Comrades! Our second socialist movie club/discussion group will be in-person this time. Please RSVP early for our hosts, but let us know if you can’t make it. We have a ten-person attendance cap. In honor of Friday the 13th, there is a horror movie selection included for your consideration.

We’ve chosen three movies for voting:

1. The Exterminating Angel (Buñuel, 1968, surrealist black comedy in French with subtitles)

2. The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie (Buñuel, 1971, subtitled, winner of the 1972 Oscar for best foreign film)

3. Candyman (1992, slasher horror)

Following are blurbs for each—- please note Candyman has several trigger warnings, so if it’s a dealbreaker, let us know. If any comrade wants to come but can’t stomach a slasher we will watch one of the Buñuels 😊 just indicate on your RSVP and then get ready to be immersed in surrealist cinema

1. The Exterminating Angel begins with a lavish dinner party at a mansion. As the bourgeoisie try to leave however, some unknown force keeps them trapped in the music room. Days turn into weeks, and their dynamics decay, exposing their savage and chaotic nature.
   It’s a blend of black comedy and surrealism. I enjoy watching the group dynamic crumble and the social veneers fall apart. This movie pairs well with schadenfreude. For the discussion after, some of the socialist themes include: society’s artificiality, the elite’s inherent barbarianism, and the fragile nature of capitalism. Buñuel critiques many institutions, especially religion. Fun fact: Buñuel was fired from MOMA after coworkers discovered his atheism. View the trailer here!

2. The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie is the opposite side of the coin and TEA’s companion piece. It is more approachable for most audiences, and very polished and watchable. Buñuel was more famous, and the cast was well known in Europe. And while Buñuel edited TEA himself, Discreet Charm had a famous cinematographer and was filmed in color. Buñuel flips the premise in this follow up: a group of important, affluent friends repeatedly attempt to gather for a fancy dinner, but are constantly interrupted. Interruptions range from the mundane (wrong night) to surreal (dreams within dreams) to various other more extreme circumstances. Some socialist themes for the discussion after include: bourgeois rituals are deconstructed to show they are hollow and meaningless. Another could be how the wealthy and powerful are complicit in societal issues they publicly condemn. Fun Fact: Buñuel snubbed the Academy (it was a very ironic win) and didn’t accept the Oscar. View the trailer here!

3. Candyman is sophisticated yet harrowing, and despite the many bloody and tense slasher scenes, it speaks to very real and problematic systemic racial issues. The main character, Helen, is a white graduate student in Chicago, and she is investigating the urban legend of the “Candyman”— the ghost of a Black artist who was lynched in the 1890s. His ghost is understandably vengeful and has a hook for a hand, which is useful for the slashing. Helen dismisses the legend as a socio-economic symptom of neglect when she visits the local housing projects. But, then she becomes entangled in a series of grisly murders, and the Candyman uses her, framing her for the crimes. The film blurs the line between scary stories and reality, forcing Helen to confront the systemic horrors that are Candyman’s origin story. Candyman’s may be a slasher horror, but it also fits one of my favorite horror tropes, which asks …”who is the monster, really” Trigger Warning Candyman contains depictions of graphic violence and murder including scenes involving blood and gore, as well as themes of racial violence, trauma, and systemic oppression. The film also includes disturbing imagery, intense suspense, and moments of psychological horror and gaslighting. The movie has a scene with a mutilated dog head, and another scene that involves violence to a young child, several scenes with swarming insects (bees), and several scenes depicting lynching. There is also an intense scene involving an involuntary psych hold. View the trailer here!