Episode 88: GANJA & HESS (1973)

Experimental Black horror film GANJA & HESS is tough to pin down, despite a simple synopsis (doctor cursed to crave blood shares his curse with another before succumbing to it himself). It packages much of its text inside a fractured storytelling framework, which seems to have dominated its critical appraisal in the decades since its release. In this episode, we wrangle with that discourse and try to read what director/actor Bill Gunn might’ve been trying to say with the overall piece, from an examination of the myriad identities that take shape in Black America to its focus on the intersection of faith, sexuality, and self-loathing. Follow us on Twitter at twitter.com/trylovepodcast and email us at [email protected] to get in touch! Buy tickets and support the Trylon at www.trylon.org/. Theme: "Raindrops" by Huma-Huma/"No Smoking" PSA by John Waters. Outro music: "You Got To Learn To Let It Go" by Sam Waymon from GANJA & HESS (1973). Bodies off: Ganja & Hess, Bill Gunn’s under-the-skin flick by Brad Stevens: https://www2.bfi.org.uk/news-opinion/sight-sound-magazine/comment/bradlands/bodies-off-ganja-hess-under-skin-flick Bill Gunn’s Revolutionary Ganja & Hess Gets the Restoration It Deserves by April Wolfe: https://www.westword.com/film/moviegoing-experience-just-got-bigger-better-broader-in-2018-11058566 Ganja & Hess (Original 1973 Motion Picture Soundtrack) from Light in the Attic: https://lightintheattic.net/releases/3976-ganja-hess-original-1973-motion-picture-soundtrack-rsd-2018-exclusive