tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12380553.post5014443038789367009..comments2024-03-29T04:57:26.162-04:00Comments on John Kenneth Muir's Reflections on Cult Movies and Classic TV: CULT TV FLASHBACK #31: Mystery Science Theater 3000: "Manos, The Hands of Fate"John Kenneth Muirhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15629979615332893780noreply@blogger.comBlogger11125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12380553.post-66903530675734684812009-08-29T08:18:57.481-04:002009-08-29T08:18:57.481-04:00Wow. Chris Johnson.....a man born without a sense ...Wow. Chris Johnson.....a man born without a sense of humor. Sad.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12380553.post-35631822379783997502007-08-25T00:59:00.000-04:002007-08-25T00:59:00.000-04:00http://campademics.wikidot.com/ is what I meanthttp://campademics.wikidot.com/ is what I meantKevinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14027317042801637354noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12380553.post-7995033660594625262007-08-25T00:58:00.000-04:002007-08-25T00:58:00.000-04:00Again with me being relatively "young" (though I c...Again with me being relatively "young" (though I cringed when I got a new license today and was reminded that I am almost 24) -<BR/><BR/>I could not watch the show either on its original run or during its heyday of re-runs as I didn't really understand "irony," parody, satire, and the like until I was a bit older. But boy, once I became "smart" and dove into geeky deconstruction, I never looked back. In fact, I'm starting to embark on a career that uses this kind of dynamic viewing as one of its methodologies. <BR/><BR/>Any episode of MST3K furthers the "cult value" of a bad film. The films in question was bad, rare, and desirable (if you crave poorly made things) to begin with, but the added value of MST3K selection, commentary, and the instant, built-in audience make for an implosion in fame. The irony is that MST3K at once starkly reveals the very worst in filmmaking but at the same time tacitly endorses and congratulates the whole thing. It is, to abuse a very abused word, "postmodern" to the core.<BR/><BR/>If you dig the worst of the worst, look at my friend's work-in-progress website "CAMP ACADEMY," or "CAMPADEMICS," where "THE ACADEMY GOES TO CAMP." Adam uses literary theory to probe our guttural responses to bad films, combined with humorous platitudes to keep us reading.<BR/><BR/>http://campademics.wikidot.orgKevinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14027317042801637354noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12380553.post-43169774304192180912007-08-24T22:34:00.000-04:002007-08-24T22:34:00.000-04:00When I first discovered this show on late night Co...When I first discovered this show on late night Comedy Channel back in college, I took them at their word - CHEESY movies (the worst we can find, la la la). I found much to love, even whilst simultaneously cringing, in these films. Though they were often train wrecks, I never once thought the guys were being mean or hateful; they kid because they love. I actually learned a lot through the historical and pop references they made that I might never have picked anywhere outside of school; it's a fact, if you laugh while you learn, you retain more.<BR/><BR/>Though I admit to falling asleep during Sidehackers. Some things are just hopeless. :-)<BR/><BR/>At any rate, MST gave me the stomach to appreciate cheesy cinema, and god bless 'em for it!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12380553.post-92082326691660103582007-08-24T13:57:00.000-04:002007-08-24T13:57:00.000-04:00Thanks Hansen. Scosm!Thanks Hansen. Scosm!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12380553.post-40652795850499369602007-08-24T13:45:00.000-04:002007-08-24T13:45:00.000-04:00Well...There is a DVD series called The Film Crew ...Well...<BR/><BR/>There is a DVD series called The Film Crew featuring Mike Nelson, Kevin Murphy, and Bill Corbett(Crow version 2.0 and Brain Guy from SciFi's run of the show) and their first film out of the gate, Hollywood After Dark.<BR/><BR/>Sidenote...picked up J-Men Forever, a Firesign Theater film from 1978 where they took old Republic cliffhanger serials and re-dubbed the dialogue into a funny film about the war against Rock and Roll. One of the most requested reruns on USA's Night Flight.<BR/><BR/>And JOHNSON!!...I'll riff whenever I want to. I did it before MST3K and I'm doing it long after it was gone. :PAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12380553.post-11759581648125481002007-08-24T13:16:00.000-04:002007-08-24T13:16:00.000-04:00I'va always sid that why this show worked so well ...I'va always sid that why this show worked so well is that a lot of fans (especially genre fans) had been doing this for years on their own before the show aired, and we all had to tip our hats to the guys who were smart enoguh to market it. Perhaps it did cause some people to try it after watching, but I think maybe we just became more aware of it. <BR/><BR/>John, your assessment of why the comedy works is spot on. Joel/Mike and the bots didn't usually resort to toilet humor. They made very insightful jokes. That is another reason the show worked so well. I know people who didn't laugh at many of the jokes for how they were written, but in appreciation of the thought and depth in which they were written...<BR/><BR/>God, I miss this show.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12380553.post-74144262977110793132007-08-24T11:03:00.000-04:002007-08-24T11:03:00.000-04:00Chris:I totally agree, funny is subjective. As far...Chris:<BR/><BR/>I totally agree, funny is subjective. As far as personal taste goes; to each his own. <BR/><BR/>However, by definition then, the descriptor "unfunny" is also totally subjective. <BR/><BR/>I'd go so far as to say the same is true of the term "overrated."John Kenneth Muirhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15629979615332893780noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12380553.post-63055162458807269622007-08-24T10:52:00.000-04:002007-08-24T10:52:00.000-04:00I repeat to myself that it's just an overrated, un...I repeat to myself that it's just an overrated, unfunny show and I should just relax. This show is just another one of those aspects of geek culture that I just don't care for. This show just ain't for me. But, Roger Ebert once said comedy was one of the two genres you really can't review. Something is either funny or it isn't to you. It's very subjective.<BR/><BR/>Chris JohnsonAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12380553.post-38627359161090318012007-08-24T09:56:00.000-04:002007-08-24T09:56:00.000-04:00Chris:I respect your opinion, but no one on MST3K ...Chris:<BR/><BR/>I respect your opinion, but no one on MST3K ever said to fans "go out and do we what we do." That so many people attempted to emulate the series is not something you can blame the show for; it merely speaks to the popularity of the series I think.<BR/><BR/>The creation of Star Trek spurred a whole slew of terrible fan fiction. I hate much of that fan fiction, but the answer isn't to erase Star Trek from history.<BR/><BR/>Star Wars spurred a whole slew of terrible fan films. Should Star Wars be erased from history?<BR/><BR/>Don't blame a show for the behavior of the fans, you know?<BR/><BR/>Just repeat to yourself it's just a show, you should really just relax.John Kenneth Muirhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15629979615332893780noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12380553.post-5304642016737521132007-08-24T09:17:00.000-04:002007-08-24T09:17:00.000-04:00Count me in as someone who cannot stand this show....Count me in as someone who cannot stand this show. I primarily don't think it is funny. It may be clever, and yes, I "get" it. I just don't enjoy listening to people make smart-alec comments during movies. It's premise is omething that gets old with me really, really fast. But to me the worst thing that came out of MST3K is it's encouraging people to do this stuff on their own. Good, bad, or indifferent, I enjoy watching movies. I don't want to hear "riffs" during movies. It's aggrivating. After this show came out, it became very fashionable in geek culture to "riff" during movies. It is for this fact alone that if I ever get a time machine, I am going back and stopping this show from being made! Hahahaha!<BR/><BR/>Chris JohnsonAnonymousnoreply@blogger.com