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Dr Ben Sayle (100/100) @bensayle.bsky.social · 09/10/2026

Yui telling Fuyutsuki about her little meow-meow and it's a guy getting consistently busted for bar-brawling.

Dr Ben Sayle (100/100) @bensayle.bsky.social · 07/10/2026

Kind of wish this happened eighteen months ago so we could have at least seen Kodaka use it to shill Kurara Oosuzuki and Hundred Line.

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Dr Ben Sayle (100/100) @bensayle.bsky.social · 07/10/2026

If instead of Joan of Arc, Mishima had seen a painting of Louis-Antoine de Saint-Just.

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Dr Ben Sayle (100/100) @bensayle.bsky.social · 06/10/2026

Something I notice in histories of 19th Century/pre-Xinhai Revolution China is when the authors pick someone to paint as the Proto-Deng Xiaoping. Stephen Platt & Patrick Shen do it repeatedly with Hong Rengan & Yuan Shikai. Marie-Claire Bergère too with Sun Yat-Sen albeit only once or twice.

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Dr Ben Sayle (100/100) @bensayle.bsky.social · 06/10/2026

I wish his take on an autobiography of Kangxi used Pinyin instead of Wade-Giles but that's the risk you take sometimes with books like these.

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Dr Ben Sayle (100/100) @bensayle.bsky.social · 06/10/2026

Very cold take but Jonathan Spence really was one of the best historians of China in the Anglosphere. Masterly work is done balancing scholarly rigour with accessible writing. His Hong Xiuquan biography for example is the best introduction to learning about the Taiping.

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Dr Ben Sayle (100/100) @bensayle.bsky.social · 06/10/2026

Turns out Tyrion was right to not believe in Liberation Theology. Season 8 vindicated.

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Dr Ben Sayle (100/100) @bensayle.bsky.social · 06/10/2026

Brief research brings up Paul Chung & Craig Nessan's work in "Liberating Lutheran Theology" and Victor Westhelle's "Liberating Luther" but at first glance they seem to focus more on a contemporary than a historical perspective.

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Dr Ben Sayle (100/100) @bensayle.bsky.social · 06/10/2026

I've read a few disappointing books on Calvinism's impact on democratic/liberal movements. A few pretensions of historical analysis before giving way to "why Calvinism is Based & Electpilled." I haven't seen much on Lutheranism's influence so now I'm curious.

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Dr Ben Sayle (100/100) @bensayle.bsky.social · 05/10/2026

One of the many great things about Romance of the Three Kingdoms is kid Cao Cao doing Tom Sawyer shenanigans but the narrative treats it like The Omen.

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Dr Ben Sayle (100/100) @bensayle.bsky.social · 05/10/2026

Any good sources you'd recommend on the subject? I saw Spain come up too and I'm curious about that too.

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Dr Ben Sayle (100/100) @bensayle.bsky.social · 05/10/2026

Here's a fun fact. Despite sharing a title with the book, the movie Fight Club is actually an adaptation of Francis Fukuyama's "The End of History and the Last Man"

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Dr Ben Sayle (100/100) @bensayle.bsky.social · 04/10/2026

Love that their first meeting is Zhang Fei seeing Liu Bei sigh at a recruitment poster and go "How dare you be upset at the thought of fighting for your country!" I always forget that Guan Yu is the one who's a fugitive and Zhang Fei (a landlord) is the rich kid of the three.

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Dr Ben Sayle (100/100) @bensayle.bsky.social · 04/10/2026

Zubok's Collapse goes a little into Gorbachev during 1990-1991. You might also enjoy Boys in Zinc which is an oral history of Soviet veterans from the Afghanistan campaign.

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Dr Ben Sayle (100/100) @bensayle.bsky.social · 04/10/2026

On the Soviets aiding Iraq in Iran-Iraq War, yeah, the Soviets were Ba'athist Iraq's traditional ally compared to the US. Gorbachev backing the UN resolutions in 1990-91 was a big thing because of it. Admittedly my knowledge is primarily from readings when I taught a class on the Gulf & Iraq Wars.

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Dr Ben Sayle (100/100) @bensayle.bsky.social · 02/10/2026

It's been over 20 years since I watched it. All I can distinctly remember is things like Angela Anaconda & the ending where the corrupted evil Digimon returns as an egg then it timeskips to him dancing to All Star to show he's good now. And then apparently in the actual OVA he's just dead.

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Dr Ben Sayle (100/100) @bensayle.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

Finished it and unfortunately it didn't do anything for me. Lots of build-up and little to no pay-off. I get the Kurosawa comparisons in theory but there was none of the visceral energy he brings to the table even in his quietest films.

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Dr Ben Sayle (100/100) @bensayle.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

Again, I did like it enough, and check it out if you like Bi Gan. But Long Day's Journey Into Night remains his best and I worry he's leaning away from its actual strengths.

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Dr Ben Sayle (100/100) @bensayle.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

Bi Gan's Resurrection is fine. A more hopeful version of something like The Beast, if you've seen the latter. But while the segments are usually more conventional, the overarching theme left me cold as "da magic of da movies" films usually do. The use of a long take felt obligatory too.

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Dr Ben Sayle (100/100) @bensayle.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

Halfway through Sai: Disaster on Netflix after seeing stuff like "Kiyoshi Kurosawa vibes" & "what if Cure was a mini-series?" On those grounds, they might have oversold it. Although it's certainly not bad & Episode 3 has that feel of everyone in the world suddenly being hostile to each other.

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Dr Ben Sayle (100/100) @bensayle.bsky.social · 27/09/2026

"Miller" Do you mean Allan Millett? It's not my field so I could be wrong.

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Dr Ben Sayle (100/100) @bensayle.bsky.social · 25/09/2026

Andrzej Wajda's Promised Land is great because there's no actual corruption arc. The protagonist is as awful at the beginning as he is at the end. The only change is he's made to ditch the pretension of being better than the other industrialists in any way.

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Dr Ben Sayle (100/100) @bensayle.bsky.social · 25/09/2026

The Ashes is the least impressive of the Andrzej Wajda films I've seen thus far but it's astounding how much contempt for Napoleon seeps through the picture. Ridley Scott directed a hagiography compared to Wajda.

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Dr Ben Sayle (100/100) @bensayle.bsky.social · 24/09/2026

Don't let the opening chapters fool you, Romance of the Three Kingdoms is actually far more evil vizier-coded. There's a saying that old people shouldn't read it because it'll make them ambitious the way Water Margin will make the kids act out.

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Dr Ben Sayle (100/100) @bensayle.bsky.social · 22/09/2026

When you're getting into the Postman Pat groove and then get reminded you're in Mad Max country.

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Dr Ben Sayle (100/100) @bensayle.bsky.social · 22/09/2026

@minovskyarticle.bsky.social @valondar.bsky.social @verbivorial.bsky.social I know you post about films so letting you know this is a thing. It's got English subtitles too.

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Dr Ben Sayle (100/100) @bensayle.bsky.social · 22/09/2026

Suddenly remembered The Caine Mutiny is quite conservative in its view of authority and rank and the obligations towards them.

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Dr Ben Sayle (100/100) @bensayle.bsky.social · 22/09/2026

Apparently the Polish streaming service "35mm online" is offering nearly all of Andrzej Wajda's films for free until the end of September. Had been meaning to watch more of his stuff since Kanal and Ashes and Diamonds.

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Dr Ben Sayle (100/100) @bensayle.bsky.social · 19/09/2026

Bi Gan's Long Day's Journey Into Night is a fairly straightforward, if non-linear, romantic noir story right up until the last hour when it goes single-take, Kaili-Blues mode. My personal reading on the ending is it's a dream where he's preparing for the worst but still hoping for the best.

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Dr Ben Sayle (100/100) @bensayle.bsky.social · 19/09/2026

Possession gives empathy to sad people who are exposing their worst selves and some audiences innately see it as validation and affirmation. See Taxi Driver, Disco Elysium, etc.

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Dr Ben Sayle (100/100) @bensayle.bsky.social · 19/09/2026

Perfect Blue's ending has "you go, girl!" vibes (admittedly wholly deserved after the week she had). But the only time Isabelle Adjani acts like a 'girboss' in Possession is when she tortures a student before hissing into the camera how jealous she is that no one ever did that to her.

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Dr Ben Sayle (100/100) @bensayle.bsky.social · 17/09/2026

I wouldn't say 'the best' (I'm indecisive on these things) but Rio Grande was literally Howard Hawks and John Wayne thinking at High Noon was whiny pinko propaganda and they could do it right.

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Dr Ben Sayle (100/100) @bensayle.bsky.social · 17/09/2026

Also Dirty Harry and Magnum Force are such great complements and feel in conversation with each other. Clint Eastwood turning to the camera to say, yes, hang and flog 'em but also a vigilante is just a self-righteous killer.

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Dr Ben Sayle (100/100) @bensayle.bsky.social · 17/09/2026

The Incredibles is Randian in the Fountainhead sense. The worst thing you can do is tear down a great man/artist because they make you feel mediocre. Atlas Shrugged is where Rand gets societal with it.

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Dr Ben Sayle (100/100) @bensayle.bsky.social · 17/09/2026

Something Kayloe does bring up briefly is Sun Yat-Sen identified himself with Jesus as fellow revolutionaries. Compare with Chiang Kai-Shek seeing his & China's ordeals in Job & Hong Xiuquan, whilst known for the "Jesus' brother" part, also envisioned himself as among the Old Testament Patriarchs.

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Dr Ben Sayle (100/100) @bensayle.bsky.social · 16/09/2026

Saw Green Fish. It's good but you can also tell Lee Chang-dong was just starting out. A slightly unique ending for an otherwise standard neo-noirish plot. There's moments though where you see the director he becomes. The family picnic will definitely remind you of Peppermint Candy's opening.

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Dr Ben Sayle (100/100) @bensayle.bsky.social · 16/09/2026

In terms of the story they tell, both overlap in the broad strokes of how his life and efforts are interpreted. Only difference is Bergere goes deeper into Sun Yat-Sen's ideas & policies VS Kayloe's broader look at China. Kayloe's also more affectionate in his depiction.

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Dr Ben Sayle (100/100) @bensayle.bsky.social · 16/09/2026

Read Tijo Kayloe's biography of Sun Yat-Sen, "Unfinished Revolution" recently. I enjoyed it & there's more background on Late Qing and Warlord China compared to Marie-Claire Bergere's, but the latter's still great & *far* more available so it remains my recommendation for a Sun Yat-Sen biography.

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Dr Ben Sayle (100/100) @bensayle.bsky.social · 14/09/2026

Will probably just watch Belladonna when I have the time then. Maybe check out the others later.

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Dr Ben Sayle (100/100) @bensayle.bsky.social · 13/09/2026

I'm curious if anything more is gained thematically by watching the other two in the trilogy first or if it's better to dive straight in. Seeing Jin-Roh last in the Kerberos trilogy gave it a sense of cruel comedy.

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Dr Ben Sayle (100/100) @bensayle.bsky.social · 12/09/2026

Watched Penda's Fen. Liked it well enough but calling it "folk horror" seems a stretch. Far more "folk coming-of-age" than horror bar one or two scenes that by the end feel obligatory more than anything.

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Dr Ben Sayle (100/100) @bensayle.bsky.social · 12/09/2026

Read a biography of Lord Beaverbrook last week and Stanley Baldwin was 100% right to have the ick about him from day one. Rarely, if ever, picked a winning man or cause.

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Dr Ben Sayle (100/100) @bensayle.bsky.social · 12/09/2026

Terry Pratchett's "Once and Future" and definitely not Mark Twain's "A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court".

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Dr Ben Sayle (100/100) @bensayle.bsky.social · 11/09/2026

Ah, shame. I think you'd like Kaili Blues. Not much plot but it quickly becomes a melancholic hang-out if you enjoy that type of thing.

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Dr Ben Sayle (100/100) @bensayle.bsky.social · 11/09/2026

Wondering if I'll vibe with Bi Gan's Long Day's Journey Into Night. Been getting into slower cinema and I liked Kaili Blues well enough. Long Day's Journey Into Night is supposedly even better but want to know before jumping in.

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Dr Ben Sayle (100/100) @bensayle.bsky.social · 11/09/2026

Enjoyed The Guns of Navarone recently. Far more flint-eyed than you'd assume a movie from that period would be. Convinced Spielberg sought a similar hard-nosed idealist ("it's hell but we *need* to do it but without becoming it") vibe for Saving Private Ryan but failed to pull it off.

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Dr Ben Sayle (100/100) @bensayle.bsky.social · 10/09/2026

If someone wanting to get into 'classic literature' for the first time asked me where to start, it'd be Don Quixote every time.

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Dr Ben Sayle (100/100) @bensayle.bsky.social · 10/09/2026

"Reject modernity, embrace tradition" but for Yu Gi Oh games letting you have any card you have the password for instead of buying packs. "What about online play?" Okay, don't do it there, but let me hack Story Mode the way God intended.

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Dr Ben Sayle (100/100) @bensayle.bsky.social · 10/09/2026

Always love that it's only after Grace Kelly becomes as obsessed about the murder as he is that Jimmy Stewart takes an interest in her.

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