Fiction writer and editor A.A. de Levine joins to discuss Mary Harron's debut feature, 'I Shot Andy Warhol', featuring a seismic performace from Lili Taylor as the infamous feminist writer Valerie Solanas as well as Jared Harris as the late pop artist, and a moving turn from Stephen Dorff as trans icon Candy Darling. The film is a fascinating, frightening view into the life and experiences of Solanas that led her to an increased state of anger, paranoia, and aggression which eventually resulted in the film's titular act of violence.
We take a look at the real life Solanas and her most enduring work, The SCUM Manifesto; its aims, its limitations, and its intentions as a furious feminist screed, a work of biting satire, or something in the middle. Then, we discuss the film's portrayal of New York's art scene in the 1960s and its nuanced examination of the ways Warhol and his Factory cohort offer a contradiction of the avant-garde as filtered through highly palatable standards of beauty and taste. Finally, we talk about the career of Mary Harron, who would go on to achieve her greatest acclaim with her sophomore feature, the teriffic 'American Psycho', before having her films relegated to a place of relative obscurity for the next two decades.
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Our theme song is "Mirror" by
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