The Beastmaster: Deep Thoughts About Storytelling Conventions, Covert Blood Libel, and Marc Singer's Glistening...Line Delivery

Send us a message! Include how to reach you if you want a response. I have my eyes... I have my cunning... and I have my strength.This obscure sword-and-sorcery fantasy film from the early 1980s was a staple of the Guy sisters' formative pop culture years because it was on regular rotation on HBO (which people jokingly claimed stood for "Hey! Beastmaster's on!"). This week, Tracie delves back into the bizarre five act storytelling choices that animate the journey of Marc Singer's Dar, a prince stolen from his mother's womb by an evil priest--played by Rip Torn in a prosthetic nose--who is telepathically connected to animals. The Guy girls remembered Dar's animal companions with fondness, especially his little ferret friends, and the over-the-top level of male nudity (it was a lot even for the early 1980s) was certainly, ahem, interesting in ways Tracie and Emily couldn't articulate as small children, but the movie offers some ugly cultural commentary about race, women, romance, consent, and sexuality, not to mention the film's covert reference to blood libel in Rip Torn's big-nosed child-sacrificing religious leader. The Beastmaster also weirdly subverts storytelling expectations by continuing past the third act, making a relatively short film feel way too long. Still, there are many pretty people, cool animals, and fascinating storytelling details to admire in this forgotten 80s cult favorite.No need for bat-people hearing. Just put on your headphones and listen in!This episode was edited by Resonate Recordings.Our theme music is "Professor Umlaut" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 Licensehttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/Learn more about Tracie and Emily (including our other projects), join the Guy Girls' family, secure exclusive access to bonus episodes, video versions, and early access to Deep Thou​​ghts by visiting us on Patreon or find us on ko-fi: https://ko-fi.com/guygirlsWe are the sister podcasters Tracie Guy-Decker and Emily Guy Birken, known to our extended family as the Guy Girls.We're hella smart and completely unashamed of our overthinking prowess. We love 80s and 90s movies and tv, science fiction, comedy, and murder mysteries, good storytelling with lots of dramatic irony, analyzing film tropes with a side of feminism, and examining the pop culture of our Gen X childhood for gender dynamics, psychology, sociology, religious allegory, and whatever else we find. We have super-serious day jobs. For the bona fides, visit our individual websites: tracieguydecker.com and emilyguybirken.com. For our work together, visit guygirlsmedia.com We are on socials! Find us on Facebook at fb.com/dtasspodcast and on Insta at instagram.com/guygirlsmedia. You can also email us at guygirlsmedia at gmail dot com. We would love to hear from you!