Episode 271 – THE FRENCH DISPATCH

Runtime 76 minutes Show Contents 0:00 Introduction 4:01 Know Your Enemy with Guest – Corey Pierce 21:55 The New Slang: THE FRENCH DISPATCH 1:02:57 The Other Side: Corey and Ryan talk further reading after Wes Anderson’s film Thoughts from Your Host… I sit here and write just twenty-four hours removed from seeing an extraordinary live concert. The show would have been deeply affecting at the best of times for its imagination and intimacy. When you add to that the fact that I hadn’t been to a live rock show for two years less a day, you get a situation that is extraordinary. What does that have to do with anything? Good question. The show came from the producers of another extraordinary show that we covered on this podcast around this time last year. The concert wasn’t been captured on film (yet), but there was that same sort of spirit in the air…the same sort of connection…the same sort of hope. When I wrote about that episode last autumn, I talked about the flickers of hope that were starting to mark the times. I feel as though it’s important to remember that feeling…and compare it to now. Now we are able to do so very much more than we could just one year ago. Now, we are not preparing for another long, dark winter of isolation. Now, we have built momentum and can use it to carry us forward into an even better place. Many of us look around and see things that we missed. We are reconnecting with faces and voices that we haven’t been around in far too long. We are embracing new opportunities, and taking comfort in old rituals. Gently, carefully, responsibly…but now. Not “in the future”, not “when things are better”. Here; today. A concert reminded me of that. A podcast from last year underlined it. It’s so easy to get weighed down by how hard all of this has been that we can miss out on celebrating how much better it is all getting. There is a long way yet to go and so many uncertainties still before us – but when one looks back at where we were, it’s really amazing to see where we now are. Links mentioned in Episode 271… James McNally’s always-engaging Shorts Not Pants film festival Corey’s Blockbuster Plus twitter account. Wes Anderson goes Marvel – Avengers: Rise of Galactus 28 July 2023 (USA) pic.twitter.com/ehPBuhVgc1 — Blockbuster Plus (@BlockbusterPlus) April 27, 2021 Corey’s Twitter feed can be found here. Comments and feedback are welcome and thank you very much for listening. Enjoy!