Slums of Film History

Jul 11 2023 86 ep. 53 mins 1k

Slums of Film History Podcast artwork

Slums of Film History is an in-depth podcast on niche film topics that aren't normally discussed in polite company. We take turns weekly discussing a single topic from everything to bodily fluids to T&A to exploding heads. If there is a film subject too taboo we haven’t found it yet. Welcome.

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Episode 84: Dictator Cinema - The Films of North Korea

No one understands the power of cinema more than a dictator. The way movies can manipulate filmgoers to laugh, cry, and jump out of their seats in fear can be quite an attractive tool for controlling hearts and minds. Hitler and Stalin knew how to push propaganda to moviegoers in an effort to gain support for their respective pursuits. But propaganda is easy, art is hard. And while

Episode 83: Boatsaster

Boats are a marvel. A human invention, mastered over thousands of years to provide food, travel and commerce to the ever evolving need of modern man. Boats are fun. They’re buoyant excuses for rich people to drink champagne, wear white floppy hats and have poor people serve them oysters. But boats are scary. There’s only a layer of wood and fiberglass keeping you from drowning,

Episode 82: Killer Bears

We have a complicated relationship with bears. In popular culture bears are often seen as fluffy, adorable friends in children’s stories, not to mention their representation in that timeless toy, the teddy bear. But make no mistake, bears will fucking kill you. We all know this, and the movies know this too.Whether they were seeking revenge, mutated, high on cocaine or just plain

Episode 81: Ugly Underground

On a quick glance of this episode’s title, you may think we are talking about the Underground Film Movement. But that’s a highbrow topic and that’s not why you come to Slums of Film History. You come here for the actual horrible things that are underground. The mutant zombie CHUDs that climb out of the sewers to eat rich people’s dogs. You come for the early sci-fi films th

Episode 80: Nukes

Everything changed in August 1945 when the first atom bombs were dropped in Japan ending WWII and introducing the world to the most destructive force man has ever known. We had officially reached the atomic age and this fact would radiate (pun intended) into every facet of our lives, including our politics and pop culture. Nukes would play a major role thrilling and horrifying movi

Episode 79: Teensploitation

Staying out after curfew. Backtalking to teachers. Drag racing. And worst of all, rock-n-roll music. What started off as a few greasers with leather jackets in the 1950s turned into a national panic every time a stuck up square uttered the term "juvenile delinquent.” Hollywood caught wind of this pretty quickly and responded accordingly with movies like “Blackboard Jungle and �

Episode 78: Musical Monstrosities

The movie musical is a beloved film genre that has been a part of American cinema since the 1920s. For decades American audiences couldn't get enough of these films but in the 60s the movie musical fell on hard times. Was it due to changing movie and music tastes? Cultural and social upheavals? All of the above? Many musical films released after this decade would prove to be some o

Episode 77: Woman Vs Woman

We love to watch women fight. Whether a slap in the face on shows like Dynasty and Real Housewives or Uma Thurman and Lucy Lui in Kill Bill, women in combat have fascinated us for decades. But in the movies at least, many of these on screen feuds got their start from real life feuds, some that lasted 50 or 60 years. Today we get to the bottom of these Hollywood fights, squabbles, t

Episode 76: Critter Killin'

Over the years there have been several topics that we thought might just cross the line, yet each time it turned out our listeners were just as deranged as we are. This time might be a little different because our topic is animal death in movies and we don't know anyone who isn't just a little bit affected by seeing an animal killed on screen. On today’s episode we're going to di

Episode 75: The Films of Madonna

For a decade starting in 1984, all film critics, late night talk shows and entertainment news could talk about was Madonna’s film career. There were hits like “Desperately Seeking Susan” and “A League of their Own” but there were plenty of misses like “Shanghai Surprise” and “Who’s That Girl.” So how could she get it so right and so wrong all at the same time? F