Profs and Pints Metro Baltimore

Profs and Pints Baltimore presents: “Unmasking Superheroes,” a thoughtful look at the meaning and messages of Superman, Batman, and other powerful pop icons, with Matthew Brake, associate professor of philosophy at Northern Virginia Community College, former religious studies instructor at George Mason University, and editor of the book series Theology, Religion, and Pop Culture and Studies in Comics and Religion.

[Doors open at 3. The talk starts at 4:30. The room is open seating. Advance tickets: $13.50 plus sales tax and processing fees. Available at https://www.ticketleap.events/tickets/profsandpints/baltimore-superheroes. ]

The buzz surrounding the latest Superman movie shows how superheroes continue to flex muscle at the box office. They also remain forces to be reckoned with on television, in comics, and in video games.

Recently, however, such masked and caped figures face a new challenge: Critics who argue that they represent empty entertainment or something much more insidious, such as fascist strongmen.

Would we be better off if today’s superhero fans found other characters to follow? Would Clark Kent, Bruce Wayne, or Diana Prince be doing us a favor by not revealing themselves as beings with incredible powers?

Join Matthew Brake, a philosophy professor who has written extensively about the theological and philosophical value and meaning of superheroes, for a deep discussion of whether superheroes teach us anything important about ourselves and our potential to change the world for better or worse.

We’ll start by grappling with the criticisms of superheroes offered by legendary film directors like Martin Scorsese and Francis Ford Coppola, who argue that superhero movies don’t represent “true cinema” and are instead akin to amusement park rides, offering thrills and little more. Then we’ll venture into a deeper realm to look at what superheroes stand for if not pure escapism.

You’ll hear Bill Maher’s take that the dominance of the superhero genre undermines efforts to encourage all citizens to be proactive, by teaching us instead to wait for some strongman to come save us. You’ll learn how one of mainstream comics’ most celebrated writers, Alan Moore, created the Watchmen as a critique of the very idea of the superhero, arguing that superheroes are fine for children, but fascist tendencies are enforced by adults’ celebration of superheroes and their powers.

Taking a more positive view are comic creators like Grant Morrison, known for All-Star Superman—an inspiration for the recent movie—who depicts superheroes as a type of humanist ideal worth striving for in their goodness.

You’ll learn about the great thinkers whose ideas underly such debates. Watching someone leap tall buildings in a single bound will never be the same. (Doors: $17, or $15 with a student ID.)

Image by Canva.

Profs and Pints Baltimore presents: “Photos of Ghosts,” a look at the history of purported photographs of apparitions and the controversies surrounding them, with Beth Saunders, art historian and curator and head of special collections at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County.

[Advance tickets: $13.50 plus sales tax and processing fees. Available at https://www.ticketleap.events/tickets/profsandpints/baltimore-photos-of-ghosts .]

Since its invention in 1839, photography has been hailed for its ability to record an accurate image of reality. Its presumed truthfulness caused the new medium to be viewed as an ideal tool for scientific investigation, and the camera was quickly harnessed to record phenomena previously unseen by the naked eye. They include microscopic bacteria, distant nebulae—and more than a few ghosts.

Join Beth Saunders, a curator and art historian who has published on apparition photographs and the art of conspiracy, for a fascinating look at the history of spirit photography and its associated controversies and hoaxes.

She’ll look at three key moments in the history of spirit photography that sparked public debates between skeptics and believers, beginning with the sensational fraud trial of Boston and New York-based photographer William Mumler, who rose to fame in the 1860s with portrait photographs featuring apparitions of the deceased loved ones of those depicted. She’ll examine what Mumler’s activities tell us about the role of photography in Spiritualism—a religion whose adherents believe in the continuity of life after death—and about the darkroom techniques that detractors regard as providing a rational explanation for spirit photographs.

From there, she’ll discuss the case of Ted Serios, a man who in the 1960s claimed to be able to project his thoughts on photographic film. She will describe how his defenders attempted to refute his critics by citing his use of instant Polaroid technology, which did away with darkroom trickery. Similarly, during the 1970s devotees of the Virgin Mary used Polaroids to record her saintly visitations, arguing that the instantaneous images, being harder to tamper with, offered spiritual proof.

Finally, Dr. Saunders will discuss the legacy of spirit photography within the digital age, including orb photographs made with cell phone cameras. As part of this she’ll look at the impact of Photoshop and of computer-generated deep fakes.

She’ll discuss how tracing the history of spirit photography explains the enduring faith we have in photography overall, and she’ll consider why photographs still hold compelling evidentiary power despite their potential to be manipulated.

Regardless of whether you have seen any ghosts, you’ll love seeing this talk. (Doors: $17, or $15 with a student ID. Doors open at 5 pm. The talk starts at 6:30.)

Image: From a William H. Mumler portrait of a man sitting in the presence of the ghosts of children. (J. Paul Getty Museum / Creative Commons.)

Profs and Pints Baltimore presents: “It Came from Within,” a look at the real-life psychological disorders linked to some of your favorite movie frights, with Brian A. Sharpless, former assistant professor at Penn State University and Washington State University, editor of Unusual and Rare Psychological Disorders, and author of Monsters on the Couch: The Real Psychological Disorders Behind Your Favorite Horror Movies.

[Advance tickets: $13.50 plus sales tax and processing fees. Available at https://www.ticketleap.events/tickets/profsandpints/baltimore-it-came-from-within .]

Gear up for Halloween with something that will leave you even more rattled by your favorite horror films: A look at real-life psychological conditions connected to movie monsters.

Clinical psychology has a lot to teach us about horror, and horror movies reveal a lot about both psychological distress and some of the fundamental fears that go along with being human. Join Brian Sharpless, a clinical psychologist with a big following among Profs and Pints fans, for a talk that will give new meaning to the phrase “It’s all in your mind.”

In a talk that draws from history, folklore, and film studies, Dr. Sharpless will discuss what clinical psychology and psychiatry have to say about various movie monsters. Starting with those from the golden age of cinema, he’ll discuss famous fiends such as Dracula, and why some people today seek to drink others’ blood. You’ll learn how professionals can detect Renfield's syndrome in people who try to conceal having it, as well as how real vampires behave differently according to sex.

Moving ahead to more recent films such as The Thing, Invasion of the Body Snatchers, and It Follows, he’ll talk about the delusional misidentification disorders, surprisingly common in certain elderly populations, which involves the belief that loved ones have been kidnapped and replaced with imposters. You’ll learn about the relationship between sleep paralysis and films such as Mara or Dead Awake, and how movies depicting alien abduction or “shadow people” are tied to psychological conditions.

Finally, Dr. Sharpless will look at what drives certain monstrous behaviors, such as cannibalism. Just in case you might someday be unlucky enough to find yourself in a “survival cannibalism” situation, Dr. Sharpless will give you practical tips for not becoming someone’s next meal.

You'll end up watching horror movies differently and, perhaps, wondering what might be going on in the heads of people seated in the theater near you. (Doors: $17, or $15 with a student ID. Bar doors open at 5 pm. The talk itself starts at 6:30)

Image: An 1810 engraving by Jean-Pierre Simon depicts a vision like those often associated with sleep paralysis (Wellcome Trust / Wikimedia Commons).

Profs and Pints Baltimore presents: “The Macabre Poe,” a look at Edgar Allan Poe’s most gruesome and horrifying works and what inspired them, with Amy Branam Armiento, professor of English at Frostburg State University, past president of the Poe Studies Association, and editor of two books on the acclaimed American author.

[Advance tickets: $13.50 plus sales tax and processing fees. Available at https://www.ticketleap.events/tickets/profsandpints/baltimore-raven-perch .]

Stephen King has said that he and other horror writers are all “the children of Poe,” a reference to how they’re unable to escape his shadow. Although Edgar Allan Poe penned works in a long list of genres, including fantasy, detective fiction, and poetry, his most prominent legacy is as the master of the macabre. Over the nearly two centuries since Poe lived, “The Tell-Tale Heart,” “The Fall of the House of Usher,” “The Pit and the Pendulum,” “The Cask of Amontillado,” and “The Masque of the Red Death” have haunted millions of readers.

Who, exactly, was Poe? Why does he remain as one of the United States’ best-known writers at home and abroad? Why do his works continue to resonate with readers more than 150 years after they were published?

Come hear such questions tackled by Amy Branam Armiento, a leading Poe scholar who edited More Than Love: The Enduring Fascination with Edgar Allan Poe, co-edited Poe and Women: Recognition and Revision, and formerly served as president of an international organization that supports the scholarly and informal exchange of information on Poe’s life, works, times, and influence.

Professor Armiento will look at which people and events influenced Poe’s literary works. His troubled life included the slow deaths of his mother, brother, foster mother, and wife, as well as a problematic relationship with alcohol and a difficult relationship with his foster father. All shaped his relationship with death, horror, and the unknown.
She'll also look at how Poe’s horror tales laid the groundwork for the characters, circumstances, and other conventions of horror stories.

We’ll explore how Poe shattered literary conventions of his own time by embracing lurid descriptions of violence, especially violence perpetrated between family members and loved ones. You’ll learn how Poe adapted conventions of the fairy tale to create his memorable, haunting tales, an aspect of his work that is hidden in plain sight.

The presentation will also include examples of evocative artwork used to illustrate editions of Poe's works. Get ready to feel chills down your spine. (Doors: $17, or $15 with a student ID. Doors open at 5 pm. The talk starts at 6:30.)

Image: Poe as depicted in a modern retouched version of a daguerreotype by Mathew Benjamin Brady. (U.S. National Archives and Records Administration.)