Verbal Diorama Verbal Diorama

Bong Joon-ho is a fascinating director, and for the start of Kaijune, a theme month dedicated to cinematic monsters, I simple had to start with The Host, one of his lesser-known films but also one of his most accomplished.
Bong Joon-ho does tend to make movies about monsters, but usually they’re figurative monsters. Capitalism, colonialism, greed, class inequalities, social injustice. But here, this is a literal monster born from humanity's greed, government conspiracy and environmental disaster. A monster who will eat anyone and anything in its path. A monster Bong was insistent to show in its entirety up front, and in daylight.
Centred around the everyday Park family, and hapless father Gang-du, a shop worker who's pitied and berated by his family, loses his daughter in the panic after the monster appears out of the Han River. Gang-du ends up incarcerated and lobotomized, but still does everything in his limited power to find and save Hyun-seo, who refuses to be damselled and in turn protects and saves a younger child from being eaten by the monster.
But is the monster really the monster? Or is America the monster?
It's a deeply personal and relatable family story, wrapped in a monster movie. No wonder it broke box office records in South Korea...
I would love to hear your thoughts on The Host (Gwoemul) (2006) !
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ABOUT VERBAL DIORAMA
Verbal Diorama is hosted, produced, edited, researched, recorded and marketed by me, Em | This podcast is hosted by Captivate, try it yourself for free.
Theme Music: Verbal Diorama Theme Song. Music by Chloe Enticott - Compositions by Chloe. Lyrics by Chloe Enticott (and me!) Production by Ellis Powell-Bevan of Ewenique Studio
Patrons: Simon E, Sade, Claudia, Simon B, Laurel, Derek, Vern, Cat, Andy, Mike, Griff, Luke, Michael, Scott, Brendan, Ian, Lisa, Sam, Will, Jack, Dave, Chris, Stuart, Sunni, Drew, Nicholas, Zo, Kev, Pete, Heather, Danny, Aly, Tyler, Stu, Brett, Philip and Michele!
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This episode contains a paid Patron promotion for Middle Class Film Class, hosted by patron Pete.

Heathers wasn't the first teen black comedy, but it certainly would go on to define teen movies going forward, with movies like Clueless, Jawbreaker and Mean Girls all benefitting from Heathers' influence, either vernacularly, sartorially or thematically.
A candy-coloured world juxtaposed against the metaphorical "high school is hell", Veronica Sawyer is a member of the Heathers, the most popular, and most hated clique at Westerburg High. Led by Heather, aided by Heather and brought up in the rear by Heather, Veronica is not a Heather, but she might as well be, especially when she starts being influenced by bad boy loner J.D....
Heathers would take a satirical look at teen suicide, self-harm, eating disorders, sexual assault, fatphobia, peer pressure (Teenage Suicide. Don't Do It!), but is possibly most well-known for being remarkably prescient when it comes to school shootings. 35 years ago, a student shooting classmates in the cafeteria was the stuff of far-fetched imaginations ran wild. Nowadays, it's become a horrific reality.
The extreme always seems to make an impression...
I would love to hear your thoughts on Heathers !
CONTACT....
Twitter @verbaldiorama Instagram @verbaldiorama Facebook @verbaldiorama Letterboxd @verbaldiorama Email verbaldiorama [at] gmail [dot] com Website verbaldiorama.com
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ABOUT VERBAL DIORAMA
Verbal Diorama is hosted, produced, edited, researched, recorded and marketed by me, Em | This podcast is hosted by Captivate, try it yourself for free.
Theme Music: Verbal Diorama Theme Song. Music by Chloe Enticott - Compositions by Chloe. Lyrics by Chloe Enticott (and me!) Production by Ellis Powell-Bevan of Ewenique Studio
Patrons: Simon E, Sade, Claudia, Simon B, Laurel, Derek, Vern, Cat, Andy, Mike, Griff, Luke, Michael, Scott, Brendan, Ian, Lisa, Sam, Will, Jack, Dave, Chris, Stuart, Sunni, Drew, Nicholas, Zo, Kev, Pete, Heather, Danny, Aly, Tyler, Stu, Brett, Philip and Michele!
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"Play Ja Ja Ding Dong!"
Ok, ok...
But also, to celebrate the Eurovision Song Contest being held here in the UK, and in support of Ukraine, the history and legacy of not only the contest itself, but also Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga.
Will Ferrell first saw the contest in 1999, and became a huge fan. It would take him over 20 years to bring a movie to the big screen, and it would be a movie endorsed by the European Broadcast Union. It had to balance a fine line between being an introduction to the competition for people who new nothing about the kitsch, campy song contest, and a love letter to its fans and participants.
No-one expected it to become Oscar-nominated, though...
I would love to hear your thoughts on Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga !
CONTACT....
Twitter @verbaldiorama Instagram @verbaldiorama Facebook @verbaldiorama Letterboxd @verbaldiorama Email verbaldiorama [at] gmail [dot] com Website verbaldiorama.com
SUPPORT VERBAL DIORAMA....
Give this podcast a five-star Rate & Review
Join the Patreon | Buy Merch
ABOUT VERBAL DIORAMA
Verbal Diorama is hosted, produced, edited, researched, recorded and marketed by me, Em | This podcast is hosted by Captivate, try it yourself for free.
Theme Music: Verbal Diorama Theme Song. Music by Chloe Enticott - Compositions by Chloe. Lyrics by Chloe Enticott (and me!) Production by Ellis Powell-Bevan of Ewenique Studio
Patrons: Simon E, Sade, Claudia, Simon B, Laurel, Derek, Vern, Cat, Andy, Mike, Griff, Luke, Michael, Scott, Brendan, Ian, Lisa, Sam, Will, Jack, Dave, Chris, Stuart, Sunni, Drew, Nicholas, Zo, Kev, Pete, Heather, Danny, Aly, Tyler, Stu, Brett, Philip and Michele!

I'm bad, and that's good. I will never be good, and that's not bad. There's no one I'd rather be than me.
Wreck-It Ralph may be really good at wrecking, and Fix-It Felix really good at fixing, but Disney had been working on a video game movie since the late 80s without success. Starting as High Score, and then Joe Jump, it would be 2008 when the project would finally be "rebooted" as Reboot Ralph. At one point Ralph wasn't even the lead character, it was Felix.
But then they realised that following the story of the bad guy, and his journey to redemption, was actually a lot more interesting that following the good guy. Wreck-It Ralph was born, and to legitimise his world, they decided to contact video game companies to licence actual characters for Litwak's Arcade, which went surprisingly well - everyone wanted on board - Nintendo, Sega, Capcom etc. Over 180 characters later, they didn't just have a movie, they had a universe.
They also had a remarkably sweet and brilliant story about just being yourself, not letting others define you, and a reminder that difference is a powerup.
A playable version of Fix-It Felix Jr is available at https://kbhgames.com/game/fix-it-felix-jr
The Who Framed Roger Rabbit episode of The Rewind Movie Podcast is available here
I would love to hear your thoughts on Wreck-It Ralph !
CONTACT....
Twitter @verbaldiorama Instagram @verbaldiorama Facebook @verbaldiorama Letterboxd @verbaldiorama Email verbaldiorama [at] gmail [dot] com Website verbaldiorama.com
SUPPORT VERBAL DIORAMA....
Give this podcast a five-star Rate & Review
Join the Patreon | Buy Merch
ABOUT VERBAL DIORAMA
Verbal Diorama is hosted, produced, edited, researched, recorded and marketed by me, Em | This podcast is hosted by Captivate, try it yourself for free.
Theme Music: Verbal Diorama Theme Song. Music by Chloe Enticott - Compositions by Chloe. Lyrics by Chloe Enticott (and me!) Production by Ellis Powell-Bevan of Ewenique Studio
Patrons: Simon E, Sade, Claudia, Simon B, Laurel, Derek, Vern, Cat, Andy, Mike, Griff, Luke, Michael, Scott, Brendan, Ian, Lisa, Sam, Will, Jack, Dave, Chris, Stuart, Sunni, Drew, Nicholas, Zo, Kev, Pete, Heather, Danny, Aly, Tyler, Stu, Brett, Philip and BRAND-NEW PATRON Michele!
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Scott @MSMRpod. Listen to Monkey See Monkey Review in your podcast app of choiceBrett @dissectthatfilm. Listen to Dissect That Film in your podcast app of choiceAndy...

I'm sexy, I'm cute, I'm popular to boot... the introductory scene to Bring It On is infamous in 2000s pop culture for its tongue-in-cheek look at the world of cheerleading.
Bring It On though, was born of a fascination with competitive cheerleading, and the fact that as it's seen as primarily a women's sport, and not really a sport in itself, despite the skill and athleticism necessary.
Writer Jessica Bendinger knew she had something special, and it took many pitches to get a studio to believe in her cheerleader comedy, rooted deeply in the politics of cheerleading, as well as cultural appropriation and white guilt, something not many 2000s high school comedies would touch with a ten-foot spirit stick.
But there was another cheerleader movie being made at the same time, one that would steal a lead cast member and tempt another...
I would love to hear your thoughts on Bring It On !
CONTACT....
Twitter @verbaldiorama Instagram @verbaldiorama Facebook @verbaldiorama Letterboxd @verbaldiorama Email verbaldiorama [at] gmail [dot] com Website verbaldiorama.com
SUPPORT VERBAL DIORAMA....
Give this podcast a five-star Rate & Review
Join the Patreon | Buy Merch
ABOUT VERBAL DIORAMA
Verbal Diorama is hosted, produced, edited, researched, recorded and marketed by me, Em | This podcast is hosted by Captivate, try it yourself for free.
Theme Music: Verbal Diorama Theme Song. Music by Chloe Enticott - Compositions by Chloe. Lyrics by Chloe Enticott (and me!) Production by Ellis Powell-Bevan of Ewenique Studio
Patrons: Simon E, Sade, Claudia, Simon B, Laurel, Derek, Vern, Cat, Andy, Mike, Griff, Luke, Michael, Scott, Brendan, Ian, Lisa, Sam, Will, Jack, Dave, Chris, Stuart, Sunni, Drew, Nicholas, Zo, Kev, Pete, Heather, Danny, Aly, Tyler, Stu, Brett and Philip!
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Livestream for the Cure 2023
I'll be appearing, alongside other amazing podcasters and content creators, in the 7th Annual Livestream for the Cure in May 2023 on Twitch! Together, we're aiming to raise $25,000 for the Cancer Research Institute, for a future free from cancer.

Hustlers was always going to be a tough sell. Based on the true story of a group of strippers who conned rich, white men, writer and director Lorene Scafaria found herself trying to sell it to... rich white men, who were less than enthusiastic about it.
The key was the involvement of Jennifer Lopez. Not only was it the casting of Scafaria's dreams, Lopez had the skill and connections to make the production a reality. She would also receive lavish praise for her performance as Ramona Vega, and the whole cast would achieve a newfound respect and admiration for strippers through the training they undertook to appear in the film.
While the movie didn't garner the accolades many thought it should have, it's a wonderful time capsule of the late 2000s fashion and music of the era, and the dynamic between Constance Wu and Jennifer Lopez grounds it in heartbreaking reality.
Drain the clock, not the c*ck...
I would love to hear your thoughts on Hustlers (2019) !
CONTACT....
Twitter @verbaldiorama Instagram @verbaldiorama Facebook @verbaldiorama Letterboxd @verbaldiorama Email verbaldiorama [at] gmail [dot] com Website verbaldiorama.com
SUPPORT VERBAL DIORAMA....
Give this podcast a five-star Rate & Review
Join the Patreon | Buy Merch
ABOUT VERBAL DIORAMA
Verbal Diorama is hosted, produced, edited, researched, recorded and marketed by me, Em | This podcast is hosted by Captivate, try it yourself for free.
Theme Music: Verbal Diorama Theme Song. Music by Chloe Enticott - Compositions by Chloe. Lyrics by Chloe Enticott (and me!) Production by Ellis Powell-Bevan of Ewenique Studio
Patrons: Simon E, Sade, Claudia, Simon B, Laurel, Derek, Vern, Cat, Andy, Mike, Griff, Luke, Michael, Scott, Brendan, Ian, Lisa, Sam, Will, Jack, Dave, Chris, Stuart, Sunni, Drew, Nicholas, Zo, Kev, Pete, Heather, Danny, Aly, Tyler, Stu, Brett and Philip!
EPISODE THANKS TO....
Most excellent patrons:
Vern @cinemarecall. Listen to Cinema Recall in your podcast app of choice
Twitter peeps
@FilmEffectPod@trivia_lad
Instagram folk
@friendlysparpod
Facebook chums
None this time
Mentioned in this episode:
Livestream for the Cure 2023
I'll be appearing, alongside other amazing podcasters and content creators, in the 7th Annual Livestream for the Cure in May 2023 on Twitch! Together, we're aiming to raise $25,000 for the Cancer Research Institute, for a future free from cancer.