On this episode, Evgenia and I talk about Everything Everywhere All at Once — an impressive new film that just came out by “the Daniels.” It’s been a big indie hit. And yet most reviewers have missed the central thing about it: at its core it is a film about being an immigrant in America — and about being unhappy with the choice you made. That’s why the film’s schizoid “multiverse” premise works so well here. It’s all about other possible worlds and “what if’s.”
The Three Stigmata of Palmer Eldritch is the first PKD book I read. Really kind of separate from when I consumed the rest of them. I love how you guys talk about his stuff all the time. Such a weird confluence of interests.
May 7, 2022·edited May 7, 2022Liked by Yasha Levine
Yasha and Evgenia I really value your analysis of Russia and Russian emigres. I joined your podcast, after the start of Putin's stupid Invasion of Ukraine, to get a different perspective on Russia from either the pro-war (escalation) Western press, Russia state and liberal Russian mouthpieces like "Moscow Times". I read "Moscow Times" for anti-war stories, but find the depiction of Russia written for Western liberals to justify their smug racist depiction of Russia. Neither of these sources leave me feeling I was getting a deeper understanding of Russia or it emigres.Your podcasts seem different for me, coming from the Third World, and fed up of suggestion that corruption and state violence are things "Others" are susceptible too, unlike the superior West. I find Western liberals like missionaries of the past sent to the Majority World - the same puritanical self-righteousness. Keep up the good work. I love the fun you have as you engage with each other and your guests. BTW I heard about you on Abby Martin's "Empire Files" and Katie Halper's show.
Just saw this too, and basically cried for 2 straight hours about its depiction of mom immigrant life (and of course laughed, too). It was even kind of embarrassing, I'm not the crying type at the movies, let alone entire movies (Soviet immigrant as kid). But it truly struck a nerve. I thought your reading of it from the immigrant angle was spot on, and likely one of the main intentions of the creators. One other fun piece of tension was between brilliant Jamie Lee Curtis as a kind of power-tripping American woman who just has no idea of the humanity and intellect/wit of the mom character. This scene, although humorously depicted, is familiar to any immigrant observing what gets lost in translation between the immigrant parent generation and their host country... and the donut seems to be the threat of cynicism.
Anyway, I came across all your work via Surveillance Valley (great work!) and then followed Evgenia's film podcast for a while (at least the films I'd seen). Listening to your and your guests' perspectives recently is like therapy to me, there are very few voices that speak to, and try to make sense of everything from a non-caricatured place. And I hope we get to see this Medvedeva film someday!
The Three Stigmata of Palmer Eldritch is the first PKD book I read. Really kind of separate from when I consumed the rest of them. I love how you guys talk about his stuff all the time. Such a weird confluence of interests.
Yasha and Evgenia I really value your analysis of Russia and Russian emigres. I joined your podcast, after the start of Putin's stupid Invasion of Ukraine, to get a different perspective on Russia from either the pro-war (escalation) Western press, Russia state and liberal Russian mouthpieces like "Moscow Times". I read "Moscow Times" for anti-war stories, but find the depiction of Russia written for Western liberals to justify their smug racist depiction of Russia. Neither of these sources leave me feeling I was getting a deeper understanding of Russia or it emigres.Your podcasts seem different for me, coming from the Third World, and fed up of suggestion that corruption and state violence are things "Others" are susceptible too, unlike the superior West. I find Western liberals like missionaries of the past sent to the Majority World - the same puritanical self-righteousness. Keep up the good work. I love the fun you have as you engage with each other and your guests. BTW I heard about you on Abby Martin's "Empire Files" and Katie Halper's show.
Just saw this too, and basically cried for 2 straight hours about its depiction of mom immigrant life (and of course laughed, too). It was even kind of embarrassing, I'm not the crying type at the movies, let alone entire movies (Soviet immigrant as kid). But it truly struck a nerve. I thought your reading of it from the immigrant angle was spot on, and likely one of the main intentions of the creators. One other fun piece of tension was between brilliant Jamie Lee Curtis as a kind of power-tripping American woman who just has no idea of the humanity and intellect/wit of the mom character. This scene, although humorously depicted, is familiar to any immigrant observing what gets lost in translation between the immigrant parent generation and their host country... and the donut seems to be the threat of cynicism.
Anyway, I came across all your work via Surveillance Valley (great work!) and then followed Evgenia's film podcast for a while (at least the films I'd seen). Listening to your and your guests' perspectives recently is like therapy to me, there are very few voices that speak to, and try to make sense of everything from a non-caricatured place. And I hope we get to see this Medvedeva film someday!