Ryan McNeil
Runtime
79 minutes
Show Contents
0:00 Introduction
2:01 Know Your Enemy with Guest Lindsay Ragone
21:09 The New Slang: IN THE HEIGHTS
59:38The Other Side: Lindsay and Ryan talk further reading after Jon M. Chu’s film
Thoughts From Your Host…
In-between recording this episode and publishing this episode, not even 48 hours went by. During those 48 hours, further conversations about IN THE HEIGHTS started to take root online. It got a little hard to tune any of it out, but I believe it warrants comment.
One conversation that began to swirl was around the film’s lack of a real box office take. There were swipes about its lack of star power, its runtime, its supposed lack of a plot (yes, really), and a myriad of other snide jabs. Some of the commentary seemed incomplete; some ill-informed.
Beyond the fact that box office take is never an indicator of whether or not a film is any good, I’m going to go on-record here and say that all discussion of in-theatre returns should remain in drydock until more of the world finds their way through this global crisis. Talk of on-demand eating into revenues, or people staying away due to lack of interest is corrosive. It has a way of eating into wider attitudes towards film and the viability of the medium. Anyone who wants to keep seeing films presented in theatres shouldn’t be proclaiming its impending doom.
The other conversation that started swirling is one that’s more valid.
A conversation about the film’s colorism has begun (see Felice León’s post at The Root). While Vulture likewise posted something of a non-response response from director Jon M. Chu, this is the sort of discussion that should be encouraged around a film like this at a time like this. It’s multifaceted, has the ability to further the discussion, affect change, and underline that every good intention can still find ways to do better.
We didn’t get into this point on the podcast. Basically, it wasn’t our point to make, and because we weren’t aware the discussion was going on. That said, both Lindsay and I believe in this conversation and support it as a wider examination of representation in film.
Like I say – a lot of topics can come up in just 48 hours. “Life moves pretty fast…” and all that.
We don’t get into either of those points during the course of this podcast…but we get into a lot more. Hope you enjoy what we get up to.
Links Mentioned on Episode 263:
Trailer for Rodney Ascher’s documentary, THE NIGHTMARE:
The joke that always makes Lindsay laugh:
The opening eight minutes of IN THE HEIGHTS – including an amazing shot at the 7:05 mark that we discuss at-length:
The Year-End Matineecast, where I named IN THE HEIGHTS as the 2020 film I missed the most.
The trailer for TICK, TICK…BOOM! – the upcoming film directed by Lin-Manuel Miranda, based on the musical written by Jonathan Larson:
Lindsay’s Twitter feed can be found here. Comments and feedback are welcome, and thank you very much for listening.
Enjoy!
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