This is part 2 of the conversation with Russell Kilbourn on memory and movies. In part 1 we talked about the way memory is treated in literature and movies but we didn't have time to discuss memory in sci-fi movies so Russ agreed to return. In this podcast we discuss the varying treatment of memory in the genre. Eg: removing memories (Total Recall, Severance and particularly Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind); inserting false memories (Blade Runner); repurposing memories (Strange Days, and particularly Solaris and La Jetee). La Jetée led to an interesting discussion about the strange and interesting Canadian film My Winnipeg. We close by returning to literature, in the science fiction genre.

Participants:

Russell J Kilbourn is Professor of Literature and Film, Dept of English and Film Studies at Wilfrid Laurier University, Ontario, Canada. http://rjakilbourn.com/

Ken Barrett, visual artist, writer and former neuropsychiatrist.http://www.kenbarrettstudio.co.uk/

Sci fi movies discussed (Russ's 'must sees' in bold):

Blade Runner (Ridley Scott, 1982) and BR 2049 (Denis Villeneuve, 2017)

Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (Michel Gondry, 2004)

La Jetée (Chris Marker, 1962)

Solaris (Andrei Tarkovsky, 1972)

Oblivion (Joseph Kosinski, 2013)

2046 (Kar-wai Wong, 2004) (lost memories)

After Life (Hirokazu Koreeda, 1998)

Minority Report (Steven Spielberg, 2002)

Source Code (Duncan Jones, 2011)

Strange Days (Kathryn Bigelow, 1995)

Total Recall (Paul Verhoeven, 1990)

Upstream Color (Shane Carruth, 2013)

Brainland the opera website: www.brainlandtheopera.co.uk

Follow us us on Instagram: #brainlandcollective

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In this podcast Veronica O'Keane and Ken Barrett share cases and discuss some of the themes explored in Veronica's book 'A Sense of Self'. We explore the various structures in the brain essential for memory to function, talk about the importance of place to memory (we often remember where we where if not when) and recent findings on how our brain does that, the role of the frontal lobes and the hidden area of cortext called the insula, before with interesting detours into nostalgia and memory in the work of Irish writer Samuel Beckett.

Veronica O' Keane, Professor of Psychiatry, Trinity Centre for Health Sciences, Tallaght Hospital, Dublin.

Ken Barrett, artist, writer and former neuropsychiatrist.http://www.kenbarrettstudio.co.uk/

Veronica's book 'A Sense of Self: Memory, the brain and who we are': https://wwnorton.com/books/9781324021834

Opening and closing music: Prelude to Brainland the opera by Stephen Brown.

Brainland the opera website: www.brainlandtheopera.co.uk

Follow us us on Instagram: @brainlandcollective

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Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this podcast puppeteer and academic Cariad Astles talks about how she got interested and trained in puppetry, before discussing her experience of puppetry in China and Africa. We explore why puppetry tends to be viewed as a practice for children in the UK (Cariad blames protestantism) before talking about a number of healthcare applications of puppetry including training medical students and nurses, in psychotherapy (citing an especially powerful project in Chile), health education including promoting empathy, in dementia and autism. Cariad concludes by speculating on how robotics and AI may impact puppetry and its applications in the future and shares her hope that its' value should be more widely recognised in the west, not least in ritual.

Participants:

Cariad Astles, Lecturer at the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama and at Exeter University. https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Cariad-Astles

Ken Barrett, artist, writer and former neuropsychiatrist.http://www.kenbarrettstudio.co.uk/

Cariad's paper 'the Art of Puppetry Practice: Embodiment, Enchantment, Memory History' can be downloaded here: https://www.academia.edu/83808501/Puppetry_The_Art_of_Puppetry_Practice_Embodiment_Enchantment_Memory_History

Opening and closing music: Prelude to Brainland the opera by Stephen Brown

Brainland the opera website: www.brainlandtheopera.co.uk

Follow us us on Instagram: @brainlandcollective

Sketch by KB.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.