Film Listology: #81 - 8 1/2

Winding down the categorical "80s" in our "Film Listology" season of Special Topics in Media, hosts Garret Castleberry and Scott McMurry demonstrate  intellectual strengths but maybe also foreign film limitations in their evaluation of the Federico Fellini mid-life masterpiece, 8 1/2 (1963). A bold expression of cinematic self-reflection situated alongside running commentary concerning artistic process amidst Catholic guilt, Fellini fictionalizes his own artistic plight in ways that--while surrealist in certain fantasy sequences--portend distinct real-world fantasies that occupy mental real estate within the heralded director's mind. The dialogic duo consider the film's themes and place them in conversation with whether Fellini's unique storytelling approach translates to a sustained cultural significance factor.

Hosts: Garret Castleberry, Scott McMurry

Producers: Garret Castleberry, Will McMurry (Audio Engineer), Alli Garner (Cover Art), Austin Foster (Music)

Recommended readings paired with our Film Listology season:
Rick Altman. Film/Genre. British Film Institute, 1999.

Jim Collins, Ada Preacher Collins, Hilary Radner (Eds.). Film Theory Goes to the Movies, 1st Edition. New York: Routledge, 1992.

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