Journey into the Zone to uncover some of the strange artifacts buried in Tarkovsky's cinematic masterpiece, Stalker (1979). In this first of a two-part conversation, Phil and JF discuss a poem by Tarkovsky's dad, compare the film with the sci-fi novel that inspired it, explore the ideological underpinnings of formulaic genre, delve into the meaning and affordances of the concept of zone, and affirm that in a sufficiently weird mindset, even a casual stroll in your hometown can become an excursion into a Zone of your own.
REFERENCES
Andrei Tarkovsky (dir.), Stalker (https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0079944/)
Arkady and Boris Strugatsky, [Roadside Picnic](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RoadsidePicnic)_
The Wachowskis (dir.), The Matrix (https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0133093/)
James Cameron (dir.), Avatar (https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0499549/)
Second City Television (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Second_City_Television) (SCTV), vintage Canadian comedy show
Alex Garland (dir.), Annihilation (https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2798920/) (based on the novel by Jeff Vandermeer; here's an article (http://www.vulture.com/2018/02/9-ways-annihilation-the-movie-differs-from-the-book.html) on how Garland's film differs from Vandermeer's arguably weirder text)
SCTV, Monster Chiller Horror Theatre: Whispers of the Wolf (https://www.secondcity.com/network/sctv-monster-chiller-horror-theatre-whispers-of-the-wolf)