THE FULL LID
5th March 2021
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Hi everyone! Welcome to The Full Lid! This is your weekly Friday at 5 dose of pop culture enthusiasm, career notes, reviews and anything else that I've enjoyed this week. Think of it as email, but good!
This week's interstitials are overlooked female directors (which is a phrase that's practically redundant) so let's go meet them and everyone else under The Lid this week!
Onward!
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Contents
Special Announcement
Machinehood
The Battersea Poltergeist
Exclusive: Book of Love Cover Reveal
Signal Boost
Where You Can Find Me This Week
Signing Off / Playing Out
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Special Announcement
We have April Fool's Day plans, my friends! None of the usual April Fool's day nonsense here. We want to give you something of worth! Value! Uplifting and inspiring frivolity!
To that end we're commissioning three writers to bring you features, as well as related artwork. And all of that that costs money. Which is where you come in! The results of our survey earlier this week were that you prefer Ko-fi to GoFundMe.
Our goal is to raise $400 to cover the costs of this special edition -- you can chip in here.
If we overfund, whoo hoo! We'll payment these talented writers and artists even more. Everyone wins! And thank you!
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Machinehood
Editor's note: spoilers of the back of jacket copy and broad concepts variety.
Welga Ramirez is a human shield. She's the evolutionary apex of a bodyguard, mashed up with a Kabuki dancer and an actress in a corporate video. Welga's job is to shield her clients from protests. She's very good at it, and even better at the violence economy built into her work. Because while no one wants to see someone die, everyone wants to see someone bleed. She makes better tips that way.
Shields like her fight the robots protestors send after her clients. Her popularity, demand, and livelihood are dependant on doing her job in exciting, flashy, or violent ways. The attention economy with a flak vest and a flechette gun. Political protest disrupted as war reimagined as symbolism reimagined as the gig economy.
That's in the first fifty pages, and Divya is just getting warmed up.
S.B. Divya's work, especially her superb debut novella Runtime, is marked by her ability to extrapolate not just a world but the human consequences of that world. MACHINEHOOD rests on three pillars, of which that is one. Then Divya balances it with an interrogation of the history and assumptions of the Three Laws of Robotics, and a deeper still interrogation of society and way it has - or will - navigate the seismic shifts that await in the intersection of labor, robotics, late-stage capitalism, and the emergence of synthetic intelligence.
Divya uses a mystery framing narrative to explore her setting and these themes, opening with Olga losing a client and closing with a very different world. Along the way we experience this rapidly changing world through a variety of lenses, one of the most affecting of which is the idea that privacy is a thing of the past. By the 2095 of MACHINEHOOD there are so many microscopic spy cameras everywhere you can and will be followed wherever you go.
Nightmare fuel? Certainly, I say from the most surveilled city on the planet. But Divya asks bigger questions, dropping the concept into stark relief. This is a society where ubiquity has become economy, where being seen, or living with the fact you can be seen, is as part of your day as morning yoga and putting a mask on to go outside. Is it dystopian? Not quite. Is it familiar, relatable? Absolutely. Divya does this time and again with multiple strands of worldbuilding, from economics to labor to privacy to how we cook. Showing us what drug printing, crowdsourced 'surveillance', and countless other technologies do for us as well as what they take away. To take but one example, Divya explores the concept of the constructed and distanced family and what happens when that's challenged.
A lot of the book cuts deep but that? In the midst of a pandemic a hair's breath away from it's first anniversary? Cuts deepest of all.
But Divya goes further still, wrapping the mystery element of the plot into this future's own fear of futures and threats yet to come. MACHINEHOOD posits a society on the brink of massive change, where fear and danger clash with wonder and potential. Which brings us to those Three Laws. Divya evolves Asimov's concept in a way that's as compelling as it is long overdue. MACHINEHOOD lives in the thin line where digital and physical intelligence first meet, and Divya is an expert cartographer, walking us through the terrain with compassion, perspective and subtlety
MACHINEHOOD is extraordinary. It's already on my 2021 Hugo nomination list. It builds not just on the past but on the immediate past, a continuing and deepening of the conversations in novels like Infomocracy and Autonomous and shows like Years and Years to create not just a future but a map of how to navigate that future.
Molecular-level science fiction with a deeply affecting story, I expect MACHINEHOOD will be on a lot of shortlists next year.
A towering achievement, MACHINEHOOD is available now in hardback and audiobook (narrated by Inés del Castillo and Deepti Gupti) from all major booksellers. |
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Yes, Whedon's finally been outed as a terrible abusive piece of shit. Again. Yes, Kristy Swanson turned into a rampant Trump zealot. Yes, both Luke Perry and Rutger Hauer are tragically no longer with us. But this remains one of the best monuments to their work. Perry shows a gift for wry comedy not enough directors saw and is a wonderfully determined -- and charmingly ineffective -- heroic lead. 'You got a problem? I got a bag of solutions' is an iconic line even today. Also, best mate David Arquette steals every scene Paul Reubens doesn't as Perry's vamped-and-loving-it buddy. Likewise Hauer, so often dour when he twinkled like no one on Earth, has a real spring in his step here. Rounded out by a superb performance from Paul Reubens, this is a cultural record of the 1990s and an iconic take on Buffy. Especially notable as she and husband Kaz have production credits on both the Buffy and Angel TV shows.
This is one of only three directorial credits to Kuzui's name, and that's a damn shame because she's great at it.
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The Battersea Poltergeist
Editor's note: spoilers
Content warnings for this review include horror themes (paranormal / supernatural) and violence (physical violence to children).
Please note that as far as I can tell, a comprehensive listing of content warnings has not been provided for this show.
Learn more about how we use content warnings here.
Before we talk about the recently-concluded The Battersea Poltergeist, let me give you some context. This is my definition of horror:
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The Mist (2007)
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Something impossibly alien, impossibly vast. Something that could destroy you in a second and the only reason it hasn't is you're too small to perceive. The logical extension of Friedkin's 'True horror is seeing something approach', but distinctly more visceral. And, as The Battersea Poltergeist shows, very much the sensation you're left with.
In 1956, the Hitchings family lived on Wycliffe Road. Wally drove for the Underground, his wife Kitty was a former office clerk (and now uses a wheelchair) and his mother, Ethel also lived with them along with her adoptive son, John. Rounding the household out was Shirley, a smart, friendly 15 year old about to start art school.
And about to be at the centre of a 12 year haunting discussed in Parliament, and that followed her wherever she went.
Presented by Danny Robins with skeptic Ciaran O'Keefe and parapsychologist Evelyn Hollow, The Battersea Poltergeist walks us through these events in a combination of research and drama. The dramatic sections feature everyone's favorite murderwaif actress Dafne Keen as Shirley. Toby Jones also joins the cast as Chib, the parapsychologist who became a family friend and would sleep on the kitchen floor at night to try and teach Shirley's tormentor better ways to communicate. Chib had his work cut out for him -- Shirley was regularly dragged into the air, objects hurled and banging so loud coming from the house that neighbours thought they were tearing the floorboards up.
This was just the start of twelve years of communication. Years that would end with Chib obsessed with the idea that 'Donald' was a victim of the French revolution, Ethel hearing her mother's voice years after her death, and Shirley suffering attempted exposes' from the press who claimed she faked it all. The event is intensely complicated and deeply disturbing.
Robins and crew lay everything out in straight lines, offer explanations where possible and theories where not, never lingering for spectacle. Which in a morass like this, is all you can do. It's helped immensely too by the fact that Shirley is still alive and a participant. She presents as a woman with nothing to lose or prove, her contributions refreshingly honest. One late moment in particular stands out, where Robins is clearly warming up to confront her with the possibility she wrote all the hundreds of letters 'Donald' sent people in later years, only for the narrative to be expertly and cheerfully hijacked by the older woman. She's been asked these questions before, she knows what did and didn't happen, and deflects a show breaking moment with polite, deferential certainty. Bravo to the producers for keeping it that way.
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That's one of many surprises the show has in store for its audience, most of them contained within the story itself.
The case parallels the British nascent spiritualist movement's rise and fall, generating one of the more ludicrous explanations: that the banging was caused by Shirley clicking the joint of her big toe. The show isn't afraid to dive into these theories though and conversely, the last minute reveal that Donald claimed to have been Louis XVII of France is given a lot of air time. It's not quite nonsensical, but as we cut between Chib working out his possible routes to Battersea and the present day, it's hard not to see how this one choice cleverly got Chib focused elsewhere and the attention shifted away from Shirley. The danger of obsession is constant and Shirley's desperate attempts to move on with her life in the later episodes speak to just how traumatic the experience was.
But did she 'fake it'? O'Keefe, a professional parapsychologist, thinks so, highlighting her evidence for her theory. But there's also evidence for the impossible, or at least, for it's passing.
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Robins and his experts attempt to win you over. Not to the idea of something definitive happening but to the undeniable sense of something, barely glimpsed, passing by out in the mist, he ghost that haunted Shirley and her family just part of it. The true spectre here is certainty, inalienable proof of something impossible and, once again, that's not what we get. But it isn't through want of trying and it isn't because the journey isn't meticulous and honest in a way you'd be forgiven for not expecting. There are narrative choices made (a crucial reveal saved for a finale moment) but the structure of the show is the structure of the haunting and the investigation, itself complex, contradictory and relentless.
With all that in mind, the true victory here may be for parapsychology podcasting. The Battersea Poltergeist is a solid template for how to present a story like this: honestly, with a human dimension, an open mind and a willingness to go down cul-de-sacs just to turn back around. The Battersea Poltergeist is a skeptical believer of a show and encourages us to be the same. I appreciated how it didn't rely heavily on 'True Crime documentary' style presentation tricks, though one of my greatest criticisms is a lack of comprehensive content warnings.
The Battersea Poltergeist is available through podcatches now, and is produced by BBC Radio 4.
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Written off by many for Tank Girl (PHILISTINES! PHILISTINES I SAY!) Talalay's longform vengeance has been to become one of the most prolific genre fiction directors in the west. Name a genre show and odds are she's directed for it. In Doctor Who's case, countless times, becoming a director trusted with the big ticket season finales. For example, Heaven Sent and Hellbent, not just possibly the best Doctor Who two-parter ever made but an absolutely consummate directorial performance. Here's the battlefield scene from Twice Upon A Time because it's possible you needed a good cathartic cry this week.
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New reader? Looking for a back issue?
Buy me a coffee?
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Book of Love Cover Reveal
Editor's note: brought to us by editor C. A. Yates!
Hello there Lovers! Gird your loins and adjust your gussets – it’s time for a COVER REVEAL! Designed by C.A Yates, Paul Yates, and Vincent Holland-Keen, The Fox Spirit Book of Love is due to be released this Easter!
Love. That many-splendoured thing. It can move mountains and make fools of us all, but what is it? Does it come courtesy of a cherub’s bow? Is it a battlefield? Endless? Crazy? Only available on a Friday? Well, the answer might be between these covers. Inside you’ll find stories from fantastical worlds to fairy tales, from dark places to virtual reality, tales of transformation, hope, and despair. Above all else, each one is, at heart, about love.
Featuring stories from Douglas J. Ogurek, Dolly Garland, Alec McQuay, James Bennett, David Tallerman, Joyce Chng, Xan van Rooyen, Michelle Ann King, Lawrence Harding, Charlotte Bond, Kit West, Emma K. Leadley, Ro Smith, Lisa Shea, K.A. Laity, Jenny Barber, and G. Clark Hellery.
Be ready!
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This absolutely joyous, autobiographical (ish) story of a gifted playwright trying to express her creative frustrations through rap, is unlike anything else you'll see this year. Bank is an astonishing creative and comedic talent.
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Signal Boost
Comics
Movies
- Sarah Gailey's The Echo Wife is being adapted for the big screen by Annapurna! AAAAAAA! This is a great book by a great author and I can't wait to see what it looks like. Or if my theory that Elizabeth Moss is going to claim this as the latest in her line of 'I am DONE with you' roles pans out.
Podcasting
- Hanging Sloth Studios bring news of Spirit Box Radio. They describe it 'weekly horror audiodrama about a haunted radio show host struggling to deal with the present as the past continues to barge in.' SOLD!
- James brings news of Bloodlines, a new fantasy podcast arriving in May. Created by Rae Flores, it's the story of Ellowyn, 'a king's assassin. as she comes to realize that the rebellion against the monarchy isn't as misguided as she's been raised to believe...' Sounds great and I'm subscribed. Come join me!
Roleplaying
Writing
That's this week's Signal Boost, folks. If you have a project you'd like to see here get in touch
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Where You Can Find Me This Week
The March of the Awards Season
- Hugo nomination season continues. I've done a lot of writing and been involved in a lot of projects I'm proud of this year, all described at my Eligibility Post. Thank you!
Novel O'Clock
- Not 1000 words a day or DEATH! but not DEATH! either, so there's that. Continuing to eat that fictional whale.
The Clock App
Twitch
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A prolific writer and director, Prince-Bythewood, like so many of these women, is overlooked by critics and audiences but not her industry. That changed with the release of The Old Guard, adapted from Greg Rucka and Co's excellent comic series. The movie was a breakout hit at Netflix, with a sequel and new comic both on the way, placing Prince-Bythewood squarely on the map.
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Signing Off / Playing Out
Thanks for reading, folks! Turns out weeks, like Repo Man's life, are always intense right now. WHEEEEE! Remember to hydrate, stretch and eat your vegetables. Maybe just not all at once.
Trust me. I... I know.
TFL returns next week. Check out my Carrd for all the places you can find me, including the Twitters Team KennerStuart Instagram, which is mostly just sitting in the corner being all enigmatic and ranger-like.
This work is produced for free. If you like what you read please consider dropping something in the Ko-fi tip jar. As mentioned up top, all proceeds in March are going towards the April Fools issue I'm commissioning. So you not just helping me, you're helping me pay it forward. That's like five acts of artistic support for the price of one!
Playing us out this week is the musical production from Tank Girl. Because I love it. Some people say this is Rachel Talalay's worst work. I say this?
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is a Full Lid.
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