We watched Drive. After four years and 200 episodes, it finally happened. We are thankful to our listeners and friends who helped us get to 200, and here’s to 100 more. On episode 200, Alex, Caleb, Dalton and Dustin gather around to dissect a film that has become the GTGC mascot. The hosts love Drive, but is it all style and no substance? That’s what GTGC is determined to find out.
This week sees the hosts looking forward. The gameplay involves naming movies the hosts would like to see before episode 300. We would love to hear your thoughts on our suggestions. The conversation then shifts into overdrive and moves into analysis. Caleb kicks things off by talking about the generic Western tropes that shape Drive. He highlights the similarities between the Driver and the nameless gunslingers of old. He also presents an outline of plot beats that match up narratively with the Western genre. Alexandra takes over to talk about Drive’s commentary on action film. She discusses the film within the film. She juxtaposes the violence of the inner film with the intense, yet intimate violence that is present in the Driver’s life. She argues that this approach brings more levity to action cinema and violence. This is contrasted with PG-13 action films and the notorious “sleepy-time bullets”.
Dalton builds off of these readings by presenting a new opinion on the action hero. He correlates Driver with the recent character played by Ben Affleck in The Accountant. He discusses these nameless, socially awkward characters who may be on the spectrum. A point which is blatantly raised in The Accountant, but he argues it can be found in the subtext of Drive. Dustin wraps up the analysis of episode 200 with a breakdown of three key components of film release and marketing. He defines prestige, art house, experimental, and avant-garde cinema. He then tries to find a place to put Drive.
And with that, we wrap episode number 200. Thank you for all of your encouragement over the years, Dear Listener. Grab your gloves, sharpen your straight razor, and let’s Drive.
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Drive Timestamps
00:37 – Welcome and Introductions
04:41 – Synopsis and Reviews
11:04 – Social Media
11:54 – The Game – Top 3 Films Before Ep. 300
23:53 – Analysis
46:31 – Shelf or Trash/Else or Instead
52:34 – Wrap Up
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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