The Human Instrumentality Podcast

By: Ian Cory & Joseph Schafer
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  • Summary

  • The Human Instrumentality Podcast celebrates animated fiction from Japan - or, anime - that uses groundbreaking visual storytelling to tell unconventional and moving stories. Season 2, now airing, tells the story of of beloved director Satoshi Kon, whose brief-but-brilliant oeuvre includes “Perfect Blue” and Paranoia Agent.” Kon’s psychedelic and psychological parade of images and characters celebrate the animated film tradition and critique the society that created it – and the fans that enable its existence. Hosts Ian Cory and Joseph Schafer cover Kon's entire career, from his humble beginnings as a background artist on "Akira" to his final cinematic dreamscape, "Paprika." Season one, which finished in 2022, covered the animated television series "Neon Genesis Evangelion," unpacking its sometimes cryptic plot, and examining its unique place in pop culture history — it's so much more than a cartoon about teenagers and giant robots. Follow the Human Instrumentality Podcast on Twitter at @AnotherEvaPod and on Instagram at @humaninstrumentalitypod Our website is: www.instrumentalitypod.com
    © 2022 The Human Instrumentality Podcast
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Episodes
  • Gamera III: Revenge of Iris *Unlocked*

    Gamera III: Revenge of Iris *Unlocked*
    Jul 5 2023
    At last, The Human Instrumentality Podcast’s coverage of the Heisei Gamera trilogy comes to its oh-so-edgy conclusion with 1999’s Gamera III: Revenge of Iris. In this film, director Shusuke Kaneko returns to his horror film roots for one of the darkest kaiju films in existence. This time the titular terrapin (now fully in his grimdark phase) meets his match in the vampiric Iris — the kaiju with a psychic link to Ayana Hirasaka, a troubled teen whose parents he squashed in the first film. If Gamera II was the giant monster New Testament, then Gamera III is the genre’s Book of Revelation, so expect plenty of morbid spectacles, but no happy endings. While discussing the film, Ian and Joseph gleefully unpack Ayana’s story and the intimate small-town setting that is the ironic focus of the unusually apocalyptic film. Of course, talking about Ayana means discussing the tentacle-filled innuendo that is her kaiju counterpart — then again, the hentai-ness of it all does add something to this already unique film. Listeners who’ve been waiting for a live-action Evangelion take note: this might be as close as we ever get.
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    1 hr and 29 mins
  • Gamera II: Attack of Legion *Unlocked*

    Gamera II: Attack of Legion *Unlocked*
    Jun 28 2023
    The second film in the Heisei Gamera trilogy reunites director Shusuke Kaneko, SFX specialist Shinji Higuchi, and writer Kazunori Ito for an ambitious alien invasion film. This time, the titanic turtle’s opponent is the creepy-crawly colony of space bugs, the Symbiotic Legion; a kaiju that brings the biblical barbarism from Neon Genesis Evangelion front-and-center to the Gamera experience. Legion’s got Ian asking, “What’s up with bugs in the ‘90s?” He and Joseph go on an exciting excursion through the canon of great pre-millennium insect critters – the Zerg from Starcraft, the Arachnids from Paul Verhoeven’s now-beloved but then-derided Starship Troopers, and so on. Later, Joseph drops another cortex-crushing take on the psychological subtext to Gamera’s triumphant return to the screen. All that plus a solid discussion of post-apocalypses in film and video games and why we could use fewer of them. Notes: ‘Video Games Are Giving Up On The Idea that We Can Save The World’ by Michael Lee, via Kotaku (https://kotaku.com/video-games-are-giving-up-on-the-idea-that-we-can-save-1849727976)
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    1 hr and 22 mins
  • Gamera: Guardian of the Universe *Unlocked*

    Gamera: Guardian of the Universe *Unlocked*
    Jun 21 2023
    Human Instrumentality Podcast listeners are probably familiar with Godzilla, King of the Monsters, the massive atomic dinosaur that remains Japan’s foremost Kaiju (giant monster) ambassador to the rest of the world. They may be less familiar with his lesser-known commercial rival, a flying, fire-breathing turtle (seriously) named Gamera, who once upon a time had a little cameo on Mad Men. Gamera sounds silly on paper, but the titanic terrapin’s trilogy of 90’s films might be the best giant monster movies ever made, thanks in large part to staff members from Neon Genesis Evangelion and Ghost in the Shell. Know this: there is no Shin Godzilla without 1995’s Gamera: Guardian of the Universe. Joseph takes Ian on a tour through Gamera’s truly bizarre history before both hosts begin their survey of his Heisei trilogy. Along the way, they discuss under-appreciated horror auteur turned wunderkind director Shusuke Kaneko, who mined the vein of 90s anime-cool to give the goofiest monster you could imagine both serious edge, and still-biting environmentalist themes.
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    1 hr and 12 mins

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