In short
Podcast Notes: The Culture Journalist - Episode: Watch: 'One Battle After Another' Roundtable
Episode Overview
- Podcast Title: The Culture Journalist
- Episode Title: Watch: 'One Battle After Another' roundtable with Joshua Rivera and Drew Millard
- Description: A paid episode preview discussing cultural critiques and responses to the film "One Battle After Another."
- Hosts: Emilie Friedlander and Andrea Domanick
- Guests: Joshua Rivera (Film Critic), Drew Millard (Macho Pod Co-host)
Key Themes and Discussions
Generational Struggle
- Discussion begins with a reference to the conversation between Ta-Nehisi Coates and Ezra Klein.
- Main Idea: The generational struggle conveyed by Coates emphasizes the continuation of ideals despite failures across generations.
- The episode reflects on how this theme resonates within the context of current cultural and political issues.
Film Analysis
"One Battle After Another"
- The film is compared with another movie, "Eddington."
- Differences Noted:
- "Eddington" received less coverage from conservative outlets, focusing more on leftist critiques.
- "One Battle After Another" has garnered wider media attention and sparked significant discourse.
Media Responses
- Drew Millard presents a montage of varying quotes reflecting different media perspectives on the film:
- Eileen Jones (Jacobin): Critiques the left's historical failures and discusses a poignant scene in the film highlighting despair.
- David Marcus (Fox News): Provides a cynical view, noting potential enjoyment for individuals like Trump supporters in light of political challenges.
- Matthew Iglesias (Letterboxd): Praises the film for its non-didactic approach, suggesting a nuanced narrative.
Cultural Impact
- Discussion Points:
- The role of the film in addressing urgent societal issues.
- The tension and conflict within leftist discourse as illustrated by reactions to "Eddington."
- The portrayal of anti-hero characters and their implications in cultural narratives.
Key Takeaways
- The episode draws attention to the complexities of political and cultural representation in film.
- Media responses showcase a spectrum of interpretations that reflect broader societal tensions.
- The importance of dialogue surrounding generational struggles and cultural narratives is emphasized.
Conclusion This episode of *The Culture Journalist* offers insightful commentary on cultural struggles and the political landscape through the lens of film criticism, encouraging listeners to think critically about the narratives that shape our understanding of contemporary issues.
For complete access to the video discussion, paid subscriptions are necessary.
[Listen to the full episode here](https://theculturejournalist.substack.com?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_7).
Written by AI. May contain mistakes. Listen to the episode to check what was said.
Transcript
Automatic transcript. May contain errors.0:00I was just gonna say, just as a brief, obviously a lot of us have watched the infamous, now infamous, immediately infamous, Ta-in, Ta-Nehisi Coates and Ezra Klein chat, and Ezra Klein chat, and Ezra Klein chat, and Ezra Klein chat, to me felt very in line with Ta-Nehisi talking about his sense of, you know, generational struggle of, he viewed his role as helping, you know, carry the torch for the people who, for him, how, you know, every generation sort of faces failure of achieving their ultimate ideals or making those happen. But you, you, you do what you can to, to contribute. I'm not going to say how the movie ends, but it ends in a very beautiful image.
0:50So, yeah, but the responses to Eddington and this movie were both really interesting. It's interesting to see how the Internet at least responds to these movies that are, you know, so blatantly talking about very urgent, urgent issues. And Drew has, well, first of all, Eddington. Eddington, I thought was kind of interesting because it seemed, I don't think it broke contain on the same level as this one. like the yeah of course i didn't i could be wrong i didn't see a ton of like more conservative publications talking about it i saw more uh internecine uh left fighting on the left about is this movie making fun of leftists is it actually making fun of liberals is it annoyingly centrist um and so i saw it more as like it was a movie that it had ambitions i think to speak to all of America.
2:01The main character, who's kind of an anti-hero, is actually more of a MAGA-style figure, which is an interesting choice for a movie. But I don't think it broke Contain. This one has broken Contain, and Drew has put together a few quotes across the media spectrum to sort of exemplify that. You want to read the quote, Drew? I want nothing more. Please take this as my own attempt at montage. A weighty sense of the left's past failures to impede the ever sicker rightward political march of this nation since the 1970s is central to one battle after another. The scene in which a drugged out Bob is on the couch in his bathrobe watching the Battle of Algiers for what's clearly the umpteenth time is absolutely going to hurt.
2:53That's from Eileen Jones in Jacobin. Next. The whole movie made me a little angry, but then I remembered that the Trump administration is cracking down on Antifa, today's very real domestic terrorists, and maybe this will be a fun movie for them to watch once they are all in jail. David Marcus, Fox News. And finally. For a completely of-the-moment Trump-era movie, it's also remarkably non-didactic. Matthew Iglesias letterboxed review from his personal account. So perfectly on the nose for what Matthew Iglesias would say. It's really fun for him to pray something for being not didactic.
From the publisher
Thank you ock sportello, DJ Falkor / Random Rules, Tyler Foster, Yana Sosnovskaya, Ingmar Carlson, and many others for tuning in to CUJO’s first-ever live video, featuring film critic Joshua Rivera and Macho Pod co-host drew millard. Shout out to Yuri for sparking the idea for this conversation. Full video available to paid subscribers.
