Tag Archives: Radio’s Revenge

Spotlight: Thank You

9 Dec

December 9, 2011

One of the pleasures of Mob Week has been that I have been able to sit back and read my own blog as a fan. When I contacted the amazing people who I hoped would participate (and I had not a single no), I knew that each one had a specialty or special talent, but I didn’t know what they would send. Just as you opened the page every day without knowing what the topic would be, so did I open my email. I am proud to say that I was thrilled each and every time. Did I expect to feature a trio of artists, a pair of musicians, and a diverse group that included professional writers and actors? While I had hopes, I really didn’t expect it. Did I expect to feature a treatise on the meaning of pulp? A scholarly argument against the TSA? Viennese legends? The Simpsons? And my very own installment of A Spot of Bother?

No I did not.

And to the readers, and to everyone who commented, I thank you especially, because not only did I accomplish one thing I set out to do- create a sense of community- but I accomplished something I didn’t expect. I got to personally see through a friend’s eyes how much your likes and comments touched her and made her happy. She’d never experienced that level of engagement before. I’d gotten a bit jaded by obsessively checking the stats all day. I’d forgotten how it felt to get that first feeling of acceptance. I’m glad I got that reminder.

On the surface, this week must have seemed like an easy ride for me. After all, I wasn’t worried about coming up with a topic and writing a blog everyday. I had people doing the work for me. Sweet scam, right?

Wrong. The truth is that I worked harder for Mob Week than any week of Imponderables ofrmonth of Saturday Comics. I won’t bore you with the details but this was a lot- a lot!- more behind the scenes work than I anticipated. And suffice it to say that every Mob Week contributor had the patience of a saint for answering all of my emails.

However, I started out talking about pleasure. Dare I say, “But I digress?” I found that besides just reading the posts, I had the unexpected pleasure of writing the intros. Some were longer than others, but all were from the heart and every word was true. I didn’t expect to love writing them as much as I did.

Am I jealous of Jeff Lynch?
Of course I am.

Is Mac of BIOnighT the most interesting man in the world?
Yes.

Does Joe McTee’s scholarship put me to shame?
Sadly, it does.

Would I make a deal with an evil spirit to write like Matt Cowan?
Where do I sign?

Is Mike Mongello the Number One pin-up artist around?
You’ve seen them, and he is.

Is Nutty Nuchtchas entwined in the world wide web in a way I only dream of?
Big time.

Do I really think Ingrid Prohaska should be required reading and listening?
Totally!

Does Threedayfish put my mental movie database to shame?
In a big way.

Do I have a spot in my heart for the mysterious Savage Opopanax?
Seriously, we all do.

Should all of you run to Relic Radio and talk to Jim in his forums?
Yes! NOW!

Could I ever hope to out-act or out-entertain Peter Church?
I won’t even try.

And did Jessica May really move me?
Absolutely.

Do I owe all of them a debt of gratitude?
And do I owe all of you who visited this site a huge thank you?
Yes I do.

Thank You.

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Spotlight: Peter Church and Radio’s Revenge

7 Dec

December 7, 2011

Meet the Renaissance Man, Peter Church. When I contacted him about being part of this spotlight week, I gave him carte blanche, as I did everyone. I didn’t know what I would get, but I knew it would be good. As you will read below, Peter Church (known in certain quarters as Jello Again!- and bonus points if you get the reference) is an actor. He appears on stage and video and lends his considerable vocal talents to performing original audio dramas for Radio’s Revenge.

Peter has spent the last six years as a repertory actor for The Classical Theatre Project (Toronto), logging thousands of performances in productions of Hamlet, Macbeth, Romeo & Juliet, Othello and A Midsummer Night’s Dream.

According to him, the idea for Radio’s Revenge started a couple of years ago with a desire to perform old-time radio scripts on stage for the entertainment of senior citizens. His principal duties around the podcast are as writer and actor. He’ll occasionally step in to help produce, edit and/or direct but those hats are more often worn by his creative partner, Sean Doyle. In other words, he’s taken something I’ve long wanted to do and actually made a go of it. I’m jealous, but on the other hand I am not nearly as talented.

Another one of the good guys, Peter has taken time out of his busy (and I mean that, the man is busy) schedule to give us the essay below. After reading it, I knew that this had to run today, December 7th: Pearl Harbor Day. While WWII is sometimes considered a high point in American patriotism and spirit, it also led to some awful propaganda and stereotyping. So while you recall the tragedy of the sinking of the USS Arizona and think about the soldiers from around the world who died in what was arguably the last great and just war, take a second out to think about what Peter has to say about our culture.

Find him online at www.twitter.com/radiosrevenge and look for him on Facebook here.

 Stereotypewriter.

The issue of racism, sexism, and other cultural insensitivities in vintage entertainment is nothing new.  I’m sure most of us have all heard of instances where a group of people wants to remove the N-word from “Huck Finn” or ban a Bugs Bunny cartoon made in 1941.

“Bugs Bunny Nips the Nips,” 1944, removed from circulation by Warner Brothers. Copies of the Looney Tunes Golden Collection containing this cartoon were recalled and replaced with another cartoon after a very small number of complaints.

I’ve often engaged in this debate and it seems to me that most reasonable people hold a rather moderate position on the subject.  People that appreciate the importance of Art don’t seem to want to sanitize our History.  Likewise, most people who understand History do not seem to want to censor its Art.  I suppose Art and History are actually two sides of the same coin since, at some point, Art actually becomes a way of recording History.

An example of this came a couple of years ago when I was attending the Silent Comedy Short-Film Festival in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.  The curator started by describing some racist content in one of the upcoming shorts from the 1920’s, where a white guy spills molasses on himself and is mistaken as a black guy, and a black guy gets flour on himself and is mistaken as a white guy.  He went on to explain that he was having second thoughts about sharing it as part of the festival and wanted the audience’s opinion on the subject.  The audience (about 200 people) unanimously voted for the film to be presented as originally planned.  At the end of the screening, during a talkback session, the consensus seemed to be that it would be irresponsible NOT to revisit offensive material from our past.  How else can we learn from our mistakes?  If we hide our past, or pretend that it’s blemish-free, then we start to re-write our history and can’t properly or honestly build our future.

Woof, woof, woof.

What I’m wondering now is – what does all this mean for someone like me – someone who creates modern comedy based on, or inspired by, vintage entertainment?  In my case, I write and produce radio plays in the setting and style of broadcasts from the 1930’s, 40’s, and 50’s.  The scripts are light and fun and need to be suitable for airing on a small-town radio station.  Of course, like the short-film described above, our source material include racial and gender stereotypes that can be abrasive to modern sensibilities.  Here are just a few arbitrary examples:

Radio is a faceless medium and therefore the audience has very little context for who we are or what we do.  As a modern writer, who presumably knows better, do I have a social responsibility to let bygones remain as bygones?  When we live in a culture that regularly produces “shock jocks” and “gross-out comedies”, where is the line between poking fun at nostalgic conventions and simply enflaming current sensitivities?

As an unofficial centre of American Art & History, I’d love to hear answers.  Please post a comment and let me know what you think.

Radio’s Amos and Andy

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