Rob returns to the November 2018 edition of Fraternal Review Magazine analyzing the esoteric-Masonic symbolism of the motion picture, The Man Who Would Be King (1975), based on Kipling’s 1888 novella. Excerpts from Cinema Symbolism 2 – to purchase the magazine click image:
Join Rob when he will be on Life in the Hologram radio show! Program debuts live this Thursday, November 29, 2018 airing on KCOR Digital Radio. Show airs at 12:00 pm (noon) EST (9:00 am PT) and streams globally across the internet; to listen click banner:
The smooth stylings of Rob this Wednesday night, November 14, 2018, when he will be live on Swamp Gas airing on Black Swamp Digital Radio (Unknown Spirit). Program debuts at 10:00 pm EST; to listen to this show click image:
In case you missed it Rob’s November 2, 2018, appearance on Hyperspace is now archived. Listen to Rob talk September 11, 2001 and its nexus to Spies Like Us, The Simpsons, and Fight Club. Rob also talks horror films and the mystical holiday of Halloween. To listen click banner:
Rob’s 2018 Halloween Special is now stationed on YouTube. Listen to Rob analyze The Shining, The Exorcist, and Poltergeist on the Den of Lore. Enjoy!
Currently writing Cinema Symbolism 3. Here is an excerpt (rough draft) for your consideration.
Bates Motel was one of this author’s favorite television series. It aired on the A&E Network for five seasons from 2013 to 2017. The show was a modern retelling of Hitchcock’s Psycho with hardcore Easter eggs turning up during its entire run. The eggs served to pay homage to Hitchcock and Psycho (1960). Psycho is replete with esoteric symbolism, so it is no wonder Bates Motel followed in its footsteps.
(Left) Susanna and the Elders oil painting by either Frans van Mieris the Elder (1635-1681) or Willem van Mieris (1662-1747), Frans’ youngest son. The painting, based on a story from the Bible, shows three men, like Norman Bates, spying on a bathing woman. In the Biblical tale, the men accuse her of erotic blackmail; in Room 1 of the Bates Motel, Norman qua Mother brutally stabs the naked woman. (Right) During Psycho’s climatic grand finale, Norman assumes Susanna’s same posture as he is being subdued by Sam Loomis.
For instance, the oil painting Norman Bates (Anthony Perkins, 1932-1992) uses to cover the secret peephole in the Bates Motel parlor symbolizes his repressed sexuality. Voyeuristically watching Marion Crane (Janet Leigh, 1927-2004), his passion brings jealous “Mother” to life; she, not Norman, seals her fate. The image is a replica of a painting called Susanna and the Elders. It depicts a story from the Bible–Book of Daniel, Chapter 13–in which three old men spy on an innocent woman as she gets ready to bathe, but when they find themselves overcome with passion, they accuse her of sexual blackmail. Later, when he is caught by Sam Loomis (John Gavin, 1931-2018), Norman’s position mirrors Susanna’s from the painting: his clothes are torn while his head is thrown back, and his right arm lifted high in the air. Stripped of his mother’s dress and his cheap wig, Norman is finally seen “naked” for all he is: mother and son, female and male, guilty and innocent.
Copyright Robert W. Sullivan IV, Esq., 2018.
Rob returns to Aeon Byte Gnostic Radio discussing A Pact with the Devil and previewing Cinema Symbolism 3 by analyzing the film Mother! Click banner to listen and please subscribe to hear the second hour.
One top of the world with the Fringe FM! The smooth stylings of Rob this Monday evening, February 12, 2018, when he makes his first appearance on Project Compass debuting live at 10:00 pm EST! Rob will be talking all his books; to listen to this show click image:
Tune in this Tuesday evening, February 6, 2018, when Rob returns to Barbara Delong’s Night Light radio show! Program debuts live on BlogTalk Radio with Rob discussing his first work of fiction, A Pact with the Devil, and esoteric movie symbolism. To listen to this show click banner:
Rob’s appearance on the Mikeadelic Show is also stationed on YouTube – click to listen!
Robert W. Sullivan IV 