We have a Black Hawk Down, we have a Black Hawk down!
Back in the summer of 2013, Dalton, Arthur, and Dustin had returned from a near five month hiatus. In late May of that year, they relaunched GoodTrash separate from the University of Central Oklahoma and moved production to Norman, Oklahoma. One of the first major shifts in direction, was the introduction of the “host pick” where each host would get a monthly pick, and anything was allowed – good trash, schlock, classics, international film, etc. So, to get this idea rolling, they dedicated their first few episodes back (following Cabin in the Woods) to host picks.
In just the third episode back, Arthur got his pick. He was curious about how people felt about longer films – most movies on GoodTrash previous to this episode usually average 90-110 minutes. So, he found a longer, GoodTrash-y film in the form of Ridley Scott’s Black Hawk Down (2001). Dalton was not amused by this logic.
This week’s #FlashbackFriday, which happens to fall on Memorial Day weekend, takes us back to that episode as the boys sit around and discuss war movies. Our first game, tying in with one of our themes is Long movies that felt short and short movies that felt long. Next, everyone got to cast their own war movies – the young buck, the grizzled vet, the coward, the bad boy, and so forth. Arthur has a fondness for casting films, so it seemed appropriate to go this route for the game.
As they finally moved into analysis, Arthur discusses the hardships troops face in the things our government deems right. He questioned, then, what motivates troops. He compares this film to the Passion of the Christ, in terms of torture. Dalton talks about war glorification and the race. Dalton says that the message of this film is to go back, even if it’s not a smart thing to do. He also said a problematic message the film delivers is that war is only the way to validate masculinity. Dustin equates this film to Transformers without the robots. He goes through the films’ beats and compared Bruckheimer’s Black Hawk Down with Bay’s Transformers.
Alright dear listener, grab you pack – it’s time to go back into the vault with us. About face! Forward Press Play!
Black Hawk Down Timestamps
00:10 – Welcome and Introductions
02:21 – Synopsis and Reviews
13:45 – Analysis
30:00 – Shelf or Trash/Else or Instead
36:40 – The Game(s) – Movies that felt long/short; Casting a war movie
56:18 – Listener Feedback
59:09 – Fired Up in Pop Culture
Arthur is a creator of content, lover of movies, and father of dogs. If you want to keep the conversation going, then click here to follow Arthur on Twitter. If you would like to keep up with what Arthur is watching, then head over to Letterboxd and give him a follow!
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