#694 - The Kevin Who Refused
Added 2026-02-28 17:26:54 +0000 UTC
Comments
Sorry, I just remembered a third long thought, about Screw magazine's trip to Miami to view BIRTH OF A NATION. For a while now I've been going through South Florida and Detroit-area newspapers from 1969-70 and it's very clear that school desegration was not proceeding rapidly in Broward County, and not a lot better in Miami. And then in March 1970 Daniel Patrick Moynihan, a famous name of my youth, a NY Democrat working for the Nixon administration, came out and effectively said 'racism was a solved issue'. So, you can see what Screw magazine was up against in 1971.
Paul Brewer
2026-03-03 16:58:45 +0000 UTCTwo long thoughts on this episode: I will not watch this film, but the issue you describe with the way Christian filmmaking confronts some contradictions when it covers the selfishness inherent in free-market economics will never be resolved by Evangelical Christians. They don't see any contradiction. Their Calvinistic ethos revolves around stewardship of God's creation, and profit is a demonstration of careful stewardship of God's resources. (See the Parable of the Talents, Matthew XXV: 14-30.) There's also a heavy emphasis on individual salvation, as opposed to living a life of prayer, chastity and community, which is the Roman Catholic and Orthodox ideal, and better suited to resisting Capitalism (but not private property). Turning to Britain, the Gorton & Denton result indicates a major strategic blunder, and I don't see how Labour works its way out of it. By casting out the Labour Left, the Labour Right has made it likely they will control the party apparatus, which has been their long-term goal since the collapse of Postwar Labour in the 1970s. They've been so thorough in the expulsions that they succeeded in creating a serious-minded organisational cadre outside party control. I honestly think they were too focused on Jeremy Corbyn, and missed that there are a lot of ambitious Leftists who watched Corbyn and won't be making the same mistakes. They've given an infusion of talent into the Green Party, and Gorton & Denton was the result. It's going to be an interesting time in British politics, and I hope I last long enough to see some kind of conclusion to this chapter of history.
Paul Brewer
2026-03-03 15:12:51 +0000 UTCAngel Studios is a Mormon operation that started off as a streaming service that allowed users to set up custom options to skip/mute objectionable scenes so they could watch any movie with their family without fear. Goofy sure, but I suppose it shows that there's a genuine appreciation for art and wanting to share that with audiences, just filtered through this staunch conservative lens. I think that, plus the unique characteristics of Mormonism and the LDS church compared to other strains of Christianity, explains why the films they produce and distribute don't have the same bloodthirsty ugliness of other Christian media. Don't know how else you explain I Was A Stranger, a Syrian War movie they put out this year that is vehemently pro-refugee, directed by a wealthy tech bro who has been working with refugees in the Middle East for almost two decades. Pure Flix ain't touching that.
Mid-Sized SeDan
2026-03-02 08:27:08 +0000 UTCIt’s interesting that you suggest this movie in part involve “Malicksploitation”, because that’s a subgenre that has long simultaneously intrigued and repelled me. I know for a fact that lots of self-proclaimed Christians love The Tree of Life (itself based on the story of Job), and I even read a monograph from it a few years ago by a trained theologian. But somehow it’s become, as the Train Dreams meme went last fall, “indistinguishable from a Pottery Barn ad”. And that aesthetic of spirituality being so strongly associated with that of corporate advertising is has made it so anyone attempting it (say, Chloe Zhao) is honestly fucking playing with fire to me. (And of course, layering Daniels Rick & Morty Epic Bacon aesthetics over Malicksploitation truly seems even more horrifying to me)
Charli Rogers
2026-03-01 00:43:35 +0000 UTCAs someone based in a different part Greater Manchester, finding out the Greens won on Friday was great and a rare positive result (it was especially fun seeing the meltdown on the right). The Greens were a distant fourth in my constituency last time so hopefully this the template going forward.
Rick C
2026-02-28 22:57:42 +0000 UTCThe very fact that you mentioned that the Green Party won this election reveals you as anti-semites who are bent on implementing the Caliphate across the Western world This is literally the Starmer position now. The utter failure of this positioning as a political bent is being exposed. The current war in Iran is only going to make this more and more apparent.
William Bell
2026-02-28 19:41:47 +0000 UTCI thought Carney was talking tough on the US? Why did he immediately pitch in support for another war?
Mikey
2026-02-28 18:18:53 +0000 UTCWa-hey, Kieth Starmer and by-election chat! Poor Will, fighting through the virus. My two kids and I recently had it, so my solidarity with you. 🤧😷🤒
Myles Bartoli
2026-02-28 17:44:03 +0000 UTCI was drawn by my own name in the episode title, making me someone who in fact could not refuse
Kevin
2026-02-28 17:28:29 +0000 UTC666,420th
Johnny 5
2026-02-28 17:27:50 +0000 UTC
