The influence of movies on Bob Dylan and his art is well-documented. The myriad reviews, critiques, and analyses demonstrate the impact film has had on Dylan and his body of work. Whether he is making a film like Renaldo and Clara, acting in Masked and Anonymous, appropriating lines of dialogue as lyrics, or using stills as templates for his visual art, it’s clear that Dylan draws inspiration and ideas from movies. In this episode, celebrated Chicago filmmaker and Dylanlogist Michael Glover Smith discusses his work, including his most recent movie: the award-winning short Handle with Care. He also shares his insights on Dylan’s film aesthetic and on Dylan’s are more broadly. When we filmed and recorded this episode, A Complete Unknown hadn’t yet been released. Some of what we discuss may seem a bit outdated as those speculations or questions have been answered on screen. Still, talking with Michael about his movies and Dylan and his relationship with movies was an education. I hope you enjoy listening to or watching our conversation as much as I enjoyed taking part in it.

Michael Glover Smith is a filmmaker, author and teacher based in Chicago. His most recent feature film, 2022’s award-winning RELATIVE, starring TWIN PEAKS’ Wendy Robie, is available to stream on a multitude of platforms via Music Box Films.

Links:

• X: @whitecitycinema
• Instagram: @whitecitycinema
• Bsky: @whitecitycinema.bsly.social
• Letterboxd: https://letterboxd.com/michaelgsmith/.

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In Chronicles, Dylan writes of a mid-1950’s encounter with Gorgeous George, “Suddenly, the doors burst open and in came Gorgeous George himself. He roared in like the storm, didn’t go through the backstage area, he came right through the lobby of the building and he seemed like forty men. It was Gorgeous George, in all his magnificent glory with all the lightening and vitality you’d expect” (44). Dylan describes the troupe accompanying Gorgeous George – the coterie of wrestlers, valets, women with roses – and seems impressed with the spectacle and energy of the scene. He continues, “He brushed by the makeshift stage and glanced towards the sound of the music. He didn’t break stride, but he looked at me, eyes flashing with moonshine. He winked and seemed to mouth, “You’re making it come alive” (44). Real, fabricated, or imagined, this encounter reveals something about Dylan’s approach to performance. In this episode, my good friend, Dylanologist, and fellow January baby, Henry Bernstein expands the reach of this show’s focus by discussing the parallels between Bob Dylan and professional wrestling. From babyfaces to heels to the spectacle of performance and Dylan’s influence on professional wrestlers, Henry combines two of his loves to illustrate the depth and breadth of Dylan’s social and cultural influence.

Henry Bernstein is the host of the fantastic new(ish) Dylan podcast Songs of Experience: A Bob Dylan Podcast, which I highly recommend (link below). Through his encyclopedic knowledge, his enthusiasm for all things Dylan, and generous interviews, Henry is deepening our understanding of Dylan’s work one song at a time. When he’s not talking, posting, and texting about Dylan, seeing Dylan, or generally obsessing about Dylan, Henry works in Operations and Logistics for a Jewish Day School in Chicago. In addition to Dylan and wrestling, Henry’s great loves are his family, the Chicago White Sox, Superman, Star Trek, and Taylor Swift.

A Video Version of this Episode is Available at TheFM.Club

Links:

• Bluesky: @hentrybernstein.bsky.social
• Songs Of Experience: https://www.youtube.com/@songsofbobdylan

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During a 1966 interview with Robert Shelton, Bob Dylan shared his thoughts on love and sex. Challenging heteronormative concepts, Dylan said, “Sex and love have nothing to do with female and male. It is just whatever two souls happen to be. It could be male and female, and it might not be male and female. It might be female and female or it might be male and male. You can try to pretend that it doesn’t happen, and you can make fun of it and be snide, but that’s not really the rightful thing. I know, I know.”[1] Since then, critics and scholars such as Rebecca Slaman, Andrew Warwick, and Charles Kaiser have explored Dylan’s support of the queer community. I have often thought Dylan’s January 16, 1993, performance of “Chimes of Freedom” on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial signaled support of the incoming administration’s policies on AIDS and the queer community after a decade of absent, botched, or ineffective policies. In this episode, Paul Haney joins me to talk about his personal memoir and its connections to Bob Dylan, queer readings of Dylan’s work, and Dylan as a queer ally.

Executive Editor of the Dylan Review, Paul Haney is a queer writer, educator, and Dylanologist in the Boston area. His Bob Dylan writing has appeared in such outlets as The Rumpus, Hobart, Glide, the Potomac Review, and the anthology Teaching Bob Dylan (Bloomsbury 2024). Other work has appeared in Slate, Boston Globe Magazine, Fourth Genre, Normal School, Cincinnati Review, and elsewhere. He's spoken on Bob Dylan panels in Tulsa, Orlando, and Odense, Denmark, and his manuscript in progress is a queer Bob Dylan memoir.

[1] “Interview with Robert Shelton from No Direction Home.” Cott, Jonathan. Bob Dylan: The Essential Interviews. Wenner Books, 2007. 85..

A Video Version of this Episode is Available at TheFM.Club

Links:

• X, Instagram: @paulhaney
• Paul Haney, "He's Funny That Way," The Rumpus
• Paul Haney, "Infidels," Has Have Had
• Paul Haney, "Blood on Your Saddle: Bob Dylan's Homicidal Voices," The Dylan Review

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• Infinity Goes Up On Trial - Episode Directory
• Search all of our podcasts by album, song, or topic.

QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS?

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We're a proud member of The FM Podcast Network