in it in s2, and i think the arcs were done really well (and the last episode, haha, me dead)... S3 and 4 i enjoyed less cause i think the teams didn’t really work without Tosh, Owen and Ianto... I couldn’t really find that magic again (and yes i’m still bitter).

5. Who is your favourite couple in 3? It’s hard to find ALIVE people to form couples with lmao so i’ll go with one that is in kinda stand-by... it’s complicate... Rick and Michonne cause i loved how they were best friends first and how their whole story was built... It made a lot of sense to me. Also i love the show less nowadays but i think those are still strong characters (minus Rick now lol)

6. Who is your favourite couple in 2? I had to snort. I know, it’s going to surprise you all, but it’s Manon and Charles OF COURSE. Kidding (pls. break. them. up). It’s Eliott and Lucas (how many of you all are surprised) because. Do i need to explain. Just. Everything. I can’t even put it into words. they’re just a perfect match and so in tune and so in love and i should stop now but i won’t so i’m sorry. I love how they complete each other and understand each other, and i loved how Lucas made Eliott’s dream real (polaris), and i love how they arent perfect yet they learn with each other and they make each other better . I love how cute they look and how in love and how raw. I love the way Lucas’ voice softens when he talks to eliott, and the way eliott’s eyes are so full of wonder. Also the way they fight sometimes but always come back to each other and love stronger. And their ship names literally means “chosen one”, how could I not ship? LISTEN THEY JUST FIT OKAY AND I WONT TAKE ANY CRITICISM

7. What is your favourite episode of 1? oh god i don’t remember them all at all lmao but imma try to come up with one (not 22838 like i normally do). So i’d say 4x11 (revenge is sweet)?? but honestly the show is so continuous that its hard to choose one ep... id say s4 is my favourite hands down though

8. What is your favourite episode of 5? YES THAT I CAN!! it’s from season 1, even though i love s2 better overall, Countrycide. I loved everything about that ep, and it still sends shivers down my spine when i think about it. I particularly enjoyed how it depicted the team’s relationships and how it showed that monsters can be amongst mankind (which, we been knew, but still. it was very well done for a show that fights aliens to fight humans)

9. What is your favourite season of 2? Another easy one! Season 3, as my entire blog can attest. It’s just. A masterpiece. That’s it that’s the post.

10. How long have you watched 1? I bingewatched it in like two months (cause i had to take breaks because school) in 2016. It’s a show that ended around 2000 so it’s not like i HAD to wait, and the episodes aren’t really stand alone so i had to watch them in a row.

11. How did you become interested in 3? I started watching with my dad because he is a cinephile that shows me loads of movies and tv series, then showed it to my mom. And now my dad stopped watching so i watch it with my mom exclusively even though i dont enjoy as much as i used to (still love it though).

12. Who is your favourite actor in 4? Matt Smith (even though i adored Eccleston, and couldn’t appreciate Tennant’s AMAZINGNESS cause i was too sad to see 9 go aoimjdk). But Matt Smith is the funniest, most Doctor-ish one imo.

13. Which do you prefer, 1, 2, or 5? This is gonna sound like a betrayal to shows i’ve watched for so many years but Skam France, hands down. (i’m obsessed okay)

14. Which show have you seen more episodes of, 1 or 3? 3 because it has more eps and i’m caught up with both, so logically its 3.

15. If you could be anyone from 4, who would you be? Umh i think i’m kinda similar to Clara in some ways (?). Maybe. Like in the way we’re both hopeless romantic in search of an adventurous life. Plus, she is a lgbt+ icon and you can’t convince me otherwise so there’s that. i mean i think i globally identify with companions cause i wanna be them so bad lmao (imagine how cool it would be for my nerdy self ugh). But i look like a Sontaran so. Mayhaps i’d be one of those instead

16. Would a crossover between 3 and 4 work? umh that’d be funny as hell. The Doctor just jumping in a zombie apocalypse. Though i think they’d find a way to stop the apocalypse, so the second show would be annihilated by the first one. Mmh. Interesting still, up for it (i’m up for anything tbh)

17. Pair two characters in 1 who would make an unlikely but strangely okay couple? That’s the hardest one i had to answer GOD. I’d go with the crack ship, Ryan O’Reilly and Miguel Alvarez, tho they would both kill me and then burn my body if they ever saw this

18. Overall, which show has the better storyline, 3 or 5? Weeeelll i think The Walking Dead used to have an amazing storyline (the Governor’s arc was spectacular), but now i’d go with Torchwood cause sometimes (a lot of times), shows that don’t try to make it last for ages tie everything better. And Torchwood did tie things well enough imo (even tho i’m forever sad and bitter)

19. Which has the better theme music, 2 or 4? I don’ think Skam France has a theme music?? more like soundtracks (amazing ones)??? But i mean even if it did Doctor Who would still win cause the themes are fantastic (yes i went there)

This was so fun guys so imma tag @evnisak, @isak-valterssen, @jebentnietalleen, @demauryy, @srodvlv, @takaoparadise, @starcassstic, @thebananaslug, @sleepingthroughmyproblems, @akalousthings and anyone else i forgot, or anyone wanting to do this really

#oz hbo #skamfr #the walking dead #doctor who #this got uselessly long #im sorry everyone

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douxreviews · 5 years

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Doctor Who - ‘An Unearthly Child’ Review

(aka 100,000 B.C., The Tribe of Gum, The Stone Age, or The Paleolithic Age)

Two teachers follow a mysterious student into a junkyard, spawning multiple generations of sci-fi geeks.

Season 1, Serial A Starring William Hartnell as the Doctor With William Russell (Ian), Jacqueline Hill (Barbara) and Carole Ann Ford (Susan) Written by Anthony Coburn and C.E. Webber Directed by Waris Hussein Produced by Verity Lambert

Episodes and Broadcast Dates:

An Unearthly Child – 23 Nov 1963

The Cave Of Skulls – 30 Nov 1963

The Forest Of Fear – 7 Dec 1963

The Firemakers – 14 Dec 1963

Plot Summary

At the end of another day at London’s Coal Hill School, history teacher Barbara Wright and science teacher Ian Chesterton compare notes about an enigmatic student, Susan Foreman. Her knowledge of history and science surpasses their own, but is also awkwardly unaware of the ins-and-outs of contemporary life. They trail her to her given address, 76 Totters Lane, only to find a scrapyard wherein sits a rather incongruous Police Box emitting an eerie hum. They encounter Susan’s grandfather, who brusquely shoos them away. But when Susan’s voice is heard from inside, they push past him into the Police Box and find themselves in a vast futuristic chamber, much larger on the inside. The old man is furious at their intrusion. Susan explains that they are exiles from another world and another time, and the Police Box is their ship, the TARDIS. The old man is paranoid and irascible, certain that the teachers will expose their secret, and despite Susan’s panicked pleas he activates the TARDIS, leaving 60’s London behind.

The quartet find themselves in the Stone Age, and are soon abducted by a tribe of primitive humans. There is a power struggle for control of the tribe between Za, son of the late elder, and the outsider Kal, focused on the secret of making fire. When the old man announces he can make fire, they become pawns in the struggle. Along the way, Ian and Barbara introduce the tribe to concepts of mercy and helpfulness, that in ‘their tribe,’ the firemaker is the least powerful person, and that one tyrant is not as strong as a unified collective. This lesson is lost on the old man; when Za pursues them through the forest and is attacked by a wild beast, he is perfectly willing to kill the wounded man to help them escape. Ultimately they make fire for the tribe, Za kills Kal, and the travelers escape to the TARDIS.

It is made clear that Susan’s grandfather, who is known as the Doctor, cannot control the navigational systems of the TARDIS, and may never be able to return Ian and Barbara home. They arrive at their next destination and go out to explore. They do not notice the TARDIS’s radiation meter inching into the danger zone...

Analysis and Notes

-- Episode One’s viewership was quite low – possibly due to news coverage of President Kennedy’s assassination the day before, possibly due to a number of regional power cuts – so the BBC granted a virtually unprecedented re-broadcast immediately prior to Episode Two. More people saw the repeat broadcast than the initial one.

-- Episode One was a re-write and re-shoot of the un-broadcast pilot episode, which was beset by technical difficulties and featured an even harsher characterization of the Doctor.

--Most of the principle guest cast would appear in future serials: Derek Newark (Za) in Inferno, Althea Charleton (Hur) in The Time Meddler, Jeremy Young (Kal) in Mission to the Unknown, and Eileen Way (Old Woman) in The Creature from the Pit.

Okay, all you Smith-heads, Tennant worshipers and Capaldians (all three of you, myself included), listen up. The sci-fi institution you know and love originated over a half century ago, right here. Before the action figures, the magazines, the thousands of fansites, the DVD’s, the convention circuit, the minisodes, and all the flood of BBC Enterprises swag, there was An Unearthly Child. And in some cases, it looks and feels very much like the show you’re watching now; there’s a big blue (well, dark gray) box called the TARDIS that flies through time and space, and it makes the same wheezy noise as it takes off and lands. There’s a mysterious central character called the Doctor and a handful of travelling companions. But there are also enormous differences.

In the current series, the TARDIS can land anywhere it wants to. But initially the central concept of the Classic Era was the TARDIS’s unreliability. This meant that when the Doctor takes off with Barbara and Ian on board at the end of episode one, there’s virtually no chance of getting them home again. In future serials where the Doctor and crew need to get to a specific place, they have to hitch a ride.

The early days of the show were a sharp contrast from the ethos displayed in the upcoming Series Nine catchphrase, “I’m the Doctor. I save people.” In most cases, they landed in a certain place or time, got separated from the TARDIS, and spent the rest of the series more focused on Not Dying and/or Not Changing History than they were about liberating oppressed humanoids or saving Earth from alien invasion. And especially in this opening serial, the only person the Doctor feels obliged to save is himself.

Having never been companions by choice, Barbara and Ian’s primary goal throughout their time on the TARDIS was to get home again. Even when they weren’t so much traveling companions as kidnapping victims, this meant getting back to the TARDIS whenever they were separated from it, and keeping the Doctor – their kidnapper – safe at all times since he was the only person who could operate it. Ultimately they do get home again, but end up using a slightly more reliable Dalek time capsule to do it, and we never quite learn how they explain their two-year absence to the Coal Hill headmaster.

And we have to assume they left no significant others behind. Because if there’s one consistent theme amongst the TARDIS’s early classic era companions, it’s that they have no backstories or families or home life that’s disrupted when they meet the Doctor. They’re orphans, bachelors, and free agents. No room for outside domestic drama on the TARDIS.

As for the actual story:

I can’t help but fall in step with the Received Wisdom that the first episode is classic and the remaining three are comparatively mediocre. That said, the Stone Age episodes are very noteworthy. The initial concept for the series was that science fiction and historical stories would balance each other – thus the need for a history teacher and a science teacher. The historical stories would follow the format established here; the TARDIS crew gets separated from the ship, and after a few cycles of capture-escape-recapture where they encounter historical figures or crucial historical events, manage to escape to the TARDIS without getting killed or dramatically changing history.

And the Doctor couldn’t be further removed from how we come to know him now. Selfish, paranoid, and bad-tempered, over-protective of Susan, a kidnapper, a would-be murderer, a refugee rather than a traveler, he’s a quintessential anti-hero, and if it weren’t for the fact that he was the only one who could pilot the TARDIS, odds are they’d boot him out. It’s his dealing with Barbara and Ian that over time gives him a moral compass, either making him a heroic figure, or re-making him one after whatever as-yet-undetermined incident caused him to flee.

The Stone Age tribe is surprisingly multi-dimensional. They’re not ignorant, just uneducated. The oldest among them are fearful of new technology (i.e. fire). The savage conditions in which they live, where death lurks around every corner, render concepts like tenderness, kindness, and democracy as luxuries. You may just have to grit your teeth as the social liberalism is delivered with a side of colonialism; the well-dressed white bourgeois travelers drop into the jungle like the Galactic Peace Corps to teach the dirty savages how to live better. Also a dash of sexism as the girl – named, appropriately enough, Hur – exists as the prize to be awarded to either Kal or Za.

It’s evident that the BBC wanted this program to succeed. Even though they put the show in the young and relatively inexperienced hands of producer Verity Lambert and director Waris Hussein, possibly so they could be scapegoats for the program’s potential failure, they allowed the pilot episode to be re-tooled and re-filmed, and they re-broadcast Episode One immediately prior to Episode Two.

As this is the very first serial, it’s worthy to note which concepts have stayed etched in granite over a half-century and which have been more malleable (if not rejected entirely):

The Doctor’s Name – Susan only refers to him as “Grandfather.” Ian recalls, before they meet, that Susan’s grandfather is “a Doctor or something.” Since the junkyard’s front door reads I.M. FOREMAN, SCRAP MERCHANT, and Susan’s given surname is Foreman, he calls him “Dr. Foreman” in episode two, to which the old man replies, “Huh? Doctor Who? What is he talking about?” strongly suggesting that “Foreman” was never their name. Does one require a PhD to run a junkyard? Or are they squatters, with Susan adopting the name on the door? If so, whatever happened to I.M. Foreman? He never explicitly instructs Ian or Barbara as to how he wishes to be addressed, and basically adopts the title “The Doctor” by default.

The TARDIS – Susan claims to have made up the name of the TARDIS as an acronym for Time And Relative Dimension(s) In Space, as if this TARDIS was the only one in existence. For most of the first season, they refer to the TARDIS simply as “The Ship.” In episode two, the Doctor notes that the external appearance of the ship is supposed to blend in with its surroundings (though the term “Chameleon Circuit” would not be coined for over a decade), suggesting this is the first time it has failed; with rare exceptions, it would never function again. And the most pivotal concept about the TARDIS is that the Doctor cannot navigate it properly. Either he never learned, or he forgot, or the mechanism is faulty; it’s never explicitly stated, but once they leave London 1963, there’s no guarantee they’ll ever get back.

Their Origins – No Time Lords, no Gallifrey, these terms don’t appear for years to come. The details they give in the first episode are sketchy. They’re exiles, wanderers in time, cut off from their own planet. No mention is ever given of Susan’s parents (i.e. the Doctor’s offspring, presumably). They’re hiding on Earth, and have lived incognito for several months; from what and why are never stated.

Been Here Before – Barbara lends Susan a very thick book about the French Revolution, which Susan reads in a split second and remarks, “That’s not how it happened!” Though no mention of a prior visit was ever made later in Season One when they land in Robespierre’s post-revolutionary Paris. The gift of superhuman speed-reading appears again in the New Series’ reboot, Rose.

In Summation

You could be forgiven if you only watch the first episode, but what an episode it is! It’s as noteworthy and epoch-shifting a debut as the Beatles’ Please Please Me eight months earlier (or their follow-up, With The Beatles, issued the day before). Yet despite creator Sydney Newman’s directive of “No Bug Eyed Monsters!”, the program’s watershed moment was yet to come, and British popular culture would never be the same.

Rating: 3 out of 4 epoch-shifting moments in British pop culture.

John Geoffrion balances a career in hospital fundraising with semi-pro theatre gigs, and watches way too much Doctor Who and Britcoms in between. He'll create an author page after he puts up a few more reviews.

#Doctor Who #Classic Who #The Doctor #First Doctor #Susan Foreman #Barbara Wright #Ian Chesterton #Doctor Who Reviews #Doux Reviews #TV Reviews #something from the archive

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reducereuserecycleessay307 · 4 years

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Seven Essential Tips For Writing The Perfect Essay

Seven Essential Tips For Writing The Perfect Essay Walter Reed launched the ambulatory surgical procedure to USA’s hospital, since then patient manages improved considerably and quickly with guaranteeing the sufferers’ health after discharge . Ambulatory surgery kind about ninety% of all surgical procedure carried out these days in Canada and USA . The day surgery can achieve high degree of quality, value efficient and protected which result in excessive level of patient satisfaction . The advantages from ambulatory surgical procedure system are diversified in kind, a few of these advantages related to affected person and their family and some associated to the hospitals and the healthcare system as entire. Those benefits for the affected person that they'll obtain extra attention from the healthcare staff, because the ambulatory surgical procedure designed to serve that patient . The ambulatory surgical procedure first present in 1909 by James Nicoll, a scottish surgeon, it was known as by “day case surgery”. In 1912 Ralph Walter within the USA adopted this surgical procedure sort within the USA. In addition to studying, I had found one other means at which I may study. One factor that reading didn’t give me was the instructions on the way to pronounce the phrases I learn. My teacher said that I had the quickest time in ending the program, a matter of only a 12 months and a half. Other kids that I discovered with stayed until fifth or perhaps even sixth grade to complete. All the other children there could have progressed on the same rate, however they chose one other route. Ten thousand folks attended the funeral the place a telegram from John F. Kennedy was read. “He was an excellent young man of great character who served and, my hope is, will proceed to function an inspiration to young individuals of this country.” Over forty years later he is nonetheless inspiring to people like me. Ernie helped Syracuse advance to the 1960 National Championship within the Cotton Bowl the place they played and defeated Texas in his senior year. One on offense and one on protection when he ran an 86 yard interception after coming back within the game with a hamstring damage. The injury worsened each time he was tackled or punched purposely within the leg by the opposing staff. I would mainly memorize their whole conversations, how they pronounce their words, and in what context I could use them. This also made studying much easier for me since I didn’t should spell out the phrases in my head. Rather, I might just bear in mind how it was said and read it fluently. In only a matter of weeks, I was able to communicate on a newbie/intermediate stage with my peers, and issues lastly began to look up. He encouraged Ernie to go above and beyond and work onerous at school as a result of he knew if he didn’t that Ernie would find yourself in the coal mining enterprise like him. His mother remarried in 1959 and since she was now capable of assist him, he moved in along with her and his stepfather in Elmira, New York. I graduated the ESL program in the middle of third grade. This task, however, is not a simple one to perform; human nature itself has the tendency to concentrate on self-associated issues. If we're to put others before ourselves, then we must break away from that egotistical way of thinking and consider the worth of other individuals and their lives. Furthermore, as I begin to put others before my very own interests, I feel my life has a significant purpose and course. Sadly, Ernie never got to play professional soccer as a result of he died, May, 18, 1963, of Leukemia. Ernest R. Davis was born on December, 14, 1939, in New Salem, Pennsylvania. His parents separated very shortly after his delivery, and his father was killed in a automotive accident. He grew up in poverty dwelling in a coal mining town, Uniontown, Pittsburg. He appeared as much as Jackie Robinson, being one of many first black gamers to have been on an All-American staff. He additionally seemed as much as his grandfather because of how wise he was. It could be thought of odd, however I would report one thirty-minute episode and replay it as much as five instances. That means, each time, I would perceive a little bit more of the plot and what the characters had been saying. “The most sublime act is to set one other before you.” Spoken by English poet William Blake, this quote reveals what I imagine is a very important – if not an important – factor an individual can do. Putting others first includes the laying aside of our personal pursuits and then willingly doing one thing for an additional particular person's profit.

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googlebewertung277-blog · 5 years

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A spin-off of the CBS program Waistcoat Joint (1963 ), Environment-friendly Acres exceeded its precursor in target market appeal-- spending four of its 6 periods as a Leading 20 Nielsen-rated program. Its family-friendly humor places Environment-friendly Acres in the exact same classic group as shows like The Andy Griffith Program, back when TELEVISION comedies were everything about wit and also not as serious as they would certainly later on become with the intro of 1970s stalwarts MASH and All In The Family members. The brainchild of developer Jay Sommers, author for shows such as The Adventures Of Ozzie & Harriet and Waistcoat Joint (where Eco-friendly Acres personalities Sam, Doris, Fred, and also Arnold make their first appearances), Eco-friendly Acres' one-of-a-kind brand name of comedy survives on with an effective as well as ongoing syndication run, and its memorable signature tune also recorded the popular culture for a second time when Old Navy included it into among their hallmark garments commercials

Environment-friendly Acres centers around the life of a wealthy Manhattan attorney, Oliver Wendell Douglas (Eddie Albert), as well as his elite socialite other half Lisa (Eva Gabor). When Oliver obtains a hankering to endure his childhood years desire for running a ranch, conman Eustace Haney (Pat Buttram) supplies him the deal of a lifetime. Only the offer of a lifetime ends up being a 160-acre dump in the imaginary town of Hooterville. Oliver sets out to transform the farm right into a rural gem, while Lisa is reluctant to leave her life of privilege in New York. Hired hand Eb Dawson (Tom Lester) helps out the Douglas household, and also Sam Drucker (Frank Cady), a carryover from Petticoat Joint, runs the local general shop. The real life of the show emanates from neighbors Fred (Hank Patterson) as well as Doris Ziffel (Fran Ryan) as well as their adopted child-- a prized pig named Arnold that presents numerous human-like attributes. In time, Lisa learns to enjoy individuals of Hooterville, attempting her ideal to bring refinement to the backwoods region (and also while still making use of her Manhattan closet).

The Environment-friendly Acres DVD features a number of funny episodes including the series premiere "Oliver Purchases a Ranch" in which New York lawyer Oliver Douglas determines to endure his imagine surviving on a ranch. Without informing his wife, he gives up the legislation firm of Felton, O'Connell, Clay, Blakely, Harmon, Dillion & Pasteur (whew!) for a run-through system of land in rural Hooterville. When his better half Lisa sees the farm, she goes ballistic Various other significant episodes from Season 1 include "You Can't Plug in a 2 with a 6" in which Oliver needs to continuously remind Lisa never to utilize a home appliance( s) that will certainly push the generator over a 7 on the power range, as well as "Lisa Bakes a Cake" in which Lisa makes a decision to cook a cake as well as ends up with a twenty extra pound cake.

Below is a list of episodes included on the Green Acres (Season 1) DVD:.

Episode 1 (Oliver Acquires a Farm) Air Day: 09-15-1965.

Episode 2 (Lisa's First Day on the Farm) Air Date: 09-22-1965.

Episode 3 (The Decorator) Air Date: 09-29-1965.

Episode 4 (The Very Best Laid Plans) Air Date: 10-06-1965.

Episode 5 (My Hubby, the Rooster Tenant) Air Day: 10-13-1965.

Episode 6 (Furnishings, Furnishings, Who's Got the Furnishings?) Air Date: 10-20-1965.

Episode 7 (Neighborliness) Air Day: 10-27-1965.

Episode 8 (Lisa the Partner) Air Day: 11-03-1965.

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Episode 9 (You Can't Plug in a 2 with a 6) Air Date: 11-10-1965.

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Episode 10 (Do Not Call Us, We'll Call You) Air Date: 11-17-1965.

Episode 11 (Parity Starts in the house) Air Date: 11-24-1965.

Episode 12 http://bewertungsmanagment.net (Lisa Has a Calf Bone) Air Date: 12-08-1965.

Episode 13 (The Wedding Event Anniversary) Air Date: 12-15-1965.

Episode 14 (What Took Place in Scranton?) Air Day: 12-22-1965.

Episode 15 (Just How to Expand a Bed Room) Air Day: 12-29-1965.

Episode 16 (Offer Me Land, Great Deals Of Land) Air Day: 01-05-1966.

Episode 17 (I Didn't Elevate My Husband to a Firefighter) Air Day: 01-19-1966.

Episode 18 (Lisa Bakes a Cake) Air Day: 01-26-1966.

Episode 19 (Sprained Ankle, Country Design) Air Day: 02-02-1966.

Episode 20 (The Cost of Apples) Air Day: 02-09-1966.

Episode 21 (What remains in a Name?) Air Date: 02-16-1966.

Episode 22 (The Day of Choice) Air Day: 02-23-1966.

Episode 23 (A Pig in a Poke) Air Day: 03-09-1966.

Episode 24 (The Replacement) Air Date: 03-16-1966.

Episode 25 (Double Drick) Air Day: 03-23-1966.

Episode 26 (The Ballad of Molly Turgis) Air Day: 04-06-1966.

Episode 27 (Never Look a Gift Tractor in the Mouth) Air Day: 04-27-1966.

Episode 28 (Send a Child to University) Air Day: 05-04-1966.

Episode 29 (Horse? What Steed?) Air Day: 05-11-1966.

Episode 30 (The Rains Came) Air Date: 05-18-1966.

Episode 31 (Society) Air Date: 05-25-1966.

Episode 32 (Uncle Ollie) Air Date: 06-01-1966.

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theotherscarmanthewoman · 7 years

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Series 1 Review

Forty-three episodes later, Series 1 (Season 1?) is done and dusted. Before launching into Series 2 tomorrow with Planet of Giants, I thought it might be fun to do a little review of the story so far...

General Thoughts

Overall, I’ve been pleasantly surprised. I’d seen most of these serials as a kid, though never in the right order, and watching them from beginning to end has given me a newfound appreciation for just how much excellent character development there is in the early years of the show. I have also become a diehard Barbara fan. Obv.

From a feminist perspective, there’s been a lot to like, though there have been a few major issues for me. As far as the series regulars go, Barbara gets to do a fair amount of physically, emotionally, and verbally badass things whilst remaining a well-rounded character: she’s clever, compassionate, occasionally morbid, brave, pragmatic, imaginative, resourceful, and deeply flawed in an entirely non-gendered way *cough*AZTECS*cough*. However, she also nearly gets raped in The Snows of Terror, has men draw lots over who gets to murder her in Marco Polo (only to be victim blamed by the eponymous dickhead of the serial), and is often a victim of the well-meaning but mostly stifling paternalism of Ian Chesterton (though she does at least get to complain about it).

Susan is more problematic, as she very rarely gets a chance to shine, and suffers greatly at the hands of writers who just don’t know what to do with her. All too often, she’s reduced to a plot device, which I suppose is how she started out, after all: she was a means of getting the humans onto the Tardis and introducing us to the Doctor. And while she had genuine and gorgeous character development in Marco Polo and The Sensorites (the latter in the face of serious patriarchal bullshit from the Doctor), she ended the first series as a means of getting/keeping other characters in and out of jail whenever it was narratively convenient for her to have a mystery headache. JUSTICE FOR SUSAN! There are also way too many episodes that fail the Bechdel test for a series that has two women in the recurring cast.

Favourite Serials

I am the kind of person who panics when there are more than five options on a menu, so obviously I cannot restrict myself to a single favourite serial. With this in mind, and with the proviso that none of these are entirely unproblematic, here are my top three (in no particular order):

The Daleks I love this serial for so many reasons: Barbara getting her shit together after the whole caveman debacle/having been given a serious fright by a Dalek for the first time in Whovian history, donning a pair of hexagon trousers, and going on to display her infinite capacity for badassery (see exhibits A, B, and C); Space Corbyn; the Daleks being established as Space Nazis; the birth of Team Tardis; hexagons; Barbara and Ian fighting (which I always enjoy); the Doctor giving Barbara hope in the first of many classic chats; and of course Barbara deciding that yes she will kiss that alien, thank you very much.

The Edge of Destruction This is so ambitious and weird and wonderful, and of course contains that epic Barbara Wright verbal smackdown. The Tardis is alive and speaks in melty clocks and photographs (setting in motion a Tardis character arc without which The Doctor’s Wife would not have been possible), Susan is possessed and scissor-happy, Ian is in a ludicrously short dressing-gown, the Doctor learns to cherish his humans, the Doctor gets crazy excited talking about the birth of solar system, the humanities save the day, and everyone learns about each other and therefore about themselves. Just don’t ask me whether it makes any actual sense.

The Aztecs Problematic as all hell, but so very, very interesting. Barbara’s hubris, Susan’s continued arranged marriage issues post-Ping-Cho, the Doctor and Barbara bonding over history and time travel and ethics, Space Bro antics, badassery, ruined lives (Autloc! Cameca!), and life-long lessons learned. A meaty historical with repercussions for the whole of Doctor Who.

An honourable mention must also go to Marco Polo, which drove me absolutely crazy at times (because it’s missing, because yellowface, because Marco being the actual worst and causing me to go on my first sustained rant about rape culture in Classic Who), because in it we got a glimpse of Susan’s potential as a character. Which got shat on from a great height in The Reign of Terror.

Bring That Side Character Aboard the Tardis

Ping-Cho PRECIOUS CINNAMON GOLDFISH YOU SHOULD HAVE GONE WITH SUSAN AND YOU COULD HAVE BEEN SPACE (GIRL)FRIENDS FOREVER.

Ganatus His brother is dead, many of his friends are dead, and his planet is mostly fucked. Get that Thal aboard the Tardis so Barbara can show him just how much she doesn’t always do what Ian says; a whirlwind space romance would do them both a power of good.

Character Development

The Doctor has had quite the journey, from the selfish goblin we met in a junkyard in 1963 who was quite happy to brain a caveman with a rock (and leave Barbara to die of radiation poisoning on Skaro) to the selfish goblin we met on a road in eighteenth-century France who was quite happy to brain a man with a shovel (on his quest to save his friends from the guillotine). The quality of his selfishness has been transformed because he now cares for two humans who have grown to care about him. He’s learned some manners, he’s learned about two other people, and he’s learning about himself.

Susan. Poor, poor Susan. She had such potential to be an interesting character, but alas she was served shoddily by writers who didn’t know what to do with her. She got to talk about home and what it means to be a wanderer in Marco Polo and The Sensorites, and she even got to stretch her telepathic legs in the latter, but alas her character development has suffered throughout the series. The one consistent thread for Susan is her increasing attachment to her human Space Parents, and her ongoing issues with saying goodbye. I have so many questions about Susan, but unfortunately none of the writers could be arsed to answer them.

I worry about Ian, actually, because he seems to have become desensitised to violence in a way that surely can’t be healthy for him. He also seems increasingly unable to function when he’s not being called upon to be Action Man (or indeed welded to the side of Barbara Wright). The weirdest example of this is when he thought all his friends were dead and he was stranded in eighteenth-century France, so he decided to become a spy for the counterrevolution just for something to do. At the beginning of the series, I disliked Ian enormously for his patronising paternalism; I don’t dislike him any more, but as I say, I worry about what’s going to happen to him when he finally makes it home and he has to function on an everyday level again without the psychological crutches of ‘I must kill the bad guys’ and ‘I must find/protect Barbara’. I also worry about his change of attitude from ‘I’m not going to do this because it’s wrong’ to ‘I’m going to do whatever it takes to get everyone out of this mess alive and I’m going to decide that whatever this involves is morally right’. And I think the turning point for that might well have been on Skaro where he managed to convince himself that asking the Thals to sacrifice themselves for the greater good was morally the right thing to do if he could find a way of thinking about it as helping the Thals to help themselves. I do love his Space Bro relationship with the Doctor, though. And his ongoing leftie streak.

Oh Babs. She’s really developed over the series, and what is excellent about seeing it in order is that it becomes clear that the Barbara we met in An Unearthly Child was Barbara on a (really) bad day. And yes, she went into hysterics over a dead pig. But very soon this self-professed unwilling adventurer was getting stuck in: no sooner had she recovered from a nasty bout of radiation sickness in a Dalek cell on Skaro than she was busy making mud pies to take out those malevolent pepper pots, embracing the local fashions, flirting with the locals, and taking on Daleks with rocks and a can-do attitude. She adapts to the situation time after time, and learns about time-travel and history the hard way, bonding with the Doctor and caring for her fellow travellers; if The Edge of Destruction is the Doctor’s turning point, The Aztecs is hers. But we also see that being surrounded by death is beginning to take its toll, as well as a nihilistic sense of the absurd that comes of having truly absorbed the lesson that you can’t rewrite history. Fortunately for Babs, the Doctor is actually there for her at these times, as we’ve seen from their ongoing time-travel chats. I think the biggest surprise of the series for me has been the relationship between the Doctor and Barbara, actually; they’re teaching one another to be better time travellers.

A note on shipping

I have deliberately shied away from overtly shipping Barbara and Ian in the recaps (though I’ve been less successful elsewhere), not because I don’t believe with every fibre of my being that they absolutely ended up getting hitched when they got back to Earth, but because frankly it’s more interesting when they fight than when they’re being cute. Also I’m saving a post on the many aspects of their relationship for after The Chase, as I feel like that will help me deal with my Feelings after they leave the show.

BRING ON SERIES 2!

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whorchataaa · 4 years

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Podcast: Is Police (CIT) Crises Training Needed?

A mentally ill man is standing in your yard yelling at the mailbox. What do you do? You call the police, right? Not so fast, according to today’s guest, mental health advocate Gabriel Nathan. There is a better way to do things. Gabriel believes that rather than training police officers to de-escalate people in mental health crises, the police shouldn’t be called at all in these situations.

Our host Gabe has a different take on things, as he is an advocate for training police officers in crisis intervention practices. Join us for an enlightening and nuanced conversation regarding the role of the police when it comes to mental health crises.

(Transcript Available Below)

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Guest Information for ‘Gabriel Nathan- CIT Training’ Podcast Episode

Gabriel Nathan is an author, editor, actor, and a mental health and suicide awareness advocate. He is Editor in Chief of OC87 Recovery Diaries, an online publication that features stories of mental health, empowerment, and change. Recently, OC87 Recovery Diaries produced a unique film series called “Beneath the Vest: First Responder Mental Health” that features candid and moving recovery stories from firefighters, EMS personnel, law enforcement, dispatchers, and a crisis intervention specialist instructor. These films are being used by first responder agencies across the U. S. and by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police.

Independent of his work at OC87 Recovery Diaries, Gabe raises mental health awareness, generates conversations around suicide and its prevention, and spreads a message of hope with his 1963 Volkswagen Beetle, Herbie the Love Bug replica that bears the number for the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline on its rear window. Gabriel lives in a suburb of Philadelphia with his wife, twins, a Basset hound named Tennessee, a long-haired German Shepherd named Sadie, and his Herbie. You can view Gabriel’s TEDx Talk on his approach to suicide awareness here. Gabriel and Herbie teamed up to produce a documentary film about their suicide awareness mission; you can view the entire film and learn more information about Gabriel, Herbie, and suicide awareness here. You can also follow Gabriel and Herbie on IG @lovebugtrumpshate.

About The Not Crazy Podcast Hosts

Gabe Howard is an award-winning writer and speaker who lives with bipolar disorder. He is the author of the popular book, Mental Illness is an Asshole and other Observations, available from Amazon; signed copies are also available directly from Gabe Howard. To learn more, please visit his website, gabehoward.com.

Lisa is the producer of the Psych Central podcast, Not Crazy. She is the recipient of The National Alliance on Mental Illness’s “Above and Beyond” award, has worked extensively with the Ohio Peer Supporter Certification program, and is a workplace suicide prevention trainer. Lisa has battled depression her entire life and has worked alongside Gabe in mental health advocacy for over a decade. She lives in Columbus, Ohio, with her husband; enjoys international travel; and orders 12 pairs of shoes online, picks the best one, and sends the other 11 back.

Computer Generated Transcript for “Gabriel Nathan- CIT Training” Episode

Editor’s Note: Please be mindful that this transcript has been computer generated and therefore may contain inaccuracies and grammar errors. Thank you.

Lisa: You’re listening to Not Crazy, a psych central podcast hosted by my ex-husband, who has bipolar disorder. Together, we created the mental health podcast for people who hate mental health podcasts.

Gabe Howard: Hey, everyone, my name is Gabe Howard, I am the host of the Not Crazy podcast and I am here with Lisa Kiner.

Lisa Kiner: Hey, everyone, and today’s quote is by John F. Kennedy, The rights of every man are diminished when the rights of one man are threatened.

Gabe Howard: It sort of reminds me of this idea that if it can happen to somebody else, it can happen to you, and if it can happen to you, it can happen to anybody. And I say this in mental health advocacy a lot. I was like, you realize if people with mental health conditions can’t get access to care, that means sick people can’t get access to care. So if you get sick, it is certainly possible that you might not be able to get access to care. But we always kind of dismiss that as it’s going to happen to other people.

Lisa Kiner: I think that’s just human nature. Everybody thinks that only good things are going to be coming to them and any bad things out there are going to be going to other people.

Gabe Howard: Well, and other people who deserve the bad things, right? Like we have this idea that every bad thing that happens to somebody else, it’s because they deserved it. They must they must have been doing something wrong.

Lisa Kiner: But I think that’s also self protective. The idea that the universe is random and bad things could happen to anybody at any time is scary. But if I think to myself, oh, no, that person brought that upon them, they did something that made the bad thing happen, that makes me feel better. I will not do that thing. Therefore, the bad thing will not happen to me. Therefore, me and mine are safe.

Gabe Howard: This, of course, all plays into a larger conversation that America is having with law enforcement and policing. We believe that police are 100% right in any police interaction. Whoever they are interacting with is 100% wrong. And in the mental health circles, this isn’t exactly believed in the same way because, you know, we have CIT, we have Crisis Intervention Training because we understand that when we’re in

crisis, people are going to call the police. If Gabe Howard is in crisis, somebody’s going to pick up the phone and call 911 and say, hey, there’s this giant guy acting erratically and we need help. And then the police are going to come, and we have decided that we’re OK with that. But we want to train police officers. And that’s where crisis intervention training came from. Full disclosure, that I believe in the CIT program so much, I teach it in central Ohio. I am proud of the work that I do. I am very pro, I am very, very, very pro training police officers on how to work with people with mental illness. Recently, I had the very good fortune to be involved in a virtual screening of a series put out by OC87 Recovery Diaries called Beneath the Vest: First Responder Mental Health. And it was talking about the suicide rates for first responders., talking about all kinds of things that I had never heard before. After it was all over, I was talking to Gabriel Nathan, who is the executive director of OC87 Recovery Diaries, and we were talking specifically about the crisis intervention training, of which I am a huge fan. And Gabriel said to me, well, I’m not a big fan of CIT. I think that CIT should go away. Lisa, you have known me for a long time. You can only imagine the words that were coming out of my mouth.

Lisa Kiner: It seems like a pretty unreal statement.

Gabe Howard: And a conversation ensued, and I have no idea if I agree with Gabriel or not. On one hand, he makes some extraordinarily valid points that cannot be ignored. On the other hand, I remember what life was like in Columbus, Ohio, before the CIT program came along and of course, how much good it did. And I came to you, Lisa, and I said, Lisa, you’re never going to believe what this idiot Gabriel Nathan said to me. And this, of course, started a big debate between us.

Lisa Kiner: Yes, and from your version of what you and Gabriel talked about, I am really interested to hear what he has to say.

Gabe Howard: In addition to being the executive director of OC87 Recovery Diaries, Gabriel Nathan lives with depression. He’s a prominent mental health advocate who understands what it’s like. And on our show, we don’t want people with mental illness just to show up and tell their personal stories. We want to be more than that.

Lisa Kiner: And it’s not that we don’t think that the personal story has value, it absolutely does, but there’s plenty of sources out there for that. We want to have something different here at Not Crazy. On our show, we want to have people come on to discuss, argue, debate and talk about the world around us from the point of view of someone living with mental illness like us.

Gabe Howard: All right, Lisa, I think we’re ready to bring Gabriel on. Gabriel, welcome to the show.

Gabriel Nathan: Hi, and thanks for having me. It’s great to be here.

Gabe Howard: I love working with you because I think, now I’m not sure, but I think that our hobby is to disagree with each other because we love the debate so much. Is that true today? Like everything that you’re about to say, these are your genuine beliefs. You’re not playing devil’s advocate. We are having a real conversation. We’re not doing this thing where we each pick a side and pretend that we care. We care.

Gabriel Nathan: Yeah, these are my real views, I don’t play devil’s advocate because I really don’t have time to expostulate on some view that isn’t my own just for the sake of of arguing or being a guest on something. I really believe in speaking my own truth passionately. I don’t speak on behalf of any organization. These views are my own and I’m proud to share them with you.

Gabe Howard: Well, thank you again, Gabriel, and we’re super glad to have you. So let’s get right into it. You believe that that CIT, police officers, all of that, should have zero involvement in mental health. And if you were king of the world, you’d kick them out immediately. Can you explain that?

Gabriel Nathan: I think zero involvement is perhaps not quite accurate.

Gabe Howard: Ok.

Gabriel Nathan: So, for example, if someone is suicidal and they have a firearm, that’s a police emergency. Because, as they say, you don’t bring a knife to a gunfight. And we know that there are people who take their own lives via suicide by cop. People who will

point a firearm at a law enforcement officer who will fire, who will perhaps even shoot a police officer to provoke a response from other responding officers to kill them as well. So when firearms are involved, all bets are off. I just want to make that absolutely clear. First of all, before I really get into the weeds of the question, what I have found is whenever you are taking a position that is critical in any way of law enforcement or attempts to raise questions even about the way law enforcement agencies do anything, it is extremely important to establish your own bona fides. Because anybody who steps up to challenge law enforcement is immediately regarded with suspicion, paranoia, is dismissed as a quote, you know, libtard, troll, anti-cop antifa, whatever. I’m none of those things. I am someone who, for the last 20 years, has been an advocate for slain police officers and their families through editorials, commentaries in newspapers. I have attended over 10 police funerals in Philadelphia down to Maryland.

Gabriel Nathan: I have done a lot of advocacy work for law enforcement and also in regard to mental health of first responders. I produced a film series called Beneath the Vest: First Responder Mental Health for OC87 Recovery Diaries that features police officers, EMS personnel, dispatchers, fire service individuals talking about trauma and complex PTSD. I’m very well aware of the suicide rate for police officers. I am someone who knows law enforcement culture. I am someone who has a respect for police officers and what they do. However, just like when you criticize America, that doesn’t mean that you should leave it or that you don’t have any right to do that. I think that you need to know what you’re talking about. But I think we have every right to criticize institutions. I think we have every right to criticize this nation. And so I just want people to know that I am doing this from a place of love and concern and from a position of someone who believes ardently that there absolutely needs to be change and radical reimagining of law enforcement, not just related to mental health response but across the board. But, yes, I do believe that law enforcement should have very, very little place in mental health response.

Gabe Howard: Thank you, Gabriel, for establishing your bona fides, and I really appreciate that. The example that I always use is just because I think that my wife did something wrong doesn’t mean that I don’t love her. And just because my wife thinks that I can improve doesn’t mean that she doesn’t love me. And I think people really understand that in terms of our interpersonal relationships, friends, family, etc. But for some reason, when we extend it into the public space, it’s like, aha! You must be for or against me.

Gabriel Nathan: Yes, right.

Gabe Howard: This show is very much trying to establish more of a middle ground. Sometimes we succeed, sometimes we don’t. But we try to believe that we’re Not Crazy when we do it. The first question is CIT, people fought very, very hard to get CIT established in America. This is something that mental health advocates worked really, really hard for decades to bring CIT. So to listen to a prominent mental health advocate like yourself say, well, yeah, maybe we picked the wrong horse. Maybe we shouldn’t have backed that at all. Maybe we should have backed this instead. It sounds almost like you’re saying, hey, you just wasted 40 years bringing this here. It’s very nuanced, and I want you to tease that out because

Gabriel Nathan: Sure.

Gabe Howard: I suppose the real question, if not CIT, what?

Gabriel Nathan: Right. That’s a perfectly valid statement about what people would say and about what’s next. First of all, CIT, also known as quote, the Memphis model, was established in 1986. OK. There is a whole other model of crisis intervention that was begun more than 10 years before that at the psychiatric facility where I used to work. It’s called Montgomery County Emergency Service. It’s located in Norristown, Pennsylvania. Gabe, you know, while you were on the campus,

Gabe Howard: I do.

Gabriel Nathan: MCES created something called CIS. So it stands for Crisis Intervention Specialist training. And this was created in 1975 – 1976 to teach crisis intervention and deescalation to police officers. The philosophy behind this, as opposed to CIT, is train everybody in the department, train every single police officer in this stuff, in recognizing signs and symptoms of mental illness, in learning about what it feels like to issue commands to someone who may be experiencing auditory hallucinations, learning

about substance abuse, escalation of force, all that kind of stuff. Right? So this was already in play for ten years prior to the Memphis model. And the Memphis model said, let’s train specific officers in the department to respond to mental health emergencies. Working at MCES, as I did from 2010 to 2015, I was very immersed in the CIS culture and I gravitated much more to that because I think first, a component of CIT that’s inherently flawed is you’re only picking certain officers, right? Now, there are certain officers on duty all the time, but they may be tied up with other things. When a psychiatric emergency is happening, they may not always be available to respond. So you might be bipolar and manic and trying to rip out a traffic sign at 3:00 a.m. in an intersection in your town. Well, gee, the CIT officer, unfortunately, had to go to a domestic. So now you might be getting a sort of not very well trained, not empathic, not understanding officer to your situation. And he may be an action junkie. He may be someone who doesn’t have his emotions in check.

Gabe Howard: Or they may be somebody who is just not trained.

Gabriel Nathan: Exactly, exactly. And that may have a bad outcome. OK. Now there might be a bad outcome even with a trained officer. Also, being CIT trained is not a bulletproof vest, and it doesn’t mean that an encounter with a law enforcement officer is going to go hunky dory all the time. That’s important to recognize also. I have had police commanders say to me, to my face when I’ve questioned CIS, they’ve said, well, you know, we like CIT better because, quite frankly, not all of our officers would be good at that kind of thing. And I said, what is that kind of thing? Spending time to talk to someone as opposed to just taking them to the floor? Trying to de-escalate someone as opposed to escalating the situation? And of course, there’s no answer for that. And what I said is, if certain officers that you have, quote, wouldn’t be good at that kind of thing, they shouldn’t be police officers. And I really believe that. So that’s my problem CIT. You’re kind of cherry picking officers who you think would be good at that when really they all should be good at that, and lack of availability. But really, when you widen the scope and really look at the situation of law enforcement officers responding to mental health emergencies, psychiatric emergencies, you use the term de-escalation, right? While we’re teaching these police officers to de-escalate a situation that is potentially volatile. And what do we have? We have someone who’s not doing well. They may be off their medication, they may be psychotic, they may be paranoid. And we have a black and white radio car rolling up.

Gabriel Nathan: The door opens, the big boot steps out, they wear these big boots, you know, and the officer gets out and he’s got his bulletproof vest and he’s all jacked up, puffed up, looking twice as big as he actually is. He’s got the gun. He’s got the taser, he’s got the extra ammunition. He’s got the handcuffs. He’s got the retractable baton. He’s got the sunglasses with the mirrored finish, so you can’t even see his eyes. He’s got the buzz cut. I’m stereotyping. They don’t all look like that, but a lot of them do. That’s who we’re asking to, quote, deescalate a situation. And they’re showing up with the power of arrest to take your freedoms away from you, to lock you up. What is an individual who’s experiencing a psychiatric emergency most afraid of? They’re afraid of being restrained. They’re afraid of being contained. They’re afraid of having their freedoms taken away from them. And that’s who we bring to the scene. And so, I believe that crisis intervention training for law enforcement officers really puts them in an impossible situation where we’re saying you, just by your very presence, you are an escalation of force, but we want you to de-escalate the situation. It just on its face doesn’t make any sense to me.

Lisa Kiner: Interesting, no, I would agree with you on that completely

Gabe Howard: The police force, or society has decided that the police respond to people with mental illness and we’ve got this one little program that people we had to advocate for.

Gabriel Nathan: Right, right.

Gabe Howard: Remember, police have been responding to people in a mental health crisis since before CIT.

Gabriel Nathan: Absolutely.

Gabe Howard: And we had to convince them that it was a good idea to train the responders. I just.

Gabriel Nathan: But that presupposes. That says, well, it’s not good that the police are responding to mental health emergencies, but if they’ve gotta, then at least train them. But they don’t gotta. That’s the flaw in the system,

Gabe Howard: Ok, gotcha, gotcha.

Gabriel Nathan: In my opinion, that’s what mental health advocates got wrong. They kind of just laid down and said, well, this is how it’s going to be. You know, the police are just going to do it, so we might as well train them. And that was the wrong supposition. This is incorrect. You know, if we can agree that people should not be showing up to a psychiatric hospital in the back of a patrol car with their hands cuffed behind their back, if we can all agree on that, and I think we can all agree on that, then we can all agree that the precipitating events that make that end result happen should also not be happening.

Gabe Howard: I just want to point out that I am involved in CIT. I’m a trainer for CIT, as I said at the top of the show. And I want you to know that what I tell people that CIT is not mandatory, they are confused.

Gabriel Nathan: Of course.

Gabe Howard: The belief of the general public is that CIT is mandatory for all officers.

Gabriel Nathan: Absolutely not. If they receive anything at the police academy level, it is very, very minimal and very, very terse. They don’t really address the trauma that police officers are going to experience. They don’t address the issue of police suicide, and they also don’t really address deescalating situations. It’s all about control. How do you control a suspect? How do you take control of a situation? How do you take command of a scene? The police academy curriculum is very, very full. And as we’ve seen with all of these discussions about reimagining law enforcement, we know in Germany it takes three years to become a police officer. In other places, it takes two years. My police academy curriculum, it was full time and it was nine months. All right. But nowhere in that nine months curriculum was there room for crisis intervention, de-escalation, signs and symptoms of mental illness, all that kind of stuff. That’s all taught later.

Gabe Howard: Right, and it’s voluntary in most places, and I think it’s important to point out that in many municipalities it takes longer to become a hairstylist than it does to become a police officer.

Gabriel Nathan: Correct. Right. Yes.

Lisa Kiner: You talked about the changing nature of police work, what’s up with that? How is police work changing and why?

Gabriel Nathan: Well, in the bad old days, it was like, come in, bust up whatever is going on, throw whoever it is who’s causing the most trouble in the back of the paddy wagon, maybe rap him over the head with the baton a couple of times and that’s it. And there were no cameras, no one saw anything. You know, it was, they call it the bad old days for a reason. Nobody used words like de-escalation and crisis intervention in the 60s, in the 70s. It’s let’s get in, let’s turn this guy up against the wall, and that’s it. Nowadays, we are expecting law enforcement officers to behave in different ways, to respond to very emotionally complex and dynamic situations and to resolve situations without their fists, without their baton, without their gun, without their taser. So expectations have risen and they need to rise to the challenge of that. And I don’t think these are unreasonable expectations, that you should be able to resolve a situation without violence. I think eight or nine times out of ten that is possible to do. Now, sure, you’re going to have bad actors who just want to hurt somebody and they need to be dealt with appropriately. And that’s fine. But I think there are times when there’s a situation occurring and a law enforcement officer is nearing the end of his shift and he just wants to get it over with and all right. That’s it. No, that’s not it.

Gabriel Nathan: You have all the time in the world to take care of this situation. And people have rights and people have a right to not be thrown on the ground face first simply because you have somewhere to be in an hour. Sorry, that’s not good enough. And we need to expect better of our police officers. Police officers are expected to be more social workers. And maybe that’s who we need to be attracting in terms of law enforcement, people who are articulate, people who understand family dynamics, people who take their time, people who don’t want to roll around on the floor with someone if they don’t have to. When I first applied to the psychiatric hospital, I applied to be an EMT to work on their psychiatric ambulance. And when I interviewed for the

position, I said to the ambulance director, I am not an action junkie. I am not a cowboy. I am not interested in busting down doors and rolling around on the floor with somebody. If I have to do it, I will do it. But I will do everything in my power to make sure that I don’t do that. And she said, well, most of the people we get applying for this job are cowboys, and that’s the problem. We need to stop kind of glorifying this profession and saying that this is what it’s all about. It’s all about takedowns and arrests. It ain’t all about that. It shouldn’t be all about that. And we need to be recruiting people who are not all about that.

Lisa Kiner: Well, Gabe had on The Psych Central Podcast a few months ago, a police officer, and the question was, why do the police respond to this at all? Why do we not send social workers? Why do we not send therapists? And his answer was because it is such a volatile and dynamic situation that you don’t know what will be required. His assumption was that violence will be required. And the thing he referenced specifically was, you know, something like half of all Americans own guns. So because this has such a large potential to escalate to a violent situation so quickly and we’re all wandering around with guns, that’s why we need police officers to respond. What would you say to that?

Gabriel Nathan: Well, what I would say to that is I think it’s very interesting that the police officer’s answer was about guns. It wasn’t about, quote, crazy people. We have a major problem in this country with firearms. And I think it’s really interesting, too, because so many police officers are avid gun collectors. They’re all into the NRA. They’re all about the Second Amendment, and yet they’re afraid about responding to houses of people with guns.

Lisa Kiner: I didn’t think about that one.

Gabriel Nathan: Ok, so that’s a bunch of bullshit, in my opinion. I am so, so sick of having arguments with people about firearms, particularly with law enforcement officers. So they want to be all Second Amendment and guns, guns, guns. But all of a sudden, well, we need to respond to mental health calls because there are so many guns in this country. Well, yeah, there are, and that’s a huge problem. And yes, half of all suicides occur with a firearm. Two thirds of all gun deaths are suicides. You’re more likely to kill yourself than you are to be killed with a firearm.

Gabriel Nathan: So let’s just put that out there right now. It also presupposes that people with mental illness are dangerous. And we know statistically that that is not true. However, people with serious and persistent mental illness who are off their medication and who may be using street narcotics and who may be increasingly paranoid, yeah, they can be dangerous, that’s for sure. And I have certainly seen that in the hospital. But what I will also tell you is my sister in law is a social worker for the VA. The VA has no compunction about sending my unarmed sister in law who weighs one hundred and twenty pounds. Sorry Tova, I just revealed your weight. But unarmed, they give her self-defense training, crisis intervention training and using your your hands to defend yourself. Now, they always go out in teams, of course, they don’t send her alone. But they will send two unarmed females to deal with veterans who have traumatic brain injuries, a lot of whom are using drugs and alcohol, to apartments alone. Oh, but a police officer with a bulletproof vest and a gun and extra ammo and a shotgun in his car and all the rest of it needs to go to a psychiatric emergency call. I’m sorry, I don’t think so.

Gabe Howard: Well, it’s the same thing with children. I have often thought of that as well. If I call Children’s Services right now on my neighbor, they send a social worker.

Gabriel Nathan: Right.

Gabe Howard: Now, I know that different states are different, but in my state, in Ohio, if there is a welfare check for children, they send a single social worker to talk to people about their children.

Gabriel Nathan: Mm-hmm.

Gabe Howard: They’re investigating whether or not these people are child abusers.

Gabriel Nathan: Right.

Gabe Howard: And that can be done by somebody with absolutely no protection, no weapon, no anything.

Gabriel Nathan: And there may very well be a gun in that house.

Lisa Kiner: That’s a good point.

Gabriel Nathan: Right.

Gabe Howard: And, of course, you’re messing with people’s children.

Lisa Kiner: We’ll be right back after these messages.

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Lisa Kiner: And we’re back with Gabriel Nathan talking about police response to people with mental illness.

Gabe Howard: I know we’ve kind of skirted around the issue of how we should get police officers away from responding to us. But I don’t know that you’ve provided an actual answer of if not them, then who?

Gabriel Nathan: Right.

Gabe Howard: When Gabe Howard is having a mental health crisis, I need, like, I personally want somebody to save me. We can all agree with that.

Gabriel Nathan: Absolutely.

Gabe Howard: So who’s coming?

Gabriel Nathan: Ok, first of all, not every situation needs a call to anybody. I think we’re also presupposing that police officers dealing with mental health cases are only called when there is, quote, an emergency. A lot of calls to police involving mental health issues are nuisance issues.

Lisa Kiner: I didn’t consider that.

Gabriel Nathan: Perfect example. There’s someone who lives in my community who is seriously and persistently mentally ill. He yells and screams a lot. He curses a lot. He knocks on the window at people and gives them the finger. OK, stuff like that. People call the cops on him. That’s not a psychiatric emergency. That is not a case of life or death. That’s someone who doesn’t like their neighbor. And so the police show up and there could be a violent, bad outcome for no reason whatsoever. That person is not endangering themselves. That person is not endangering anybody else. It is not against the law to be mentally ill. However, we’ve created a situation where people just pick up the phone and call the police willy nilly because they’re scared of crazy people. I mean, let’s just put it out there, right. That’s very unfortunate. And so we certainly don’t need the police responding to situations like that. You know, that is a situation that can be just dealt with in the community. There is a lot of different areas to explore between nothing and either inpatient hospitalization or an arrest. That’s what we need to to be aware of I think. Now, when we talk about, quote, defunding the police, that’s different than abolishing the police or disbanding the police. A lot of money that goes into buying weapons and car porn could be used to fund mobile crisis units. Mobile crisis units are comprised of mental health workers who are not armed. They do not respond in emergency looking vehicles. They wear civilian clothes. They are very trained in crisis intervention and de-escalation. So, maybe assessing is someone not engaging in proper self care? Are they possibly a danger to themselves or others? Do they need a higher level of care? If you do not have a mobile crisis unit in your county, you better start advocating for one now. And a lot of them work in conjunction with law enforcement. I do

believe at a potentially dangerous scene, law enforcement could be there to establish scene safety and then back off. Leave entirely. OK, are there guns here? We do a search. Is this person violent? Pat the person down. OK, we’re out of here. And then let the mobile crisis team handle it. So, we don’t have to remove them one hundred percent from the equation, but just decrease our dependance on them. There are also very, very, very, very few psychiatric ambulance squads in the country. And by very few, I mean basically one, which operates out of Montgomery County Emergency Services, the hospital I used to work at.

Gabriel Nathan: These are fully trained and certified emergency medical technicians who run on fully equipped basic life support ambulances. They can respond to all manner of physical emergencies, but they also respond to psychiatric emergencies. They execute psychiatric commitment warrants. They show up in an ambulance. They have polo shirts and khakis. They don’t have the badges and all that stuff. If you need to go to the hospital, you’ll go on a stretcher in an ambulance. Not handcuffed in the back of a police car. That’s how it should be in America. So we’ve got psychiatric ambulance squads, we’ve got mobile crisis. We have social workers embedded in law enforcement. We have the possibility of reimagining the kind of people we’re recruiting to do this job. There are lots of different ideas out there. London, for example, in the Metropolitan Police Department, the average constable that you see on duty does not carry a firearm. Now, in every municipality, there are armed response units that can be in a situation in a matter of minutes if they need to be. But maybe we need unarmed police officers in certain areas. It’s less threatening. And I know people will freak out at me about that, but, golly, it works in other places.

Lisa Kiner: So one of the things you said earlier was that part of the problem is that people are perceiving people with mental illness as scary. And when there’s something scary, you call the police. So do you think that part of this doesn’t actually have anything to do with the police? It’s more about how society views mental illness and the average person’s reaction to the mentally ill?

Gabriel Nathan: One hundred percent. It is the same thing as, unfortunately, a lot of Caucasian people’s gut reaction when they see a six foot two black man in their neighborhood. Oh, black people are scary. Oh, he looked in my window. What is that?

Oh, my God. OK, that’s learned subconscious racism. And we as white people need to recognize that we feel hinky, we feel uncomfortable and scared when we see a black person in our neighborhood. You know, you better do some really serious soul searching and try to figure out why that is. It’s the same thing with someone who has mental illness. You know, they’re in their garden and they’re talking to themselves and they’re yelling at your dog or whatever. Oh, that’s scary. I better pick up the phone and call the police. No. You better give that person some space and give yourself some time to reflect on why is that scary to you? And maybe sit with that feeling of discomfort. Where does that come from? What does that mean? Is that person really a threat to you? Is that person really a threat to your neighborhood and your existence? Someone said to me about that specific person that I mentioned, well, it’s a crime because he’s disturbing the peace and that’s a crime. And I really wanted to say to her, oh, so when you stub your toe in your garage and go, oh, f-word, should I call the police? You just disturbed the peace. When your dog is barking too loud? No, so we don’t do that right. But if someone’s yelling argh, government over me and I have a microchip in my tooth and, we’re calling the police. And we just hide behind that because we’re scared and we want the police to make it all better. And I’m sorry those days are over. Or if they’re not over, they should be over. We need to do better because people with mental illness are not going away. Gone are the days when we’re locking them away in institutions for years at a time. And we need to reckon with the fact that they’re in our community. And we need to do better.

Gabe Howard: Gabriel, thank you. It’s been an incredible discussion and enlightening discussion, and you mentioned OC87 Recovery Diaries, which I think is incredible. So I’d like you to tell the listeners what that is first and foremost.

Gabriel Nathan: Sure. So I’m the editor in chief of OC87 Recovery Diaries. It’s a nonprofit mental health publication. We tell stories of mental health empowerment and change in two ways. First person mental health recovery essays. We publish a brand new personal essay every single week, and we also produce short subject, professionally made documentary films all about people living with mental health challenges. You can see all of our mental health films and read all of our mental health essays at OC87RecoveryDiaries.org. And if you want to follow me, really the only place to do that is on Instagram. I’m at Lovebug Trumps Hate and I would love to, I’d love to be your friend.

Gabe Howard: Lovebug Trumps Hate is about Gabriel driving around in his Herbie replica, his lovebug replica. The pictures are incredible. The suicide prevention that you do is incredible. But also on the OC87 Recovery Diarieswebsite is where you can find Beneath the Vest. That entire series is on their completely free, correct?

Gabriel Nathan: Yeah.

Gabe Howard: Please watch it, it’s incredible. And you interviewed first responders. It’s not Gabriel talking. It’s actual first responders.

Gabriel Nathan: No, I’m not in it at all. So, it’s police officers, a dispatcher, firefighters, EMS personnel and my friend Michelle Monzo, who is the crisis intervention specialist trainer at MCES. All of the videos are free to watch.

Gabe Howard: Yeah, OC87 Recovery Diariesis a nonprofit, they survive by donations, please, if you see value in what they do, support them because they are worth it.

Gabriel Nathan: Thank you.

Gabe Howard: Ok. Gabriel, thank you so much for being here. To our listeners, hang on, as soon as we get rid of Gabriel, we’re going to talk behind his back.

Lisa Kiner: Well, again, it’s not behind his back because he can listen to it later.

Gabe Howard: That is very true,

Lisa Kiner: You keep forgetting that part.

Gabe Howard: Gabriel, thank you. Thank you once again.

Lisa Kiner: Oh, thank you so much.

Gabriel Nathan: It’s a privilege. Thank you for having me on.

Gabe Howard: Lisa, were there any aha moments for you?

Lisa Kiner: Yes, actually. The point that Gabriel raised was that the police do not need to respond to these situations at all, that this is not a police matter. It honestly had not occurred to me that, yes, our default thing to do in America when there’s a problem is to call the police. It’s my default thought. And it doesn’t necessarily have to be a problem that it makes sense to call the police about. It doesn’t have to be a school shooting or a hostage situation. That is just what we all do reflexively. If there’s a problem, we call the police. And it hadn’t occurred to me that there are other options.

Gabe Howard: The exact example that Gabriel used was somebody being loud while walking down the street, not showing any form of aggression or violence or breaking things, but just making people feel uncomfortable. People are picking up the phone and saying, well, I’m scared because my neighbor is loud in their own yard.

Lisa Kiner: This person is exhibiting clear symptoms of mental illness. And therefore something needs to be done, therefore, we as a society must do something to make that stop. And the thing that we think will make that stop is to call the police. But in reality, no, that’s probably not going to work and could turn out very poorly. Why do we think the police are the people to call to make that stop? And why do we need to make it stop at all? Why can’t we just tolerate this? Why can’t we just allow this to go on?

Gabe Howard: I agree. That was kind of an aha moment for me, too. In teaching CIT, one of the things that police officers say all the time is you have to remember that it’s not illegal to be mentally ill and you call the police when something illegal has happened. Somebody’s being loud in their own yard, even if it is symptomatic, that is not illegal. Calling the police when no crime has been committed, it’s clearly escalating the situation that unfortunately, it often works out poorly for the person who is symptomatic. Not only do they not get help, but now the police are there. And just by showing up, there’s an escalation.

Lisa Kiner: I really hadn’t thought about, why is that the default, reflexive thing that you do? In this situation to call the police? Why is that?

Gabe Howard: I don’t know.

Lisa Kiner: Why do we as Americans do that? And, yeah, I don’t know either.

Gabe Howard: And that’s obviously on the general society, that’s not on police officers at all. This is just another example of where they get thrust in the middle of something that they are unprepared for, untrained for and not the best situation.

Lisa Kiner: Right.

Gabe Howard: Lending credence, of course, to Gabriel Nathan’s point that police officers should be out of this entirely.

Lisa Kiner: Well, it’s just very interesting. Why do we decide that police are the ones who need to resolve every situation? That every difficult or uncomfortable situation, we should get the police to fix it? Why are they the designated fixer of such problems? And it had not occurred to me that there are other options.

Gabe Howard: Agreed. That we’re sending law enforcement for a medical issue. I don’t agree with that at all, but I still think that it’s just very pie in the sky and optimistic and almost sunshine and rainbows to think that police officers will stop responding to mental health crises. It doesn’t sound logical to me.

Lisa Kiner: Well, I think you’re right about that, in part because police officers won’t be able to stop responding because the public will still call the police for these things. I think the argument that Gabriel is making is that it doesn’t have to be that way. The question will be what happens in the meantime while we’re working towards this goal? I don’t think he’s advocating getting rid of CIT.

Gabe Howard: Oh, yeah, I don’t think that either.

Lisa Kiner: He’s not saying that we should not train police officers to de-escalate or that we should not train police officers to handle people with mental illness. He’s saying that

we need to move towards this different vision, this different way of doing things. But obviously this type of training will always be valuable. Part of it is de-escalation. Isn’t that good for every crisis? Isn’t that good for every high energy, intense situation? How could that not be a good thing? Why wouldn’t you want to resolve a situation in a way other than with violence?

Gabe Howard: The use of force is problematic, especially when you consider the use of force on sick people. I’m obviously seeing the world very much through the eyes of somebody living with bipolar disorder. I was in crisis. I think about how close I came to having the police called on me. And I’m so very lucky that the people who were surrounding me were able to deescalate, control and, of course, didn’t feel threatened. You and I have talked about this before, Lisa. I don’t know why you didn’t call the police on me when I thought there were demons under my bed, I.

Lisa Kiner: Because I didn’t feel threatened.

Gabe Howard: I don’t understand why you didn’t feel threatened, but let’s put that on the back burner for a moment. You, of course, had a history with me.

Lisa Kiner: Yeah, you were not a stranger.

Gabe Howard: Imagine if I had thought the demons were under the cash register at Wal-Mart?

Lisa Kiner: Right.

Gabe Howard: You know, I’m a large guy, I’m six foot three, 250 pounds, broad shouldered, and I’m screaming that there are demons in the cash register to a 19 year old who’s working the evening shift at the local supermarket. That would seem very threatening. And I’m sure that the police would be called. And I just don’t like the idea that the first thing that they would do upon seeing this loud, screaming, mentally ill man is tase me or tackle me or worse. I don’t know that the person picking up the phone and calling would say, hello, 911 operator, I believe that we have a mentally ill man here. I think that they would say that we have a violent asshole threatening a teenage girl. And how would they know to send the mental health team?

Lisa Kiner: Well, that’s why we’re hoping that all police officers would have this training, and it’s kind of like a triage type thing, right? You don’t have a surgeon standing at the gate of the emergency room. You have a trained person, usually a nurse, who can assess whether or not to immediately send you to the surgeon or tell you to go wait for your turn. The idea being that all police officers would have this ability to kind of triage the situation to say to themselves, huh, that’s mental illness, and then call the appropriate response. That once they figure out what’s going on, they can turn this over to someone else, someone with either more or different qualifications.

Gabe Howard: I like that, I like that a lot. I do feel the need to be extraordinarily thankful to all of the police officers who have gone through CIT since in many municipalities, it is not mandatory.

Lisa Kiner: Including here in Columbus.

Gabe Howard: Yeah, including here in my state. Which means the police officers who have done it have volunteered. They have decided that there is value in learning how to help people with mental health issues in a way other than what they’ve already learned. I sincerely am so grateful for police officers who have taken that extra step because they don’t have to.

Lisa Kiner: But it’s not entirely altruistic. They also see the utility in it. It’s not just about people wanting to be nice to people with mental illness. It’s also about wanting to be safe themselves, not wanting these situations to get out of control, about not wanting bad things to happen. This isn’t just a benefit to people living with mental illness. This is a benefit to everyone, including police officers.

Gabe Howard: I have mad respect for the police officers who realize that. Who realize that they can learn more and help their community in a better way. Somebody with mental illness who is in a mental health crisis is most likely going to be seen by a police officer before anybody else. That training is not required, even though it is understood that people with a mental health crisis will be seen by a police officer before anybody

else. That’s really the only take away that you need to understand. Right?

Lisa Kiner: There’s a lot of weird stuff that happens in society that makes no sense.

Gabe Howard: Yeah, yeah, if Gabe gets sick, they’re sending the police. Are they going to train the police? Nope.

Lisa Kiner: Well, maybe.

Gabe Howard: If the police officer sees the utility in it and has the introspection, the understanding and the time to sign up for CIT training all by themselves, the bottom line is I hope that any law enforcement, first responder or politician listening to this will understand that mental health training is vital, period. We learned so much from Gabriel Nathan that we decided to do another show with him over on The Psych Central Podcast. And you can find that show on your favorite podcast player, just search for The Psych Central Podcast. Or you can go to PsychCentral.com/Show, and it will be there on Thursday. And Gabriel talks about the suicide rate among law enforcement. Forget about protecting people like me with mental health issues and bipolar disorder. Forget about all of that. The suicide rate among first responders.

Lisa Kiner: It’s quite shocking that more police officers will die by suicide this year than will be killed in the line of duty. A lot more

Gabe Howard: Yeah, by a lot,

Lisa Kiner: Almost three times.

Gabe Howard: It made us do an entire another episode on an entire other podcast hosted by me, so please go to PsychCentral.com/Show or look for The Psych Central Podcast on your favorite podcast player. And listen to more from Gabriel Nathan, the executive director of OC87 and one of the people behind Beneath the Vest: First Responder Mental Health. Lisa, are you ready to get out of here?

Lisa Kiner: I think we’re good to go. Thanks again to Gabriel Nathan for being here with

us.

Gabe Howard: All right, everybody, here’s what we need you to do. Please subscribe to Not Crazy on your favorite podcast player. Rank us, review us, use your words and type in why you like the show. This really helps us a lot. Share us on social media and also tell people why to listen. We love doing this show for you and you can help us out greatly just by doing those simple things.

Lisa Kiner: And we’ll see you next Tuesday.

Announcer: You’ve been listening to the Not Crazy Podcast from Psych Central. For free mental health resources and online support groups, visit PsychCentral.com. Not Crazy’s official website is PsychCentral.com/NotCrazy. To work with Gabe, go to gabehoward.com. Want to see Gabe and me in person? Not Crazy travels well. Have us record an episode live at your next event. E-mail [email protected] for details.

Gabe: Hey Not Crazy Fans! We are so cool our outtakes have sponsors! We want to give a shout out to Southern Cross University. Learn about mental health risk factors in older people at https://online.scu.edu.au/blog/risk-factors-mental-illness-older-people/. Check them both out and tell them Not Crazy sent you!

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ashley-unicorn · 4 years

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Podcast: Is Police (CIT) Crises Training Needed?

(Transcript Available Below)

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Computer Generated Transcript for “Gabriel Nathan- CIT Training” Episode

Editor’s Note: Please be mindful that this transcript has been computer generated and therefore may contain inaccuracies and grammar errors. Thank you.

Gabe Howard: Hey, everyone, my name is Gabe Howard, I am the host of the Not Crazy podcast and I am here with Lisa Kiner.

Lisa Kiner: Hey, everyone, and today’s quote is by John F. Kennedy, The rights of every man are diminished when the rights of one man are threatened.

Lisa Kiner: I think that’s just human nature. Everybody thinks that only good things are going to be coming to them and any bad things out there are going to be going to other people.

Lisa Kiner: It seems like a pretty unreal statement.

Lisa Kiner: Yes, and from your version of what you and Gabriel talked about, I am really interested to hear what he has to say.

Gabe Howard: All right, Lisa, I think we’re ready to bring Gabriel on. Gabriel, welcome to the show.

Gabriel Nathan: Hi, and thanks for having me. It’s great to be here.

Gabriel Nathan: I think zero involvement is perhaps not quite accurate.

Gabe Howard: Ok.

Gabriel Nathan: Yes, right.

Gabriel Nathan: Sure.

Gabe Howard: I suppose the real question, if not CIT, what?

Gabe Howard: I do.

Gabe Howard: Or they may be somebody who is just not trained.

Lisa Kiner: Interesting, no, I would agree with you on that completely

Gabe Howard: The police force, or society has decided that the police respond to people with mental illness and we’ve got this one little program that people we had to advocate for.

Gabriel Nathan: Right, right.

Gabe Howard: Remember, police have been responding to people in a mental health crisis since before CIT.

Gabriel Nathan: Absolutely.

Gabe Howard: And we had to convince them that it was a good idea to train the responders. I just.

Gabe Howard: Ok, gotcha, gotcha.

Gabriel Nathan: Of course.

Gabe Howard: The belief of the general public is that CIT is mandatory for all officers.

Gabriel Nathan: Correct. Right. Yes.

Lisa Kiner: You talked about the changing nature of police work, what’s up with that? How is police work changing and why?

Lisa Kiner: I didn’t think about that one.

Gabe Howard: Well, it’s the same thing with children. I have often thought of that as well. If I call Children’s Services right now on my neighbor, they send a social worker.

Gabriel Nathan: Right.

Gabriel Nathan: Mm-hmm.

Gabe Howard: They’re investigating whether or not these people are child abusers.

Gabriel Nathan: Right.

Gabe Howard: And that can be done by somebody with absolutely no protection, no weapon, no anything.

Gabriel Nathan: And there may very well be a gun in that house.

Lisa Kiner: That’s a good point.

Gabriel Nathan: Right.

Gabe Howard: And, of course, you’re messing with people’s children.

Lisa Kiner: We’ll be right back after these messages.

Lisa Kiner: And we’re back with Gabriel Nathan talking about police response to people with mental illness.

Gabriel Nathan: Right.

Gabe Howard: When Gabe Howard is having a mental health crisis, I need, like, I personally want somebody to save me. We can all agree with that.

Gabriel Nathan: Absolutely.

Gabe Howard: So who’s coming?

Lisa Kiner: I didn’t consider that.

Gabriel Nathan: Yeah.

Gabe Howard: Please watch it, it’s incredible. And you interviewed first responders. It’s not Gabriel talking. It’s actual first responders.

Gabe Howard: Yeah, OC87 Recovery Diariesis a nonprofit, they survive by donations, please, if you see value in what they do, support them because they are worth it.

Gabriel Nathan: Thank you.

Gabe Howard: Ok. Gabriel, thank you so much for being here. To our listeners, hang on, as soon as we get rid of Gabriel, we’re going to talk behind his back.

Lisa Kiner: Well, again, it’s not behind his back because he can listen to it later.

Gabe Howard: That is very true,

Lisa Kiner: You keep forgetting that part.

Gabe Howard: Gabriel, thank you. Thank you once again.

Lisa Kiner: Oh, thank you so much.

Gabriel Nathan: It’s a privilege. Thank you for having me on.

Gabe Howard: Lisa, were there any aha moments for you?

Lisa Kiner: I really hadn’t thought about, why is that the default, reflexive thing that you do? In this situation to call the police? Why is that?

Gabe Howard: I don’t know.

Lisa Kiner: Why do we as Americans do that? And, yeah, I don’t know either.

Lisa Kiner: Right.

Gabe Howard: Lending credence, of course, to Gabriel Nathan’s point that police officers should be out of this entirely.

Gabe Howard: Oh, yeah, I don’t think that either.

Lisa Kiner: He’s not saying that we should not train police officers to de-escalate or that we should not train police officers to handle people with mental illness. He’s saying that

Lisa Kiner: Because I didn’t feel threatened.

Gabe Howard: I don’t understand why you didn’t feel threatened, but let’s put that on the back burner for a moment. You, of course, had a history with me.

Lisa Kiner: Yeah, you were not a stranger.

Gabe Howard: Imagine if I had thought the demons were under the cash register at Wal-Mart?

Lisa Kiner: Right.

Lisa Kiner: Including here in Columbus.

else. That’s really the only take away that you need to understand. Right?

Lisa Kiner: There’s a lot of weird stuff that happens in society that makes no sense.

Gabe Howard: Yeah, yeah, if Gabe gets sick, they’re sending the police. Are they going to train the police? Nope.

Lisa Kiner: Well, maybe.

Lisa Kiner: It’s quite shocking that more police officers will die by suicide this year than will be killed in the line of duty. A lot more

Gabe Howard: Yeah, by a lot,

Lisa Kiner: Almost three times.

Lisa Kiner: I think we’re good to go. Thanks again to Gabriel Nathan for being here with

us.

Lisa Kiner: And we’ll see you next Tuesday.

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aion-rsa · 3 years

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The Simpsons Season 32 Episode 15 Review: Do PizzaBots Dream of Electric Guitars?

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This The Simpsons review contains spoilers.

The Simpsons Season 32 Episode 15

The Simpsons Season 32, episode 15, “Do PizzaBots Dream of Electric Guitars?,” is a reaffirmation of all things Simpson. It is off the rails as far as timelines go, but captures the classic subversion of all things sacred. The episode is about rekindling the sparks of youth which have burned out and the destruction of memory, specifically childhood memories. The first thing the episode tackles is what we know about the Simpson family.

The episode opens in a flashback to the 1990s, when Homer was a teenager at his first job. Of course, we know he’s actually already married with two kids, and starring on a show which has been on TV since 1989 at this point in his life, but after 32 seasons of The Simpsons, there are only so many satirical scenarios left to dredge for a backstory. In this timeline we get to see Hip Hop Homer, aspiring DJ and lover of the Humpty dance. Abe thinks his son is wasting his life. The premise of the opening segment is the 8 Mile story, which The Simpsons has mined before for inspiration. It’s crystal Pepsi clear.

Non-canonical episodes of The Simpsons are very often series highlights. The “Treehouse of Horror” episodes consistently rank at the top of every season. The writers don’t have to deal with everyday terrors like character continuity, or fit into any timeline. Springfield residents can be dispensed at whim, and not just Hans Moleman, who can be killed in any manner of ways during a regular episode, occasionally more than once.

Gil Gunderson is another ultimately disposable character. Here we get a faux backstory to spice up the 8 Mile premise. Homer is working at a specialty pizza parlor in this episode, setting up mechanical robots who sing for kids. When a birthday brat ruins one, it’s showtime for the teen rapper. Homer “knows all the Ices, from Cube to T,” but his opening cut is “Slice, Slice Baby,” which he heavily samples from Vanilla Ice. Homer uses it to upsell pizzas, even finding a rhyme for Calamari olives. He ends with a plug for Canadian bacon which, on pizza, is very Vanilla Ice.

At the height of the pizzatainment, Gil’s place is shut down by the feds, because there were drugs stashed in the robot musicians. Homer’s dream is dashed. He loved those pizza-bots. We learn it’s just a memory Homer’s repressed, but remembering it wrecks him. Marge can’t stand to see him this way. He’s lost his youthful spirit. She can tell because he no longer shuffles his pancakes or butt races the dog on the carpet. Moe can sense something is wrong because Homer doesn’t spin Barnie on his barstool anymore, or drink beer from a crazy straw.

Bart and Lisa can tell because Moe and Marge agree on something. Also, because it makes sense. Rapping pizza robots “is a very dad kind of trauma.”

Putting the band back together makes for some classic comic sequences. The kids track Gil to Skid Row in Hollywood, where he remembers the incident in a completely subverted way. Back then, the whole world was his nostril, the drugs sold themselves, and he’s just waiting for a chance to pull himself together and sell more drugs. Disco Stu, who is a collector of disco memorabilia, owns the Jive Turkeys from the display. His mother, Public Domain Debbie, mocks her son for obsessing over the worst music craze ever inflicted on America, and frets over what his father, Doo-Wop Steve, would think.

Professor Frink owns the mechanical beaver. His segment comes second but it is the comic high point of the episode. Of course he understands the connection with mechanical friends. His own mechanical friends only want, well, the punch line, which almost makes you miss the opening of Moe’s wonderful Colombo spoof. He’s even wearing a raincoat, and spins back with one more thing, some WD-40 and an Enrique Iglesias record could only mean the last member of the mechanical band has been turned into a sex robot. Upon being outsmarted, Sideshow Mel provides a perfect Colombo villain denouement. He applauds the effort, very slowly. It is clever and funny, but lands perfectly after the Frink highpoint.

J.J. Abrams is the guest star and his quest to provide ageless marvels ultimately delivers the episode’s deepest cynicism. His sycophants have to keep him in a childlike state of wonder and constant whimsy, tracking down 1982 quarters and providing other emotional comforts. Lisa and Bart get into his offices with the kinds of “super vague” promises the Abrams enterprise considers its prime directive. But when they steal the last pizza bot, on little Star Wars robot wheels no less, they have taken too big a bite on the kitsch.

Even Homer is appalled, because stealing from a celebrity is, by law, equivalent to murdering “a dozen normies.” This is wonderful underhanded commentary, the likes of which goes back to the best of the series, since its beginning. Abrams, as himself, makes it worse by not only taking the actual mechanical musicians, but destroying everything Homer loves about them by planning a robot reboot franchise in a nine-movie arc. It’s set to open March 30th, “the new Fourth of July.” Ruining childhoods is what Abrams does best. He really is a bad robot.

Homer and Comic Book Guy have such a wonderful bonding you can actually see Homer turning into the trolling collectible collector by the climax. They meet to eat, in this case their feelings, which includes chocolate frosty depression and a hot apple cry. The sadness swallowers commiserate over ruined childhood memories, like Sonic the Hedgehog’s creepy human teeth. It is deliciously warped by how touching it turns out to be.

No matter how good determination tastes, Homer can neither save his childhood nor stop the robot reboot. Too many animators went blind to make it. Homer hilariously notes “the reimagining is worse than I could’ve imagined.” The movie stars “whoever was famous eight months ago.” In the trailer, the “Agents of Pizza” promise they’ll “save the world in 90 minutes or the movie is free.” The whole movie setup sequence is a giggle.

The Simpsons revert to their irreverent roots. Movie protesters hold signs reminding people “Some of us are women” and “unrelease the Snyder cut.” Abe admits being a terrible father is a generational thing. Men his age could only love sports stars and cars, and his dream child would have been a 1963 impala SS Sport Coupe.

The conclusion seals the episode as a classic. Not only does Homer lovingly blame Abe for every horrible memory of his young life, his own kids admit they can’t wait to burn the memories of their childhoods from their brains. The readings on lines like “it was always him sucking,” “I hate you dad,” and “forget you’re terrible parents” are exquisitely inverted emotionally. The “Troll Force Five” epilogue uses Comic Book Man and his clan very well.

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“Do PizzaBots Dream of Electric Guitars?” is the best episode of the season so far, and a classic installment to The Simpsons repertoire. Clearly up to par with the best of the classics. It is so satisfying, it feels as if it was individually made to suit me, just like J.J. Abrams would’ve done.

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positivepsychologyinterventions · 4 years

Text

Podcast: Is Police (CIT) Crises Training Needed?

(Transcript Available Below)

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And Please Remember to Rate & Review Us!

Guest Information for ‘Gabriel Nathan- CIT Training’ Podcast Episode

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Computer Generated Transcript for “Gabriel Nathan- CIT Training” Episode

Editor’s Note: Please be mindful that this transcript has been computer generated and therefore may contain inaccuracies and grammar errors. Thank you.

Gabe Howard: Hey, everyone, my name is Gabe Howard, I am the host of the Not Crazy podcast and I am here with Lisa Kiner.

Lisa Kiner: Hey, everyone, and today’s quote is by John F. Kennedy, The rights of every man are diminished when the rights of one man are threatened.

Lisa Kiner: I think that’s just human nature. Everybody thinks that only good things are going to be coming to them and any bad things out there are going to be going to other people.

Lisa Kiner: It seems like a pretty unreal statement.

Lisa Kiner: Yes, and from your version of what you and Gabriel talked about, I am really interested to hear what he has to say.

Gabe Howard: All right, Lisa, I think we’re ready to bring Gabriel on. Gabriel, welcome to the show.

Gabriel Nathan: Hi, and thanks for having me. It’s great to be here.

Gabriel Nathan: I think zero involvement is perhaps not quite accurate.

Gabe Howard: Ok.

Gabriel Nathan: Yes, right.

Gabriel Nathan: Sure.

Gabe Howard: I suppose the real question, if not CIT, what?

Gabe Howard: I do.

Gabe Howard: Or they may be somebody who is just not trained.

Lisa Kiner: Interesting, no, I would agree with you on that completely

Gabe Howard: The police force, or society has decided that the police respond to people with mental illness and we’ve got this one little program that people we had to advocate for.

Gabriel Nathan: Right, right.

Gabe Howard: Remember, police have been responding to people in a mental health crisis since before CIT.

Gabriel Nathan: Absolutely.

Gabe Howard: And we had to convince them that it was a good idea to train the responders. I just.

Gabe Howard: Ok, gotcha, gotcha.

Gabriel Nathan: Of course.

Gabe Howard: The belief of the general public is that CIT is mandatory for all officers.

Gabriel Nathan: Correct. Right. Yes.

Lisa Kiner: You talked about the changing nature of police work, what’s up with that? How is police work changing and why?

Lisa Kiner: I didn’t think about that one.

Gabe Howard: Well, it’s the same thing with children. I have often thought of that as well. If I call Children’s Services right now on my neighbor, they send a social worker.

Gabriel Nathan: Right.

Gabriel Nathan: Mm-hmm.

Gabe Howard: They’re investigating whether or not these people are child abusers.

Gabriel Nathan: Right.

Gabe Howard: And that can be done by somebody with absolutely no protection, no weapon, no anything.

Gabriel Nathan: And there may very well be a gun in that house.

Lisa Kiner: That’s a good point.

Gabriel Nathan: Right.

Gabe Howard: And, of course, you’re messing with people’s children.

Lisa Kiner: We’ll be right back after these messages.

Lisa Kiner: And we’re back with Gabriel Nathan talking about police response to people with mental illness.

Gabriel Nathan: Right.

Gabe Howard: When Gabe Howard is having a mental health crisis, I need, like, I personally want somebody to save me. We can all agree with that.

Gabriel Nathan: Absolutely.

Gabe Howard: So who’s coming?

Lisa Kiner: I didn’t consider that.

Gabriel Nathan: Yeah.

Gabe Howard: Please watch it, it’s incredible. And you interviewed first responders. It’s not Gabriel talking. It’s actual first responders.

Gabe Howard: Yeah, OC87 Recovery Diariesis a nonprofit, they survive by donations, please, if you see value in what they do, support them because they are worth it.

Gabriel Nathan: Thank you.

Gabe Howard: Ok. Gabriel, thank you so much for being here. To our listeners, hang on, as soon as we get rid of Gabriel, we’re going to talk behind his back.

Lisa Kiner: Well, again, it’s not behind his back because he can listen to it later.

Gabe Howard: That is very true,

Lisa Kiner: You keep forgetting that part.

Gabe Howard: Gabriel, thank you. Thank you once again.

Lisa Kiner: Oh, thank you so much.

Gabriel Nathan: It’s a privilege. Thank you for having me on.

Gabe Howard: Lisa, were there any aha moments for you?

Lisa Kiner: I really hadn’t thought about, why is that the default, reflexive thing that you do? In this situation to call the police? Why is that?

Gabe Howard: I don’t know.

Lisa Kiner: Why do we as Americans do that? And, yeah, I don’t know either.

Lisa Kiner: Right.

Gabe Howard: Lending credence, of course, to Gabriel Nathan’s point that police officers should be out of this entirely.

Gabe Howard: Oh, yeah, I don’t think that either.

Lisa Kiner: He’s not saying that we should not train police officers to de-escalate or that we should not train police officers to handle people with mental illness. He’s saying that

Lisa Kiner: Because I didn’t feel threatened.

Gabe Howard: I don’t understand why you didn’t feel threatened, but let’s put that on the back burner for a moment. You, of course, had a history with me.

Lisa Kiner: Yeah, you were not a stranger.

Gabe Howard: Imagine if I had thought the demons were under the cash register at Wal-Mart?

Lisa Kiner: Right.

Lisa Kiner: Including here in Columbus.

else. That’s really the only take away that you need to understand. Right?

Lisa Kiner: There’s a lot of weird stuff that happens in society that makes no sense.

Gabe Howard: Yeah, yeah, if Gabe gets sick, they’re sending the police. Are they going to train the police? Nope.

Lisa Kiner: Well, maybe.

Lisa Kiner: It’s quite shocking that more police officers will die by suicide this year than will be killed in the line of duty. A lot more

Gabe Howard: Yeah, by a lot,

Lisa Kiner: Almost three times.

Lisa Kiner: I think we’re good to go. Thanks again to Gabriel Nathan for being here with

us.

Lisa Kiner: And we’ll see you next Tuesday.

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brentrogers · 4 years

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Podcast: Is Police (CIT) Crises Training Needed?

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Gabe Howard: Hey, everyone, my name is Gabe Howard, I am the host of the Not Crazy podcast and I am here with Lisa Kiner.

Lisa Kiner: Hey, everyone, and today’s quote is by John F. Kennedy, The rights of every man are diminished when the rights of one man are threatened.

Lisa Kiner: I think that’s just human nature. Everybody thinks that only good things are going to be coming to them and any bad things out there are going to be going to other people.

Lisa Kiner: It seems like a pretty unreal statement.

Lisa Kiner: Yes, and from your version of what you and Gabriel talked about, I am really interested to hear what he has to say.

Gabe Howard: All right, Lisa, I think we’re ready to bring Gabriel on. Gabriel, welcome to the show.

Gabriel Nathan: Hi, and thanks for having me. It’s great to be here.

Gabriel Nathan: I think zero involvement is perhaps not quite accurate.

Gabe Howard: Ok.

Gabriel Nathan: Yes, right.

Gabriel Nathan: Sure.

Gabe Howard: I suppose the real question, if not CIT, what?

Gabe Howard: I do.

Gabe Howard: Or they may be somebody who is just not trained.

Lisa Kiner: Interesting, no, I would agree with you on that completely

Gabe Howard: The police force, or society has decided that the police respond to people with mental illness and we’ve got this one little program that people we had to advocate for.

Gabriel Nathan: Right, right.

Gabe Howard: Remember, police have been responding to people in a mental health crisis since before CIT.

Gabriel Nathan: Absolutely.

Gabe Howard: And we had to convince them that it was a good idea to train the responders. I just.

Gabe Howard: Ok, gotcha, gotcha.

Gabriel Nathan: Of course.

Gabe Howard: The belief of the general public is that CIT is mandatory for all officers.

Gabriel Nathan: Correct. Right. Yes.

Lisa Kiner: You talked about the changing nature of police work, what’s up with that? How is police work changing and why?

Lisa Kiner: I didn’t think about that one.

Gabe Howard: Well, it’s the same thing with children. I have often thought of that as well. If I call Children’s Services right now on my neighbor, they send a social worker.

Gabriel Nathan: Right.

Gabriel Nathan: Mm-hmm.

Gabe Howard: They’re investigating whether or not these people are child abusers.

Gabriel Nathan: Right.

Gabe Howard: And that can be done by somebody with absolutely no protection, no weapon, no anything.

Gabriel Nathan: And there may very well be a gun in that house.

Lisa Kiner: That’s a good point.

Gabriel Nathan: Right.

Gabe Howard: And, of course, you’re messing with people’s children.

Lisa Kiner: We’ll be right back after these messages.

Lisa Kiner: And we’re back with Gabriel Nathan talking about police response to people with mental illness.

Gabriel Nathan: Right.

Gabe Howard: When Gabe Howard is having a mental health crisis, I need, like, I personally want somebody to save me. We can all agree with that.

Gabriel Nathan: Absolutely.

Gabe Howard: So who’s coming?

Lisa Kiner: I didn’t consider that.

Gabriel Nathan: Yeah.

Gabe Howard: Please watch it, it’s incredible. And you interviewed first responders. It’s not Gabriel talking. It’s actual first responders.

Gabe Howard: Yeah, OC87 Recovery Diariesis a nonprofit, they survive by donations, please, if you see value in what they do, support them because they are worth it.

Gabriel Nathan: Thank you.

Gabe Howard: Ok. Gabriel, thank you so much for being here. To our listeners, hang on, as soon as we get rid of Gabriel, we’re going to talk behind his back.

Lisa Kiner: Well, again, it’s not behind his back because he can listen to it later.

Gabe Howard: That is very true,

Lisa Kiner: You keep forgetting that part.

Gabe Howard: Gabriel, thank you. Thank you once again.

Lisa Kiner: Oh, thank you so much.

Gabriel Nathan: It’s a privilege. Thank you for having me on.

Gabe Howard: Lisa, were there any aha moments for you?

Lisa Kiner: I really hadn’t thought about, why is that the default, reflexive thing that you do? In this situation to call the police? Why is that?

Gabe Howard: I don’t know.

Lisa Kiner: Why do we as Americans do that? And, yeah, I don’t know either.

Lisa Kiner: Right.

Gabe Howard: Lending credence, of course, to Gabriel Nathan’s point that police officers should be out of this entirely.

Gabe Howard: Oh, yeah, I don’t think that either.

Lisa Kiner: He’s not saying that we should not train police officers to de-escalate or that we should not train police officers to handle people with mental illness. He’s saying that

Lisa Kiner: Because I didn’t feel threatened.

Gabe Howard: I don’t understand why you didn’t feel threatened, but let’s put that on the back burner for a moment. You, of course, had a history with me.

Lisa Kiner: Yeah, you were not a stranger.

Gabe Howard: Imagine if I had thought the demons were under the cash register at Wal-Mart?

Lisa Kiner: Right.

Lisa Kiner: Including here in Columbus.

else. That’s really the only take away that you need to understand. Right?

Lisa Kiner: There’s a lot of weird stuff that happens in society that makes no sense.

Gabe Howard: Yeah, yeah, if Gabe gets sick, they’re sending the police. Are they going to train the police? Nope.

Lisa Kiner: Well, maybe.

Lisa Kiner: It’s quite shocking that more police officers will die by suicide this year than will be killed in the line of duty. A lot more

Gabe Howard: Yeah, by a lot,

Lisa Kiner: Almost three times.

Lisa Kiner: I think we’re good to go. Thanks again to Gabriel Nathan for being here with

us.

Lisa Kiner: And we’ll see you next Tuesday.

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di-sss-learning-engineering · 4 years

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How to Improve Memory for Studying in 27 Ways Sometimes it feels impossible to remember everything thrown at you during college. Between the major battles of the Crimean War, partial derivatives, and the life cycle of the western gymnosperm, how do you keep it all in your head? But it turns out that with the right tools, you can drastically improve your ability to learn and retain the mountains of information necessary to succeed both in college and beyond. So read on and I’ll teach you 27 awesome memory hacks that will help you achieve this! 1. Your Brain 101 The human brain is an efficient organ, and sometimes we don’t keep information that we later wish we had. Our minds are full of memories and information accumulated over a lifetime, and we have basically two types of memory to help organize all this stuff: a) Short-term memory = things we’re doing right now; very sharp! b) Long-term memory = things we’ve done in the past; much duller. The goal here is to better encode information into your long-term memory so that it’ll be available later for, say, a pop quiz or test. I’ll talk about specific techniques to help you do this coming up. 2. Set the Scene Start off with choosing a study spot where your focus can rest fully on the task at hand to help with the encoding of memory. Even if you think you’re a multi-tasking ninja, your conscious mind can only focus on one thing at a time. So eliminate any distractions. A quiet room with good lighting is best for reading. In a classroom, the ideal scenario is taking notes with pen and paper. Or if you’re a laptop note taker, at least shut off any notifications from popping up to remind you that you’ve gone fifteen minutes without checking Facebook! Look: Failing to prepare yourself to learn will render most of the following tricks and tips useless. We know life isn’t perfect, and you can’t always have the ideal setting available for studying. But with a little advance planning, it’s absolutely doable. 3. Be Present If you can restate what you’ve heard in a lecture in your own words, your chances of remembering later are much higher than if you listen passively. This is called “attending,” and there are many ways to do it: writing notes during a lecture instead of just listening, or in a one-on-one session with your prof saying “This is what I think you said…” and then putting it in your own words. Just be sure that your laptop and other distractions are put away to enable you to focus solely on the task at hand. 4. Keep Calm and Study On Stress decreases your ability to encode and retrieve memories. My guess is that if you’re reading this article, then that’s the last thing you want to do! This stress impact can be reduced with meditation, focused breathing, or even yoga. Anything you do to relax and reduce stress can and likely will help your memory. 5. Go to Bed Yes, your mom was right. Those all-nighters are doing you more harm than good. While you may think the extra hours of studying will get you the grade you want, studies have proven that sleep is vital for memory. One such study completed by Rasch and Born demonstrated the importance of REM sleep—the deepest stage in the sleep cycle—in stabilizing memories. Getting enough sleep every night and maintaining as regular a sleep and wake time as possible will go miles toward a better memory. 6. Exercise A good workout won’t just help your memory, but it may reduce stress and help you sleep. Triple whammy! This doesn’t mean you need to spend an hour on the treadmill every day. Simply electing to take the stairs instead of the elevator or walking the three blocks to your favorite coffee shop instead of taking the bus can make a difference. 7. Outsource Your Brain Know a great way to help your memory? Stop relying on your brain to remember every little detail. In the age of calendar apps, let your phone remember that dentist appointment. You focus on the power rule for your calculus exam. 8. Focus on the Learning Process Let’s face it: Nothing can replace the time you put in effectively studying and learning new material. Studying early and often will always beat last-minute cramming. But inevitably with all the things competing for your time in college, you’ll find yourself the night before a test wondering how you’re ever going to get all that information in your head. That’s why I’m going to focus the rest of the tips on some specific techniques that can be real life savers for speeding up the memorization process. 9. Acronyms You’ve likely heard of PEMDAS, the acronym that helped us all to memorize the order of operations in elementary school. By remembering this made-up word, you can recall the sequence of words that align with each letter: Parentheses, Exponents, Multiplication, Division, Addition, and Subtraction. Try making up your own acronyms as easy shortcuts to memorizing everything from historical events to chemical processes. 10. Acrostics Similarly, acrostics are words comprised of the first letters of other words. But typically you use them to join longer phrases or concepts. For a simple example, if you’re studying the Gettysburg Address, you might make an acrostic that looks like this: Abraham Lincoln delivered it on November 19, 1863 Because he wanted to honor Union soldiers who had fallen at the Battle of Gettsyburg Equality, freedom, and democracy were its main themes 11. Create Connections and Associations Connecting something you know to a new concept you’re trying to learn can help fix that new concept in your memory. For example, knowing that gravity causes things to move faster and faster toward the Earth when dropped, you may associate acceleration with gravity. Acceleration is like gravity but can be in any direction. 12. Repetition (Listening) We all memorize through repetition when we listen to our favorite song a hundred times and suddenly realize we know every word. In the same way, when you listen to a definition you’re trying to memorize as either you or a friend repeat it over and over, then you’ll remember it more quickly. 13. Repetition (Doing) This method is common with musicians and athletes. Perhaps a violinist can’t seem to memorize a few measures of music; she might repeat the same notes until her fingers seem to play the notes on their own. 14. Repetition (Reading) If you want to remember the order of a story for a presentation, it may help to read its summary several times. When you reach the point of knowing what’s about to happen before you read it, then you know you’ve memorized the order of events. 15. Repetition (Writing) When it comes to things like new terms and spelling differences, sometimes writing and re-writing something until it becomes second nature can help you to memorize it. 16. Rhyme-Keys This method typically is used with a list in which order is important. You first link each number to a word that rhymes with it. For example, number one could be “sun”, and two could be “blue”. To keep two things in order, you might tell a story with these rhyme-keys. If butter is first and cheese is second, then you could tell the following little story to remember: “The butter melts in the sun with the blue cheese.” 17. Visualize Engage as many senses as you can. Maybe you want to remember a battle for your European history class. Close your eyes and think about the sequence of events. What happened first? Imagine it. Imagine the sound the boats made as they raced toward the shore. What happened second? Imagine the sound of the cannons as they were fired. What happened third? Smell the smoke of a fire. Engage as many of your senses as you can. When you recall that first event, go through the same process until you’ve memorized it. 18. Story Lines Engage the narrative part of your brain. Create a story or dramatize one you already know. Maybe you need to remember a chemical reaction. Give the carbon and hydrogen a story! For example, tell the story of their breakup and new relationships. By making these mundane things into characters, you give yourself new things to remember about them—and maybe have a little fun doing it too. This method has saved students when they had to remember dozens of physics formulas! 19. Chunking Our working, or short-term, memories can only retain five to nine pieces of information at a time. To make the best use of this memory limitation, we can remember the same number of chunks of information instead. For example, as opposed to thinking of each digit of a phone number individually, we tend to think of them in groups. This turns a 10-digit number into three chunks, helping us to memorize it. This idea would help us remember eight numbers by thinking of them as two years. For example, 18421963 becomes 1842 and 1963 as opposed to 1-8-4-2-1-9-6-3. See how that works? Chunking is effective for short-term memorization. 20. Scent Yes, you read that right. Studies such as one conducted by Anne-Lise Saive, Jean-Pierre Royet, and Jane Plailly have shown that smells can evoke memories. These memories are typically more likely to be sensations or situations rather than specific facts (episodic memory). So, if you were to always chew mint gum in your biology class, while it may not help you directly to remember the chemical formula for glucose, it will evoke the memory of being in that classroom, which may in turn help you recall that formula. 21. Method of Loci This method is also known as the “mind palace.” Imagine you’re walking through your very own castle. You greet George Washington as you step into the foyer, and you greet Barack Obama as you step out of the back door after meeting each of the presidents in various locations in between. You remember the order of the rooms you walked through, and by mentally placing the presidents in those rooms by chronological order, you’ll visualize your way into an A on that presidential history quiz. 22. Image-Name Associations That girl who lives down the hall—maybe it’s Bess? You know you won’t remember her name alone, but you notice she has hair so long you wonder how she buttons her jeans. You now think of her as “Bess whose hair’s a mess,” and now you’ve associated a defining feature with her name, which will help you remember it. This could work in other situations as well, say, for a historical figure or world leaders on a political science test. 23. Chaining When you have a series or “chain” of things to memorize, you can utilize your visual memory despite having verbal ideas to remember. To do this, you can make up a story as silly or as realistic as you want to chain the unrelated ideas together. For example, three monkeys made a point of going in one roller coaster cart for four different rides. One of these rides was so busy they had five monkeys in one cart. This silly story helps you remember that the first several digits of pi are 3.1415 by chaining the numbers together. 24. Time It Right If you study before bed, your brain is better able to process that complicated information during sleep. Just know that this relies on you actually getting enough sleep to allow your brain to do its work. 25. Attach Emotion We often remember embarrassing or negative emotions more so than positive ones. So we remember those things we first got wrong in a study group more than the things we could teach others. If you make a mistake in a math technique, the frustration may cause you to remember that you must make the other choice next time. This won’t work for things like city names, but it will work if you know it’s an A or B situation. 26. Organize If you organize a list of names you must remember in alphabetical order, you’ll more easily notice that you skipped a name if you’ve jumped from A names to C names without the name starting with B you wrote the night before. 27. Get Moving Walking or other gentle exercise allows us to occupy the part of our brain that is idle during resting study. Because we can walk without conscious thought, we let our conscious mind focus more fully on the issue at hand. At the end of the day, no memorization technique can replace strong study habits. However, if you need a memory boost before that final exam or peer review, these tools should do the trick! Sources/For More Information: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KHPJp_wK67g http://health.howstuffworks.com/human-body/systems/nervous-system/how-to-improve-your-memory10.htm https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/brain-babble/201501/smells-ring-bells-how-smell-triggers-memories-and-emotions http://crnlgerland.univ-lyon1.fr/spip.php?article105&lang=fr http://health.howstuffworks.com/human-body/systems/nervous-system/how-to-improve-your-memory7.htm https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23589831

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cliff-seeger-blog · 7 years

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Diane Arbus: The Empathy of Art

When I first became interested in photography, Diane Arbus was already an artist that I had admired. During my first couple years of high school I became interested in films and filmmaking. I didn’t really know how to learn about films at that age so I just watched as many films as I could. One of films was Manhattan by Woody Allen. There’s a scene in which he, Diane Keaton, and their respective dates are at an art gallery and are talking about a photography gallery that is downstairs. Keaton’s character Mary remarks that the whole gallery “was all derivative of Diane Arbus without any of the wit.” I obviously didn’t know what that meant at the time, so I paused the movie to see who this Arbus was. I instantly knew what she was talking about; it just clicked. The name has stayed with me for years and I imagine it will stay there.

Diane Arbus came from reasonably comfortable roots. She was born in 1923 to a Jewish couple that owned a successful department store, “Russek’s”, in New York City. This made her somewhat sequestered of the effects on America during The Great Depression of the 1930s. By the time she was 18, she married her childhood sweetheart, Allan Arbus. They both had interest in photographers and photography and began a photography business in Manhattan in 1946, often being employed to take photos of the store and products of “Russek’s”, Diane’s father’s department store. Arbus worked as a commercial photographer until 1956, and although her commercial work is certainly notable, it isn’t quite what she was remembered for and why she has such a legacy of both fame and infamy. After her commercial work, she started to go on more personal endeavors into photography. She was most known for taking photographs of less than exposed, undermined, unrepresented, or underappreciated members of America, and even just humanity. People like dwarves, midgets, transvestites, strippers, nudists, etc. However, to simply label her as a photographer of just “freaks” would be a disservice to her. Above all else she was a humanist photographer. Taking photos not only of the people but of human emotions and feelings in things that weren’t of the people themselves. She would be very intimate with her subjects, really getting to know them, often times revisiting them after years to take their photos again. She would go into their homes and capture them in their living rooms or on their beds, or perhaps at their jobs. She would even strip naked with the nudists when she photographed them. Arbus was able to capture true empathy in the camera because she had true empathy without it. Her first major exhibition that gave her a lot of recognition was an exhibit called “New Documents”. It was an exhibit in the Museum of Modern Art that was, as described by John Szarkowski, curator for MoMA, “a new generation of documentary photographers”. It showcased the works of Lee Friedlander, Garry Winogrand, and of course Diane Arbus. The exhibit was described as “photography that emphasized the pathos and conflicts of modern life presented without editorializing or sentimentalizing but with a critical, observant eye.” However, Arbus faced many depressive episodes and took her own life by ingesting barbiturates and slashing her wrists on July 26th, 1971. The collection of her work she still owned was inherited by her eldest daughter, Doon, which she put on display in Venice Biennale and then later as a posthumous retrospective at MoMA, slightly over a year after Arbus’ death.

Arbus’ body of work is probably more influential to me than that of any singular photographer or artist that I admire. Not only is it bold but above all else it’s respectful and it’s empathetic. She doesn’t hold a candle up to these people as if to say “look at them and laugh”, but as if to say “here we are”. There isn’t a drop of ill intent in her work and that is what documentary work is all about: documenting the world as it is without an agenda. Most of her photos are square, which is due to her taking photos with a Rolleiflex or Mamiya C33 at waist level. The square format is really interesting since it eliminates the concepts of landscapes or verticals. It is as freeing a format as it is limiting when all four borders of your frame are equidistant. Aesthetically speaking, her photos are as brash and in-your-face as her subject matter, which is said as a compliment. She gives a lot of the “freaks” she takes photos of a very harsh and dramatic lighting, even going so far as to use flash photography during daylight in order to capture this surreal quality in many of her portraits. That level of empathy that she has in her photographs has always stayed with me and is what I try to emulate and channel when taking my own photographs. In conclusion, I will include and talk about 10 of her images that vary from many of her series and years of her work to show the diversity in her style as well as how prolific of a photographer she was.

1. Albino Sword Swallower at a Carnival, MA 1970

A very formal photograph but the most interesting part to me was the background. The tent in the background is this structure that isn’t that large but still towering over her. You still see the scope of the tent because Arbus shows the top. It would’ve been a completely different photograph if she just shot the sword swallower dead-on or adjusted it so only the tent was in her viewfinder as nothing more than a backdrop. It would lose something there. There are so many different levels of contrast here with the large white truck and/or sky behind her being this bright white but the tent being so dark and then again with the swallower’s skin and the tent, and yet again a third time with her blouse and her skirt. It all works so evenly together contrast wise. However, we can’t forget the swallower herself, the subject of the frame. It evokes, to me, a very biblical feeling with the hilt of the sword and the posture of her in that of a crucifix. Also how the back of her knuckles hit the back of the tent which makes it cave in slightly creating this haunting effect as if she’s striking the canvas as she makes this pose of “ta-da”.

2. Child with a Toy Hand Grenade in Central Park, NYC, 1962

This is probably one of the most famous pictures Arbus has done. It depicts this boy: in one hand he has a grenade, and his other hand is a sort of clawing grasp. But perhaps the most notable thing is the strap of his overalls is folded over on the same hand that looks like a claw. His expression and his posture both give this feeling of exploding apart from the grenade in his hand. He feels like he’s bursting at the seams. The contrast of this one is also a lot lower than what she usually does; it’s great how the shadows of the trees lightly paint the ground of the park around him.

3. Christmas Tree in a Living Room in Levittown, Long Island, NY, 1963

This one I find interesting for a whole different reason. This completely pristine living room without any blemishes to speak of and in the center is this Christmas tree completely draped in tinsel and decorations. It’s the only thing decorated in the room, and what I could only assume also the whole house, and it’s squeezed into that corner even though there is what appears to be a window to the right of the frame where the light is coming in, a usual spot to display your tree from the inside out. It isn’t quite trapped in the corner but it isn’t exactly allowed to breathe either. The second part that interests me about it is the location the actual photograph was taken, Levittown. Levittown, NY, and a few others, were the first ever mass produced suburbs in America post World War II and became a turning point in American living and real estate. For the first time ever people had these affordable suburb homes en masse. Within the course of a year or two entire towns were built out of nothing and made into whole communities but each of these houses sort of lacked a sense of identity. They were nearly all identical architecturally and I find it interesting to wonder what the neighbors of this home looked like and I imagine how similar it’d be.

4. Girl in a Shiny Dress, NY, 1967

The girl isn’t quite bashful but she isn’t quite courageous either. From her posture to the look on her face and the way her dress hangs from her body, it all just feels so uncomfortable. Her smile is very put on but it’s as if she forgot to tell her eyes and the rest of her face to try and look happy as well. The flash really helps illuminate her dress to show the textures and they really are quite stunning. It’s hard to imagine her in any other state other than being frazzled the way she is.

5. Two Ladies at the Automat, NY, 1966

In addition to the freaks she regularly took photos of, there are a number of portraits Arbus took of aristocratic women, and sometimes men, of the time. Visually there is such a stark difference between two women like this and the Albino sword swallower, for example, but I believe Arbus found some similarities between the two social groups. In a quote Arbus says, “Most people go through life dreading they'll have a traumatic experience. Freaks were born with their trauma. They've already passed their test in life. They're aristocrats." As for the actual photo’s aesthetic, again we can see the high contrast in the clothes between the two women, not just in tone but in pattern was well. Their expressions are what I can only describe as “blissful befuddlement”. With their sculpted or painted on eyebrows and their emotionless eyes, I can’t really tell what they are feeling and how they feel about their picture being taken. It has a remarkably eerie quality to it.

6. Lady Bartender at Home with a Souvenir Dog, New Orleans, 1964

This is one of the few photos of Arbus where it feels like genuine comedy with very little restlessness. Although she’s sitting slightly uncomfortably with her hand and a very odd position, the comparison of the toy dog and her hair is just too perfect. You can’t help but chuckle, even if only slightly, upon seeing it.

7. A castle in Disneyland, CA, 1962

If ever there was an artist that could make a Disneyland fairytale-esque castle appear to be something out of a Nosferatu, it would be Diane Arbus. The photo is genuinely creepy in all aspects. It feels like it’s towering over you, the light shining up on the towers, and the sense of some sort of fog surrounding the castle. The only thing that breaks that eeriness is the swan swimming through the mote. It changes the mood from flat-out creepy to something more serene, while still giving you a sense of being uncomfortable or perhaps even a slight sense of danger.

8. Female Impersonator in bed, NY, 1960

This was one of many transvestites, strippers, hermaphrodites, or any other adult performers. To me this photo is another great example of Arbus’ empathy. She isn’t trying to exploit this person but to share a small moment. There is nothing provocative or sensational about this photograph. To me she is just day dreaming and longing for something better. It feels like real innocence.

9. Three Puerto Rican Ladies, NY, 1963

Arbus took a lot of photos of people in groups of twos and threes, often times showcasing either the similarities or differences between them. This I find to be a medium between the two. Obviously their hair is the same and so are their scowls, but their age and dress differ quite a bit. They are all looking at Arbus as if she’s some car wreck they all just witnessed. The girl on the left seems like a teenager, the girl on the right seems to be in her twenties or so, and the woman in the middle seems to be about in her forties. Also, the items they are all carrying have very interesting qualities. Two binders, some books, a sports jacket, and a paper bag from what looks like could be from either a bookstore or a bakery.

10. 42nd Street Movie Theater Audience, NY, 1958

To end it I will talk about one of the most personal photographs to me. Few photos fill me with such elated joy as this one does. I have an incredibly romantic view of cinema, and this photograph gives me such a specific feeling. I feel sorry for anyone who looks at this photo and doesn’t get a sense of nostalgia and comfort, just thinking of the countless times going into a dark theater. It’s fantastic how the light from the projector just shoots through the frame with this overpowering beam, in this smoky, elegant theater.

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