WEBVTT - The Monstrefact: Ocron

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<v Speaker 1>Welcome to Stuff to Blow Your Mind, a production of

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<v Speaker 1>My Heart Radio. Hi, my name is Robert Lamb and

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<v Speaker 1>this is the Monster Fact, a short form series from

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<v Speaker 1>Stuff to Blow Your Mind, focusing in on mythical creatures, ideas,

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<v Speaker 1>and monsters in time. Recently on Weird House Cinema, we

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<v Speaker 1>discussed Luccio fulci fantasy film Conquest, a gory and dreamlike

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<v Speaker 1>jaunt full of stone age combat murderous monsters. In Dark Magic,

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<v Speaker 1>the villain of the piece was Okron, a sorceress who

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<v Speaker 1>commands a war band of beast men and masked warriors.

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<v Speaker 1>She has depicted clad only in a golden chain mail bikini,

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<v Speaker 1>and her head is enclosed entirely within a golden helm

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<v Speaker 1>until in the film's climax, when our hero destroys the

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<v Speaker 1>helmet with an arrow of light, revealing a hideous hag's

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<v Speaker 1>face beneath a helm. Now, on one hand, we might

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<v Speaker 1>dismiss the details of the character as pure titilation. In

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<v Speaker 1>a night Sword and Sorcery film, a genre is pointed

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<v Speaker 1>out by Robert A. Rushing in his book, descended from

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<v Speaker 1>Hercules that often pitted a hyper masculine hero against a

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<v Speaker 1>feminine villain, but the juxtaposition of Hag's face, an exaggerated

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<v Speaker 1>monstrous take on aging women, and the body of the

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<v Speaker 1>model playing the role in this film, it brings to

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<v Speaker 1>mind larger trends in folklore, mythology, and more. As we've

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<v Speaker 1>discussed on the show, older depictions of the Greek monster

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<v Speaker 1>Medusa were entirely monstrous, but later traditions and certainly modern

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<v Speaker 1>traditions often depict her with a monstrous head atop an

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<v Speaker 1>otherwise alluring humanoid body. We can also look to the

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<v Speaker 1>tradition of yokai and yuri in Japanese folklore, in which

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<v Speaker 1>such figures are prone to draw men in and then

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<v Speaker 1>frighten them with a shocking reveal. The kuchasaki Ona reveals

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<v Speaker 1>the monstrous mouth between beneath her surgical mask, and the

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<v Speaker 1>Noperabo reveals the complete smooth flesh absence of a face entirely.

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<v Speaker 1>Okron's unmasking either meats or subverts expectations, depending on where

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<v Speaker 1>you're coming from. There's also something to be said for

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<v Speaker 1>a figure that combines imagery of both a youthful woman

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<v Speaker 1>and an old woman, or of the living and the dead.

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<v Speaker 1>Consider the Nordic goddess Hell, who is often depicted as

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<v Speaker 1>half blue, half dead, signifying her connection to the underworld.

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<v Speaker 1>In neopaganism, we have the figure of the triple goddess,

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<v Speaker 1>composed of maiden, mother, and chrone archetypical stages of the

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<v Speaker 1>feminine life cycle. We also encounter various myths and folk

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<v Speaker 1>tales in which an aged witch takes on the likeness

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<v Speaker 1>of a youthful beauty, as well as the reverse, in

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<v Speaker 1>which a goddess in the form of a maiden or

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<v Speaker 1>mother takes on the eyes of a crone or hag.

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<v Speaker 1>In some cases, these dueling forms are linked to the

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<v Speaker 1>cycle of the seasons and the resurrection or rejuvenation of spring.

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<v Speaker 1>Not to say that Okron is directly tied to any

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<v Speaker 1>of these ideas, but the convergence of images cannot help

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<v Speaker 1>but invoke much older modes of symbolism As an aside,

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<v Speaker 1>the young lady or old hag image is a popular

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<v Speaker 1>optical illusion. When viewing the illustration, it may look like

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<v Speaker 1>either an old woman's side profile looking down or a

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<v Speaker 1>younger woman facing away from us. Your brain can see

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<v Speaker 1>either image, but not at the same time. Tune in

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<v Speaker 1>for additional episodes of the Monster Fact each week. As

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<v Speaker 1>always You can email us at contact at stuff to

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<v Speaker 1>Blow your Mind dot com. Stuff to Blow Your Mind

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<v Speaker 1>is the production of iHeartRadio. For more podcasts for my

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