Cows in the Field

A CHARLIE BROWN CHRISTMAS (1965)

It’s the coldest time of the year, which means we need community more than ever to help us stay warm and remind us of the ongoing project of humanity and our part in it. So consider us the luckiest Peanuts on block, since we get to welcome back Emily VanDerWerff (Vox & Arden Podcast)! We talk about endings, opportunities for renewal, and the melancholy that comes with our experiences of the holidays. We also delve into our personal religious beliefs (or lack thereof) and how they interact with our feelings about Christmas and choosing our communities. And, of course, no conversation about Charlie Brown would be complete without a discussion about Charles Schulz and his complex feelings about Christmas and droopy trees. So, don’t be blockhead — hitch a ride on our sleigh and recite the annunciation to the shepherds with us!

Read Emily’s piece on the modern family!

I never thought it was such a bad little tree. It’s not bad at all, really. Maybe it just needs a little love.
Linus

EYES WIDE SHUT (1999)

It’s the holiday season, and what better way to start than with a veritable Christmas classic, Stanley Kubrick’s final film, Eyes Wide Shut! We sit down with Carly Severn (KQED San Francisco) to discuss noble lies in relationships and society, Tom and Nicole’s challenging (and, ultimately destructive) performances, and the interrelations between power, anonymity, powerlessness, and nakedness. Along the way, we explore how social structures prop up divisions and reinforce fantasies that may be either ruinous or essential to the well-functioning of our social lives. So, bring your mask and cloak, don’t forget the password (Fidelio), and join us at the Somerton Estate for a Christmas celebration like none other!

Let’s fuck.
Alice

12 Monkeys (1995)

This week we are joined by Barry Lam (Professor of Philosophy at Vassar College and host of HiPhi Nation) to discuss Terry Gilliam’s manic time travel science fiction masterpiece, 12 Monkeys! We explore how the film manifests the philosopher David Lewis’s theory of time travel, while also depicting the madness of foreknowledge and the futility of attempting to change what’s already happened. We discuss the possibility of closed causal loops, the challenges of political activism, pandemic tie-ins, and how the film uses Brad Pitt as a spokesperson for Gen-X dissatisfaction (something he would more famously go on to embody in Fight Club a few years later). So climb aboard this nightmare train to madness and keep an eye out for hamsters!

OK, OK, buy a lot of stuff, you’re a good citizen. But if you don’t buy a lot of stuff, what are you then? What? You’re mentally ill!
Jeffrey Goines

SUNSHINE (2007)

Join us on an interstellar journey with friend Vishal Dave as we attempt to reignite the dying sun — it’s Danny Boyle’s unfairly overlooked 2007 sci-fi masterpiece, Sunshine! We discuss the ethics of self-sacrifice and the nature of embarking on a journey of no return. We ponder the enormity of the universe and what it might do to someone to confront that head on — how might facing the limits of human knowledge and exploration affect the individual? Religious readings and humanity’s need for spirituality are also discussed in the context of our increasingly secularized society. Don’t miss this epic adventure!

For seven years, I spoke with god. He told me to take you all to heaven.
Pinbacker

DUNE (1984) / DUNE (2021)

We sit down with fellow Dune-head John DeVore to discuss two DUNE movies — David Lynch’s 1984 troubled masterpiece, and Denis Villeneuve’s 2021 re-imagining of Arrakis. Can Villeneuve’s film live up to the inevitable hype? How do the two films capture the mystical weirdness of the book? What is that weird spider-person in the Harkonnen’s palace? Join us as we drink the juice of Sapho and ride a spice maggot into the folds of space and beyond!

Follow @JohnDeVore on Twitter! Read John on Dune here:

Dune for kids:

I serve only one master. His name is Shai-Hulud.
Liet Kynes

PUNCH DRUNK LOVE (2002)

Join us on the harmonium as we revisit Paul Thomas Anderson’s (not-)musical tragicomedy Punch Drunk Love with Sean Burke (Founding Partner, Whistler Partners). We discuss how Adam Sandler embodies the awkwardness and anxiety of male adolescence, and how Anderson mixes color and sound to create an overwhelming kaleidoscope of social panic, rage and repression, and fear of public humiliation. Yet, underneath it all, we find a simple and pure love story — perhaps one of the most hopeful in recent memory — yet one that also depicts love in all its complexity and difficulty. Where does this gem rank in your list of Paul Thomas Anderson films??

I have so much strength inside of me. You have no idea. I have a love in my life. It makes me stronger than anything you can imagine. I would say “That’s that”, Mattress Man
Barry Egan

IN THE LINE OF FIRE (1993)

Bilge Ebiri (New York Magazine / Vulture) returns to talk with us about this classic nineties Wolfgang Petersen conspiracy thriller that pits an aging Secret Service Agent (Clint Eastwood) against an anarchistic terrorist (John Malkovich) intent on assassinating the President. We reflect on how the movie reflects cautiously on Eastwood’s broad career, regret and second chances, and consider the virtue of sacrificing oneself in defense of democratic institutions (flawed as they may be in practice). Along the way, we wonder about duty and growing old, as well as give due praise to John Malkovich and interrogate the social conventions of winking.

Read Bilge at Vulture; follow @BilgeEbiri on Twitter!

You have a rendezvous with my ass, motherfucker!
Frank

THE MUMMY & THE MUMMY RETURNS

The cows journey to Hamunaptra to find some ancient artifacts, and along the way revisit perhaps Brendan Fraser’s most famous works. Laura confesses her love for Brendan Fraser and Justin confesses his love for Arnold Vosloo, and attempts to make the case that the Mummy is a misunderstood villain. The cows enjoy the dual parallel love stories and show appreciation for the depiction of a healthy, loving, relationship between characters Rick and Evelyn, and definitely do not discuss a certain questionable CGI Scorpion King.

I am a librarian!
Evelyn

GEORGE OF THE JUNGLE (1997)

Have you ever seen two cows swing through the trees? We talk about Brendan Fraser’s ultimate committed performance as George of the Jungle in this most silly and juvenile and heartfelt movie. We wonder about heroic fools, praise the film’s strategy of giving the central arc to Ursula, and comment on the film’s questionable presuppositions about human language learning. Along the way, Justin reveals his ignorance about children’s movies and Laura pens her love letter to Brendan Fraser.

Madam, I knew Jane Goodall and you are no Jane Goodall.
Ape

ENCINO MAN (1992)

The cows begin their Frassersance mini-series with this wonderful curio of the 90s, about a pair of high school dorks (Sean Astin and Pauly Shore) who find a frozen caveman (Brendan Fraser) in their backyard. We discuss the film as an adoption story, and explore what parents can learn from the innocence of their children. We also dig into Pauly Shore’s character Stoney Brown, who embodies the atelic ideals of striving just to be, rather than to accomplish. Don’t wheeze the jah-uiceeee!

If you’re edged ’cause I’m weazin all your grindage, just chill. ‘Cause if I had the whole brady bunch thing happenin’ at my pad, I’d go grind over there, so dont tax my gig so hard-core cruster.
Stoney Brown