Category Archives: Neon

Robert Brenner returns to talk about his Time Square Tours

1970's, 1980's, Akira, Anime, Architecture, Art Deco, Basic Income, Blade Runner, Blue Velvet, Cinema, Cities, Cuisine, Culture, David Lynch, Erotica, Film, Film Noire, gentrification, Historic Preservation, History, horror, horror films, Japan, Japanese Culture, Josh Alan Friedman, Midnight Cowboy, Mishima A Life in Four Chapters, Neon, New York, Pilleater, Pornography, Robert Brenner, Science Fiction, Sexuality, Skyscrapers, Taxi Driver, Time Square, Urbanism, Yukio Mishima

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Robert Stark and co-host Pilleater talk to Robert Brenner. Robert Brenner is a writer, critic, satirist, futurist, urbanist, and porkatarian. His work has appeared in the Huffington Post, New York Magazine, Salon, the Barnes & Noble Review, Medium, Different Truths, Antiserious, and Theory In Action. He is a graduate of the Writers’ Institute at CUNY.

Topics:

Robert Brenner’s upcoming Gritty Old Times Square Tour on Sunday March 19th hosted by Untapped Cities
Midnight Cowboy locales including the defunct Hotel Claridge
Taxi Driver locales including the Lyric theatre, and the notorious now defunct Terminal Bar
Pilleater’s recent observations from Time Square
How to walk like a New Yorker
The Hotel Carter, the “dirtiest hotel in America,” which is currently under renovation, and the seedy Elk Hotel which recently closed
The Knickerbocker and the New Yorker Hotel
The closure of Bond 45
The Time Square Police Station
The Time Square Subway Station(not included in the tour)
Martin Hodas, the King of the Peep Shows
Chelly Wilson, who pioneered Homosexual S&M Porn in Time Square’s Grind House Theatres
East Harlem, the last remnants of gritty old New York where Robert Brenner is researching a future tour
Josh Allan Friedman’s Tales of Times Square, published by Feral House Books
NYC That Never Was: Alternate Plans for Times Square from 1984-MAS Competition
The 1982 Horror Film Basket Case set in Time Square
Robert Brenner’s review of David Lynch’s Blue Velvet
Robert Brenner’s Tour from the Empire State Building to Penn Station for the The Municipal Art Society
The Historic Tenderloin District, which predated Time Square and is now Korea Town
Robert Brenner’s Midtown Cheap Ethnic Eats Tour every saturday for Local Expeditions
Custom and conceptual Tours
Robert Brenner’s article Will Robots Take Our Jobs?
Sex Robots and Virtual Sex
Movie Review: Japanese Musicals, the Beyond Godzilla series about Japanese Science Fiction, and the manga Akira


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This show is brought to you by Robert Stark’s Paintings!




 

Robert Stark talks to Greg Johnson about the Alt Left Dilemma

aesthetics, Alternative Left, Alternative Right, American Culture, Architecture, Art, Art Deco, Basic Income, Berkeley, Blade Runner, Cities, Conservatives, Consumerism, Cultural Marxism, Culture, Cyberpunk, David Lynch, demographics, Dune, Dystopia, Economics, Environment, Eugenics, Film, Film Noire, Frank Lloyd Wright, Futurism, Greg Johnson, Historic Preservation, Immigration, Italian Futurism, J. R. R. Tolkien, Lafayette CA, Leftism, materialism, Mid-Century Modern, Middle Class, Neon, New York, Nietzsche, overdevelopment, Overpopulation, Philosophy, Pilleater, Rabbit, Retro Futurism, San Francisco, Skyscrapers, SWPL, Utopia, Wealth, Wyndham Lewis, Zoning

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Robert Stark, co-host Pilleater, and AltLeft blogger Rabbit talk to Counter-Currents editor Greg Johnson.

Topics:

The Concept of the Left Wing of the Alt Right; The Alt Left
Greg Johnson’s essay on SWPL Identity and Rabbit’s Alt Left Manifesto
Millennial Woes’ talk with Rabbit and Greg Johnson about the Alt Left
The 60’s Left Counter-Culture as a fusion of Tolkien and Marcuse, and the need to reclaim the positive attributes of the left, such as ecology, historic preservation, and anti-consumerism
The Alt Left dilemma identifying with SWPL Culture, and urban aesthetics, while supporting forms of identitarianism that often lack strong aesthetic visions
The lack of cultural sophistication among conservatives, and the left’s monopoly on cultural institutions
Suburbia as a by product of the middle class being cleansed out of cities, and the need to sustain a strong urban middle class
Affordable family formation
The Basic income, how it should be implemented, and who it should favor
Putting caps on high incomes with the exception of artist and inventors
The Nietzschean concept of the artist as the ruler
The conservative outlook that judges people on their material wealth over their aesthetic taste, and creative potential
Overpopulation, and how the ideal is to have immigration reduction with a stable or slowly rising birthrate
Greg’s experience living in San Francisco and Berkeley, San Francisco as a SWPL Utopia, and the aesthetic and ecological attributes of the region
The Transamerica Pyramid and Embarcadero Center in San Francisco
Rabbit’s interest in Mid-Century Space Age aesthetics, and his observations going to Mid-Century Modern home tours
Frank Lloyd Wright
Art Deco, which was a heroic vision of the future with respect for tradition; Art Deco in New York and San Francisco
Film noir, and the Blade Runner
David Lynch’s Archeo-Futurist aesthetic in Dune, and ruin porn
The tradition of right wing modernism; Italian Futurism which captured the vitality, optimism, and new possibilities created by technology
The concept of degenerate art, distinguishing between modernism and postmodernism
Defining what is degenerate; Robert and Pilleater’s show on Avant Garde Film

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Robert Stark interviews New Retro Wave Artist Robert Parker

1980's, 80's music, aesthetics, Art, Culture, Cyberpunk, Florian Renner, Italo Disco, Music, Neon, New Retro Wave, Retro Futurism, Robert Parker, Synthwave, Vaporwave

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Robert Stark and co-host Pilleater talk to Robert Parker. Robert Parker is a Synthwave/New Retro Wave musician  from Stockholm, Sweden. Check out his SoundCloud, Twitter, and Facebook Page

Topics:

How Robert started making tracker techno music in the 1990’s, and got into New Retro Wave in 2009 after buying a Korg Polysix analog synthesizer
His use of a variety of hardware synthesizers in his music including the Roland Juno 106
The New Retro Wave Genre, how the film Drive exposed the genre to the masses
The Noire sounds of Kavinsky in contrast with the more upbeat Retrowave Sound of College; Parallels to Vaporwave and Cyberpunk
Robert’s nostalgia for growing up in the 80’s, early influences, and the Swedish media in the 80’s
Italo disco, Neue Deutsche Welle(Alphaville), 90’s French House Music(Daft Punk)
The audience of New Retro Wave(40% United States and 40% Russia and Europe, largely men in their 30’s, but a growing number of women in their early 20’s
Robert’s vinyl album Crystal City on NewRetroWave Records
Robert’s new album Awakening for Lazerdiscs Records
Robert’s upcoming performance with College, and Waveshaper at the new club NEON on March 18th in Stockholm
NewRetroWave Records, which is the main company that produces New Retro Wave music
Illustrator Florian Renner who designed Robert’s Crystal City Album, and Miami Nights 1984′ Accelerated, and his animations of 80’s Retro-Futuristic Cities
Russian artist Aleksey Rico who designed the poster for the Chiptune Retro Wave Festival in St. Petersburg, Russia
The footage from films used in New Retro Wave Videos,  Robert’s favorite 80’s films, and the influence of the film Tron on New Retro Wave aesthetics
Robert’s thoughts on youtube channels uploading his work
Pilleater’s Parody using Andy Milonakis rapping over Miami Nights 1984


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The Return of Rabbit!

1960's, 1980's, aesthetics, Alice in Wonderland, Alternative Left, Architecture, Baby Boomers, Cinema, Cities, Conservatives, counterculture, Culture, David Hamilton, demographics, Feminism, Film, Florida, Futurism, Immigration, Italian Futurism, Jock Sturges, Larry Clark, Las Vegas, Lasse Nielsen, Leftism, Literature, Mid-Century Modern, Neon, Peter Sotos, Photography, Pilleater, Police State, Political Correctness, Porky's, Pornography, Prostitution, Rabbit, Retro Futurism, Sex and the City, Sexuality, Travel, Vaporwave, Vice, War, Will McBride

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Robert Stark and Co-host Pilleater talk to Rabbit. Rabbit blogs at AltLeft.com

Topics:

Robert and Pilleater’s upcoming show on the film The Crush
Rabbit’s article Porky’s Pathological Altruism, the death of Porky’s Director by an Illegal Immigrant drunk driver, and the cultural themes in the film
The portrayal of sex in the film, Kim Cattrall, the mysticism of girls locker room, and the demise of showering in High School
The 1950’s nostalgia in the 80’s, the recent film The Founder, and the animated neon sign in Porky’s
Rabbit’s experience growing up in the 80’s, 80’s fantasy films The Dark Crystal, and The Secret of NIMH
Rabbit’s interest in 60’s Mod culture
Robert Stark and Rabbit trip to Las Vegas, and Robert’s show on Vintage Vegas with Lynn Zook
Las Vegas as a Retro Futurist fantasy world, how a place can have different meanings to different people, Evel Knievel at Caesar’s Palace, the Frog Slot Macine, and the Asian Aryan aesthetic to the Wynn
Rabbit’s article BackPage’s Greatest Hits about the shutdown of BackPage, and the sites’s comic relief
Peter Sotos’ book Index about adult reviews
Rabbit’s point that society pushes deviate sex acts but than criminalizes people for acting out on them
Rabbit’s article The AltLeft “Tea Party” about the the Alt-Left drama and eccentric characters, what originally attracted him to it, and his critique of the Right
The 1972 film Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, which inspired Rabbit’s moniker


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Robert Stark interviews Robert Brenner about his Gritty Old Time Square Tours

1970's, aesthetics, Architecture, Art Deco, Blade Runner, Cities, Crime, Film, Film Noire, Futurism, gentrification, Historic Preservation, History, Jamie Gillis, John C. Portman Jr, Midnight Cowboy, Neon, New York, Peter Sotos, Pilleater, Pornography, Prostitution, Robert Brenner, San Francisco, Skyscrapers, Taxi Driver, The Porn Industry, Thomas Rinaldi, Time Square, Travel, Urbanism, Zoning

Robert Stark and co-host Pilleater interview Robert Brenner. Robert is a writer, critic, satirist, futurist, urbanist, and porkatarian. His work has appeared in the Huffington Post, New York Magazine, Salon, the Barnes & Noble Review, Medium, Different Truths, Antiserious, and Theory In Action. He is a graduate of the Writers’ Institute at CUNY.

Topics:

Robert Brenner’s Gritty Old Times Square tours, which are offered on Saturday’s once a Month, hosted by Untapped Cities
Adult Entertainment is the focus of the tours, but they also cover the general history of Time Square
The remnants of seedy Time Square, including The Playpen, and the Show World Center on Eighth Avenue
Robert Brenner’s experience in Time Square as a youth in the 70’s
That era of Time Square portrayed in the Films Taxi Driver and Midnight Cowboy
The gentrification of Time Square in the 90’s, and how the area went from an interesting but dangerous area to a safe and boring one
The Deuce on 42nd Street, which was the center of adult entertainment in the 70’s
The Porn Industry in Time Square, and premier of 70’s porn films such as Behind the Green Door and Deep Throat that paved the way for the future of the pornographic industry, spawning many different adult sites, live cam sites, and even the Babestation blog.
Robert Brenner’s point that every city needs a Red Light District
Peter Sotos’s Pure Filth about the pornographer Jamie Gillis
San Francisco’s Tenderloin, where Robert Brenner lived in the early 80’s, and Robert Stark’s observations from his trip to the San Francisco Bay Area
The decline of neon signage in favor of LED, Robert Stark’s interview with Thomas Rinaldi of New York Neon, and the company LET THERE BE NEON! which restores old signs
The history of the Broadway Theater District, the New Amsterdam Theatre, and the defunct Paramount Theatre
The closing of Carnegie Deli and Maxie’s Delicatessen
The Bond Clothing Store Signs in Times Square
The John Portman designed Marriott Marquis in Time Square
The Tour of the Remnants of Penn Station, and plans for Moynihan Station inspired by the old Penn Station
New York Skyscrapers


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Robert Stark interviews Lynn Zook

aesthetics, Architecture, Cities, Culture, Gambling, Historic Preservation, History, Las Vegas, Lynn Zook, Mass Transit, Mid-Century Modern, Neon, Skyscrapers

It is no secret that gambling has come a long way since the 1930s. You wouldn’t have found people playing casino games on sites like find fair casinos back in the day. But of course, times change and nothing stays the same.

Online gambling and websites such as www.norgescasino.com/ have completely changed the betting landscape. But what was really going on behind the scenes in some of the iconic Las Vegas casinos back in the day? Lynn Zook runs the website Classic Las Vegas, and Produced an hour-long, first person narrative documentary on the history of Las Vegas entitled “The Story of Classic Las Vegas.” Of course, the story of these classic casinos lives on today through modern gaming sites like vera john slots where the classic games one would expect to see in the various casinos of Vegas are there for all to enjoy.

Topics include:

Lynn’s nostalgia for Vintage Vegas, as a Las Vegas native growing up in the 60’s and early 70’s
Lynn’s new book Gambling on a Dream: The Classic Las Vegas Strip 1930-1955 about the first ten hotels including El Rancho Vegas, Hotel Last Frontier, Flamingo Hotel, Thunderbird Hotel, Wilbur Clark’s Desert Inn, Sahara Hotel, Sands Hotel, Royal Nevada Hotel, The Riviera, and the Dunes Hotel
Lynn’s next book will cover the years 1956-1973, up to the original MGM Grand
The destruction of the Las Vegas Strip’s original Casinos started in the 90’s with the demolition of the Dunes and The Sands
The Flamingo, Tropicana, and Circus Circus are the last remaining of the historic casinos on the strip, and the most in danger of demolition. The legacy of the classic casinos will live on in online casino phone games that are rapidly replacing the big names of yesteryear.
The recent demolition of the Riviera, how it was the strip’s first highrise, and how it was known for performers such as Liberace
Riviera sign’s going to the Neon Museum including the original marque by Marge Williams and the signage from the 80’s renovation
Steve Wynn requested removal of the New Frontier’s neon marquee
The history of Caesars Palace
The importance of historical preservation, and how Las Vegas lacks any significant historic preservation laws
The Las Vegas Neon Museum, which preserves historic signs
Fremont Street in Downtown Lass Vegas, which still retains much of the original casino’s, which will be the topic of Lynn’s third book
The El Cortez Downtown as the best example of a successful renovation of an old casino
The sense of intimacy in the original casinos
How Las Vegas was America’s first 24 hour city
How changing taste in entertainment shaped Las Vegas’s changing landscape
The mid-century car culture, and how it shaped the Vegas Strip
The Las Vegas Monorail
The Decline in Neon and replacement by bland LED signage
How the Paris built in 1999, and the Polo Towers also built in the 90’s, are the best examples of the most recent hotels using neon
The Somerset Shopping Center and The Bonanza Gift Shop
Locally oriented casino’s including Sam’s Town Hotel and Gambling Hall and Gold Strike Hotel and Gambling Hall
The McCarran Airport’s Mid Century Space Age Terminal


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Robert Stark interviews Netrunner World Champion Dan D’Argenio

1980's, aesthetics, Akira, Anime, Art, Blade Runner, Card Games, Consumerism, Cyberpunk, Dan D’Argenio, Music, Neon, Netrunner, Philadelphia, Retro Futurism, Science Fiction, Vaporwave

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Robert Stark and co-host Pilleater interview Dan D’Argenio. Dan is a two time Android: Netrunner World Champion from 2014 to 2015. He writes on stimhack, post videos on youtube, and plays Netrunner almost all the time.

Topics:

Dan’s interest in Android: Netrunner, his success in the game
The origins of Netrunner, the game compared to Magic: The Gathering
The collectible card game culture of Netrunner, the structure of the tournament scene
The Living card game vs. The CCG format, the value of cards and collecting
Cyberpunk vs. Vaporwave aesthetics, Runner vs. Corporation, Philadelphia cyberpunk aesthetics
The influences of anime, cyberpunk, vaporwave, in Netrunner
The philosophy behind cyberpunk and vaporwave, consumerism, internet culture
Cards in Netrunner related to Cyberpunk, Tron, Blade Runner, Akira, Ghost in The Shell
Fuckbois using Data Leak Reversal Controversy
Netrunner Cube and drafting cards
Competitive players vs. Casual players
The art of Android: Netrunner
The meta-game, Netrunner culture, playing Netrunner at cool places
Netrunner deck builders, Stimhack, Dan’s streaming and decks
Music while playing Netrunner, burn-out while playing Netrunner
Getting new players into Netrunner
Dan’s shirtless tees, Philadelphia’s weather other hobbies then Netrunner


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Robert Stark talks about his trip to LA

1980's, aesthetics, Alternative Left, American Culture, Architecture, Art Deco, Beverly Hills, California, Charles Lincoln, Cities, Class, Culture, demographics, Diversity, Futurism, gentrification, Hipsters, Historic Preservation, History, Hollywood, Homosexuality, Immigration, income inequality, John C. Portman Jr, Los Angeles, Malls, Mass Transit, materialism, Mid-Century Modern, Middle Class, Neon, Photography, Pilleater, Rabbit, Retro Futurism, Skyscrapers, Suburbia, SWPL, Travel, Urbanism, Vaporwave

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Robert Stark joined with co-host Pilleater, Rabbit, and Charles Edward Lincoln, talk about his recent trip to his hometown LA

Topics include:

The Hollywood imagery and outsider stereotypes of LA
The history of LA
How LA’s urban core is spread out over a large geographic area from Santa Monica on the Coast to Downtown LA
Robert’s disclaimer that the photos capture the best of LA, but that most of the spaces in between are unappealing due to the cities sprawl
LA’s transit system
South Central LA
West Hollywood, and Rabbit’s experience living there
Downtown LA, the gentrification of the historic core, the grittiness and vintage signage of Broadway, and the Serial Killers Who Haunted The Cecil Hotel
Downtown LA’s architecture including John Portman’s Bonaventure Hotel, and the the 80’s Art Deco revival Home Savings Building where Charles Lincoln worked
Beverly Hills, the 80’s futurist Rodeo Collection, the “Vaporwave” Roman Fountain , and the the 70 futurist/late modernist Roxbury Plaza
Century City, which originally had a 60’s futurist aesthetic, was the the film location of Conquest of the Planet of the Apes, and the Century City Mall
1980’s Malls including the Beverly Center(Original image), Westside Pavilion, which reminds Pilleater of the game Myst, and the renovation of those malls which ruined their aesthetic
Historic preservation trends starting with demolition of the Art Deco Richfield Tower in Downtown LA, to the lack of preservation for 80’s architecture today
New architecture inspired by past styles including the new Streamline Moderne Under construction Beverly Hilton tower, 70’s futurist inspired renderings for skyscrapers, and Rabbit’s observation that many apartments are being retrofited in mid-century modern styles
Santa Monica, the waterfront, architecture including the Art Deco Clock Tower, and Santa Monica NIMBY Restriction on heights
The Interactive Cafe, which is one of the last surviving independent businesses in downtown Santa Monica, and Pilleater’s point that it has a Cyberpunk aesthetic
The high cost of housing in LA, even in unappealing areas
The San Fernando Valley, which was traditionally home to LA’s middle class
Demographic trends, the destruction of the white middle class, gentrification of the urban core, and new suburban ghettos in the desert
Rabbit’s point about SWPLs he met in LA who look down on the suburban middle class
The Alt Left dilemma between identifying with SWPL Culture, and urbanist aesthetics, and supporting white middle class identitarianism, which often lacks strong aesthetic visions

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Robert Stark interviews Pilleater about Music & Manga

1980's, 80's music, 90's music, aesthetics, Akira, Alex von Goldstein, Alternative Left, Anime, Architecture, Art, Asia, Asian Aryanism, Asian Culture, Cinema, Cities, counterculture, Culture, Erotica, Film, Futurism, Gender, Homosexuality, Italo Disco, Japan, Japanese Culture, Multiculturalism, Music, Neon, Patalliro!, Pepe the Frog, Peter Sotos, Pilleater, Pornography, Race Relations, Retro Futurism, Science Fiction, Synthwave, Vaporwave, William Gibson

akira-neon

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Robert Stark and Alex von Goldstein talk to Pilleater. Pilleater is a college student, internet artist, musician, and blogs at Mineo Maya Fanclub. You can find his music at pizzadogstudios, pso119, and kingtrode.

Topics include:

The intro song, pissedoffindianman by Pilleater , which features clips of Jared Taylor
Jared Taylor’s Shadows of the Rising Sun: A Critical View of the Japanese Miracle(1983)
How Pilleater was exposed to electronic music at a young age, and became a Chiptune musician at age 16 as DJ Qudo
Latter on Pilleater got into Noise music, such as Whitehouse, and Digital hardcore bands, such as Atari Teenage Riot, and KMFDM, who are controversial due to the Columbine Shooters
Oneohtrix Point Never, who was the forerunner to Vaporwave
Japanese Pornography similar to what you might see at websites such as teeni, and Pilleater’s point that it has a nationalist communal nature
The Ganguro culture in Japan, where girls tan their skin and bleach their hair, and is common in porn
Pilleater’s favorite music genre Eurobeat from the 90’s, it’s popularity in Japan, his favorite artist Bratt Sinclaire, Sinclaire’s song Running in the 90’s, and it’s origins from Italo disco from the 80’s
Generic Euro Dance(ex. Aqua and Dj Sammy)
The Italo disco song Shadilay, which came out in the 80’s by a band P.E.P.E with a frog on it’s album cover, and it’s esoteric Lyrics
Examples of Italo Disco include the global sensation Baltimora’s Tarzan Boy, and Pilleaters favorites, BRIAN ICE – Talking to the night, Eddy Huntington – Up And Down, and Lama – Love on the rocks
The New Retro Wave Genre of music that emerged in the mid 2000’s, inspired by 80’s New Wave and Italo Disco(ex. FM Attack, Lifelike – So Electric, Electric Youth, College, Kavinsky)
The French House band Daft Punk and their use of anime
Chicago house music
Vaporwave, and it’s nostalgia for William Gibson’s Neuromancer’s Japan
William Gibson’s Idoru
The anime film Akira(1988), set in a post apocalyptic Japan, and how it’s influenced Vaporwave, Cyberpunk, and New Retro Wave
The manga Patalliro!, about a ten year old cross dressing king, it’s colorful Art Nouveau aesthetic, it’s influence from
H. P. Lovecraft, and it’s taboo themes
Asian Aryianism and whites living vicariously through Japanese culture
Themes of Asian Aryanism in The Legend of Zelda, which combines Japanese and Medieval European Aesthetics
Asian Aryan themes in Vaporwave with Roman busts and Japanese aesthetics
The minimalist Japanese vs. Chinese aesthetics
How each music genre has it’s own unique aesthetic
The Seapunk electronic genre, which uses Sega Genesis imagery(ex.UNICORN KID)
Dark wave, which is apocalyptic electronic music from Germany(ex. Project Pitchfork, and Dunkerwerk)
Betsy & Chris, the white Hawaiian folk music duo, who sang in fluent Japanese
Stereolab, which reminds Pilleater of Rabbit’s AltLeft
Why Alex thinks Michael Jackson is an Alt Left Icon
Sam Hyde and Tim & Eric on Adult Swim
Pilleater’s upcoming book, “Almond Eyes, Baby Face,” a collection of short stories on Asian Aryanism

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Robert Stark talks about Mishima, Taxi Driver, & Aristocratic Individualism

1980's, aesthetics, alienation, Aristocratic Individualism, Art, Asia, Asian Culture, Cinema, conformity, Ellliot Rodger, Erotica, Fashion, Film, Futurism, Gender, Globalization, History, Hollywood, Homosexuality, Japan, Japanese Culture, Literature, Loserdom, Mishima A Life in Four Chapters, Music, Neon, New York, Nietzsche, Oscar Wilde, Paul Schrader, Philosophy, Pornography, Psychology, Retro Futurism, Sexuality, Social Isolation, Social Rejection, social status, Taxi Driver, Vaporwave, Yukio Mishima

mishima
taxi

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Robert Stark discusses the films Mishima: A Life in Four Chapters and Taxi Driver

Topics include:

Paul Schrader, who wrote both films, and directed Mishima
Schrader as a subversive non-conformist who exists within Hollywood culture
The theme of alienation in both films
The Nietzschean theme of a weak man empowering himself
The life and legacy of Yukio Mishima
How both Yukio Mishima and Travis Bickle in Taxi Driver are similar archetypes, existing in different environments
How both characters are aristocratic individualists, who envision an ideal world that is at odds with their current situation
An Aristocratic Individualist is someone who follows their own path instead of submitting to societies standards
Aristocratic Individualism is about having a clear vision for an ideal society, rather than individualism in the sense of everyone doing what ever they want
Examples of Aristocratic Individualists include, J. R. R. Tolkien, Aleister Crowley, Oscar Wilde, H. L. Mencken, David Lynch, Richard Wolstencroft, Salvador Dalí, Jonathan Bowden,Ernst Jünger, and Friedrich Nietzsche
The theme of romantic rejection, and the corrupting nature that sex plays in both films
Mishima’s story, The Temple of the Golden Pavilion
How Aristocratic Individualists resent that they are being denied their rightful place in society, and the normie response that it’s a coping mechanism for losers
How Aristocratic Individualists take actions that can lead to either greatness or alienation
How Yukio Mishima rebelled against Japan’s process of modernization and Americanization
The scene where Yukio Mishima spoke to leftist college students, stating that he is fighting  against the same forces they are, but they dismissed them
The parallels to to how European New Right thinkers such as Alain de Benoist share views with the dissident left( ex. anti globalization, anti-consumerism, anti-imperialism, and pro-environment)
How Yukio Mishima was dismissed in his time, but dissidents are later validated in times of turmoil
Mishima’s Japanese minimalist aesthetic vs. Taxi Driver’s urban grittiness of 70’s New York City
New York Neon: Taxi Driver locales in Time Square, and “porn tourism,” which seeks out the remnants that have survived gentrification
The Neo-noir genre
The Retro-futurist theme in Mishima, combining ancient Japanese culture with the 80’s vision of the future(Vaporwave)
Eiko Ishioka, who was the art director for Mishima
The fantasy dream sequences in Mishima, and the dream like quality to 80’s films which are the essence of art
Bernard Herrmann‘s Jazz score for Taxi Driver, which captures the feeling of alienation and urban grittiness, and  Philip Glass‘s minimalist classical score for Mishima
Aristocratic Individualist Fashion style including designer Comme des Garçons and the director John Waters

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