The Left Page

Using different media like Star Wars, American Psycho, and Blade Runner 2049, we develop some theory on this idea of "media illiteracy", on masculinity and its toxicity.

Fundamentally considering what we mean when we talk about Patriarchy, how it exists and is historically defined, and what does it mean to consider and confront it today.

Enjoy!

If you can and are interes...

Lighter and more current, as we talk about what we've been playing, some things we've been thinking about, and the new Left Page Book Club!

Time stamps
00:00:00 - 00:40:40 Intro + What are we watching, reading, playing
00:40:40 - 01:27:45 AI In Video Games
01:27:45 - 02: 23:45 Left Page Book Club

The article we talked about:
https://www.gamesindustry.biz/new-research-shows-over-90-of-gamers-fi...

What happens when we don't look critically at escapist fantasies? We then try to answer this question by looking at two video games: Stardew Valley (2015) and Citizen Sleeper (2022 & 2025)

Going into the ways of how these games create their realities and end up surviving in or attempting to sideline capitalism, which will surely go well, r...

Asking the fundamental question of how to properly kill fascism and how this game is presenting it, or not.

Enjoy!

Check out Jon's stuff: Horror Vanguard & The Haunt Blog

Morris Rosenfeld's poem In The Factory from 1914

Intro song: Machine, Machine. Nits. 2019, Werf & V2 Records

Outro song: Nazi...

Today we're starting off with our new kinds of episodes, as we discuss a more broad element... the discourse on the new Oddyssey film!

We've often talked about historical representation, mythology, and what "historical accuracy" can mean, but not as directly as of yet. So this time we went full into some of the terrible ways those are all used, distanced from any ...

Celebrating 7 years of running this podcast, Frank and Leon go over some of the changes, some of the achievements, how they see the pod, how they think of it moving forwards, and a couple of interesting things to come!

Thank you all so so much for being here, for listening, and especially supporting the show, for as little or as long as you have! It means the world!

Here's to t...

We go over the fantasies of Don Quixote, the way the two books deal with reality, fantasy, and primarily books and reading! All the while not forgetting the deep materiality involved in the depictions, and how there is still more than we think to it.

Come celebrate our 100th episode with one of the great...

We continue with the First Law Standalone novels, now going into Heroes and Red Country!

We talk about how these characters continue to be engagin, how the materiality of war and conflict continues, and how change, propelled by capital, can be such a dangerous thing the world over, fantasy world it might be.

Enjoy!

If you can and are interested in early episodes and our bonus content, soon to b...

We continue with Joe Abercrombie's First Law series, now talking about the 3 standalone novels: Best Served Cold, Heroes, and Red Country!

Because these books are great and there is a lot to talk about, we split these episodes in 2 parts, both already available for Patrons! First we talk about Abercrombie and the setup to these books, then Best Served Cold and how to write a phenomenal revenge story indee...

We visit the sequel of our very first Here be Media episode, coming alongside a very special announcement in the first 10 minutes about the future of this podcast.

We set out to explore the pitfalls of exclusively centreing psychology in your familial narrative, that is therefore ot able to grapple with the existential conflict it seeks to portray.

Please enjoy!

If you can and are interested in early...

We're wrapping up the year in serious fashion, diving once back into Imperialism everywhere, with the 2025 Superman, and bringing our superhero liasion along, André!

This was a film really well talked about for being positive, and progressive and... things which it isn't. It's still imperialist and still very much on the US' side when thinking about anything.

So come along as we look at this at first...

We're finally tackling Tolkien! And so here we are, at the beggining... In a hole in the ground there lived a Hobbit.

We go into Tolkien's role in fantasy, how The Hobbit still holds up as both a monument of fantasy and still an excellent book, and the resonance that this work has to fantasy still.

Thus we close off 2025 on The Left Page, by beggining Tolkien, with more to come!

Enjoy!

If ...

We're back talking about Brazilian Literature, with a long overdue request! It's "Golden Harvest" or "São Jorge dos Ilhéus", by Jorge Amado!

The horrors of capitalism are everywhere, and none less here, where the forces of empire and capital seek to make Brazilian cocoa production their own, with no regard for people and their lives.

So come along in this historically inspired novel to further deepen...

We're talking about a great Sci-fi film, going into language, history and time. As we discuss some of Ted Chiang's short story "Story of Your Life", but primarily, the Denis Villeneuve film "Arrival"!

Why are aliens here? How can our understanding of reality changing help us confront the horrors of capitalism? How is time's linearity a simplistic way to confront capital's victories over past, present and ...

Following attempts at bringing together all their academic work, Frank goes into Star Trek proper for the first time in the podcast, surprisingly. In an attempt to articulate how the original 1966-1969 run articulated a certain version of the future that, while utopian, was still entrenched in Liberalism and certain elements of Empire from which it could not imagi...

Jay and I are talking about Titane, and subsequently Queer relations and cars.

Enjoy!

Find more of us at:

https://www.patreon.com/leftpage

Find Jay at:

www.librarypunk.gay

https://bsky.app/profile/wildeatheart.bsky.social

Intro Music: I Would Never Have To Know - Samurai Drive. From the Album: Samurai Drive ℗ 2020 Daniel Riederauer

Outro Music: Don't Leave! ...

We're finally talking about one of the big ones for our special Halloween collab with Horror Vanguard, it's Berserk!

Focusing on the Golden Age Arc, we talk about how this manga so effectively depicts despair and hope, how it can have ultraviolence and still have one emotional gutpunch after another. And, of course, about fighting fascism in all its forms.

Enjoy!

And check out Horror Vanguard w...