Our podcast recommendation of the week looks to capture those conversations you get on the way out of a cinema – more here.
Since we’ve all been in lockdown for over a year at this point, not many of us have had the need, or indeed inclination, to visit our local cinema. It’s sometimes hard to remember what fresh popcorn smelled like, or the sensation of walking into a darkened, almost-full screening of the latest blockbuster; that intoxicating feeling of everyone in the same room wanting to see the same film. Not to mention overhearing the conversations afterwards (or sometimes during, but that’s a different feature entirely).
One podcast was born from those post-cinema moments of eavesdropping (but not in a weird way!) and that’s Eavesdropping at the Movies. Created and hosted by José Arroyo and Michael Glass, they wanted to capture that feeling of leaving the cinema. To overhear other viewers’ conversations on the movie they’d just watched and observe the fascinating differences in response to the same feature.
José and Michael met at the University of Warwick, where José lectures in film studies. Eavesdropping at the Movies is not a film review podcast per se, it’s commentary on the content, the business of film and the social and historical dynamics of a film’s creation and release. As a scholar, it was José who always had lofty ambitions for the podcast, and while its format has been forced to change somewhat during the pandemic, what hasn’t is the impassioned and insightful conversations José and Michael have on each film they cover. Being a Midlands-based podcast, they also chart a personal history of Midlands venues, making mention of where in the Birmingham area they see each film, to help listeners find those buried treasures.
Due to José’s busy lecturing schedule, Michael manages the day-to-day responsibilities on Eavesdropping at the Movies with the editing, publishing and social media; most importantly though, José provides the recording snacks. While lockdown has meant remote recording, the two formed a bubble which meant they could safely resume podcasting face-to-face. This is a podcast that deepens the relationship between film discussion and film history, and easily mixes episodes featuring blockbusters like The Matrix with seasons on William Friedkin and Jean-Pierre Melville. Discussions are comprehensive, erudite and humorous, and with their scholarly backgrounds makes for an insightful, learned experience.
Eavesdropping at the Movies also took part in Transmission Radio in 2018, where José and Michael were asked for their autographs. While they find being recognised an odd experience, due to podcasting being an audible format, Michael assures us that they will do pretty much anything for a morsel of praise.
With almost 300 episodes of Eavesdropping at the Movies available, it’s time to eavesdrop on this podcast…
Recommended episode: Episode 260: The Garden of the Finzi-Continis (7 November 2020) – https://eavesdroppingatthemovies.com/2020/11/07/260-the-garden-of-the-finzi-continis/
Eavesdropping at the Movies can be found at https://eavesdroppingatthemovies.com
And followed at:
Twitter – https://twitter.com/EavesdropMovies
Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/EavesdroppingattheMovies/
All episodes of Eavesdropping at the Movies are available and can be listened to or downloaded from Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts from.
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