BMCC: BOOKS MOVIES & CANCIONES
What is your favorite movie? Or book? Or song? How do you react when other people say that it is their favorite as well? How do you react when they tell you that they don’t like that movie, book or song at all?Sharing with someone your tastes about film, literature or music can be an act of generosity or exposure. Can reveal who you are or, at least, open a window to some layers of our personality. Thus, this podcast will be a free space to talk about with passion about the images, the sounds or the lines th...
Episode 1: Roniel and “The Perks Of Being A Wallflower”
Do you ever feel like a wallflower? Is that something good or bad?Mental health issues, the questionable nature of gender roles, relatable high school traumas and the conquers and disappointments of growing up are some of the multiple ingredients of Stephen Chbosky’s coming-of-age book “The Perks of Being a Wallflower”, the favorite of BMCC student Roniel.Published in 1999, this epistolar novel has Charlie as non-prejudiced but also almost non-participant narrator, offering a raw and naturalistic approach the teenage years experience. From there, we will discuss the importance of culture to channel our feelings or enrich our journey as human b...
Episodio 10 ¡en español! Jorge nos habla de “La teorĂa del todo”
Aunque todos conocemos la historia del cientĂfico Stephen Hawking -capaz de cambiar la concepciĂłn que tenĂamos del universo más de una vez a pesar de sufrir la enfermedad degenerativa ELA-, la pelĂcula “La teorĂa del todo” (“The Theory of Everything”, dirigida por James Marsh en 2014) fue mucho más allá.Jorge, uno de nuestros estudiantes, la ha elegido para hacer el primer episodio en español de “Books, Movies & Canciones” y para reflexionar sobre nuestra capacidad de superar nuestras propias limitaciones y las expectativas de la sociedad.
Con Jorge hablaremos de ciencia, pero también de cine...
Episode 9: Prof. Sharon Khan revisits the primary sources of slavery
Psychology professor Sharon Kahn delves deep into the tangled roots of slavery embedded in the American psyche, using Harriet Jacobs’ poignant narrative, “Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl” as a lens through which to examine the enduring wounds of our history. With a keen understanding of the present-day implications, Sharon confronts us with haunting quotes from the past that eerily echo contemporary discourse, illuminating the unsettling continuity of racial injustice.And to combat polarization, Professor Kahn places more trust in music than in conversations, drawing from The Beatles to Rodgers and Hammerstein, so we can conclude a difficult dialogu...
Episode 8: Ande talks about the power of a good wardrobe in “Being There”
"Being There” (1979) talks about the trickiness of the American Dream. According to this Hal Ashby movie, a stupid gardener can reach the Washington Elite as long as he dresses correctly. Ande chose this political satire to reflect on the world we are living, the way we consume media and his experience during his transfer to NYU. All through gardening metaphors and avoiding complicated words, as the main character would do!
Episode 7: Gee or when your favorite song is called “Favorite song”
Finally we have an episode about music thanks to Gee, a wonderful student that has a favorite song called… “Favorite song”, by Toosii. Pretty meta, right? This very romantic song will help us to talk about the magic people that one day we find in our lives, self-love and how to break stereotypes about hip hop. Special cameos by Elton John, Sara Bareilles, Luis Miguel, Prince Royce, Sting and Dizzlemusic will give you a hint on how eclectic the conversation is going to be. And you? What is your favorite song?
Episode 6: Amaya and the goth icon of “Dracula”
Everybody knows Dracula, but Amaya takes us to the next level. Through the seminal Tod Browning’s adaptation for the big screen in 1931, “Dracula” sparks a conversation about non-normativity, about toxic relationships, fear and eroticism, and about the often misunderstood but definitely growing goth community. Of course, Bram Stoker, Frankenstein, Bela Lugosi, Ed Wood, the cult movie “Freaks” and the recent release “Talk to Me” will also say hi to our listeners in this first episode of the year.
Episode 5: Geoff under the spell of “The Neon Demon”
We finish our first semester with an anti-Christmas tale in the fashion world. “The Neon Demon” (Nicolas Winding Refn, 2016) may be the scariest depiction of beauty and fashion. But through that gap between the sublime and the horrific, Professor Geoff Klock will take us on a journey through the poems of Rilke, Greek mythology, Lynch and Kubrick and, of course, previous movies about beauty, ambition and aging such as “All About Eve” and “Sunset Boulevard”. Are you ready? Happy Holidays!
Episode 4: Jared vindicates “The Terminator” (the first one!)
Even if the sequel would become more popular and successful, Jared is here to vindicate the original “The Terminator” from 1984. A movie that becomes more relevant than ever in the midst of this AI era. Would it “terminate” humankind? Who would be the Sarah Connor of our time? So many questions discussed with the excuse of James Cameron’s cautionary tale that sets the apocalyptic future in 2029… only six years from now. Can you imagine? Or are we already there?
Jared was -25 when the movie was released, but watched it for the first time with his stepdad when he was...
Episode 3 – Pride Month Edition. Tim and “Call Me by Your Name”
In this Pride Month special episode, Tim, our Rainbow Panthers president, starts the conversation talking about “Call Me By Your Name”, the book by André Aciman that was published in 2007 and would become a very popular movie directed by Luca Guadagnino ten years later.
Have you read the book or seen the movie?No matter if your answer is yes or no, because this is only the excuse for talking about how we protect ourselves too much when it comes to love, the intersection between medicine and performance, summers in Italy, the wonderful literature of Oliver Sacks or movies...
Episode 2: Megan and “Mr. Magorium’s Wonder Emporium”
How are you coming to terms with adulthood? Do you feel that magic has disappeared from your life? Or do you still want to play? Megan reflects on all these not so playful topics inspired by the movie that she discovered when she was very little: “Mr. Magorium’s Wonder’s Emporium” (2007).
The movie, directed by Zach Helm, tells the story of the owner of a toy store (Dustin Hoffman) that wants to leave the business in the hands of a very smart but very frustrated girl (Natalie Portman). In the process, he will teach her to deal with joy...
