Episode #56 -- Matewan
Or: “Fun Movie Making Fact #127: If Your Movie Doesn’t Open With a Shot on a Train, Ideally a Space Train, You Done FUCKED UP.”
First off, we’d like to apologize in advance to any chuds who might be listening to this podcast— we get into a bunch of leftist talk about how we shouldn’t be letting companies grind us all into a fine paste in the service of making as much money as they possibly can. Sorry, fuckers! Just kidding— we’re not sorry at all! In fact, while we’re at it:
ARREST THE COPS WHO MURDERED BREONNA TAYLOR ALREADY FOR FUCK’S SAKE
DONALD JOHNALD TRUMP IS AN UTTER DISGRACE TO THE PRESIDENCY AND HE AND HIS FAMILY AND FRIENDS ARE CRIMINALS DOZENS OF TIMES OVER WHO SHOULD ALL BE SHOT OUT OF A CANNON INTO THE SUN
BEN SHAPIRO ISN’T AN INTELLECTUAL, HE’S A WHINY-VOICED LITTLE DIPSHIT WHOSE A CAPPELLA COVER OF “WAP” FUCKING SUCKED
BEING ASKED TO WEAR A MASK ISN’T A SUPPRESSION OF YOUR FREEDOMS, IT’S AN ATTEMPT TO KEEP YOU FROM SPEWING VIRUSES ALL OVER THE PLACE AND SHOULD BE ALSO USED AS AN OPPORTUNITY TO TALK LIKE TOM HARDY’S VERSION OF BANE FROM THE DARK KNIGHT RISES, LIKE, ALL THE TIME AND WHAT’S WRONG WITH YOU FOR NOT RECOGNIZING THIS ONCE IN A LIFETIME OPPORTUNITY
Anyway, Matewan is a period piece that was a serious labor of love for John Sayles about the Battle of Matewan and it’s got James Earl Jones and Chris Cooper and a young Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billy in it, and if you weren’t immediately turned off by the idea of a non-fictional period piece set in West Virginia in the early twentieth century you’re a better person than either of us, theoretically.
Also in this episode:
We talk about the Ghoul Boys, better known as Ryan Bergara and Shane Madej from Buzzfeed Unsolved Supernatural / True Crime, which is a YouTube series where the two of them explore unsolved crime cases and visit allegedly haunted locations. We don’t blame you if you’re rolling your eyes and doing the slow jerk motion right now, because there are roughly seven million TV shows that do this sort of thing, but what sets Buzzfeed Unsolved apart from the pack is that Ryan and Shane are both very funny and have a great chemistry together. Shane comes at the supernatural stuff with a severe skepticism that avoids running into un-fun killjoy territory, and Ryan is a true believer who gets freaked out by the most innocuous stuff, and they are a fucking delight. Here are a couple of episodes that are good entry points:
Who the fuck amongst us knew that Annabelle was a fuckin’ Raggedy Ann? Andrew didn’t. If you did, please, feel free to heap scorn and shame upon him.
JAZZ IT
Buzzfeed Unsolved aside, the two of them started a new production studio / YouTube channel with one of their friends from Buzzfeed Tasty, Steven Lim, called Watcher, where they branch out from spooky stuff and do things like visit massive soda stores:
or pit highly rated dishes from restaurants up against a version of the same dish that in some cases has been in the family for generations:
or have a puppet professor lecture about weird stories from history while having two contestants compete for a small trophy filled with jelly beans by trying to guess what wild turns the story they’re learning about will take:
In summation, they’re fantastic.
Lastly, at the end of this episode we make a plea for you all to consider supporting not just your local independent video stores, but also charities that are dedicated to helping people of color and the LGBTQIA+ communities. There are tons of worthy charities out there, but here’s a few that we’ve donated to recently:
The Marsha P. Johnson Institute: “The Marsha P. Johnson Institute (MPJI) protects and defends the human rights of BLACK transgender people. We do this by organizing, advocating, creating an intentional community to heal, developing transformative leadership, and promoting our collective power.”
The Transgender Law Center: “Transgender Law Center (TLC) is the largest national trans-led organization advocating for a world in which all people are free to define themselves and their futures. Grounded in legal expertise and committed to racial justice, TLC employs a variety of community-driven strategies to keep transgender and gender nonconforming people alive, thriving, and fighting for liberation.”
The Center for Black Equity: An organization focused on “breaking barriers to accessing employment and opportunity through equipping community leaders with the tools, experiences, and knowledge that enable them to unlock the leadership and problem-solving potential of themselves and others.”
Showing Up For Racial Justice: “SURJ is a national network of groups and individuals working to undermine white supremacy and to work for racial justice. Through community organizing, mobilizing, and education, SURJ moves white people to act as part of a multi-racial majority for justice with passion and accountability.”
We know that times are tough and weird right now for a lot of people, but if you’re able to donate, please consider it— every little bit helps.