Brace yourselves for impact, textual deviants!
This week on Texting, Tomek and I revisit the cinematic universe of Shane Meadows. Our previous encounter with the British filmmaker’s viscerally realistic work is documented in S2E16: “Maggie is a Twat,” our conversation about the 2006 cult classic This Is England. Mr. Meadows tests our intestinal fortitude once again in the current episode with his somber 2004 revenge film Dead Man’s Shoes, in which Paddy Considine (pictured above in his iconic gasmask) plays the role of anti-hero and avenging angel. During our lengthy conversation, Tomek and I make intertextual connections with the Bible, Greek tragedy, and the films of Quentin Tarantino and Paul Schrader. (Had I thought of it at the time, I might have also mentioned the bloody dramas of Seneca and Thomas Kyd. Oh well.)
Thanks to Tom for requesting the topic this week and providing a poignant personal reflection at the end of the pod. Cheers to Rich for offering his take on the film as well.
What about the rest of you? Any particular texts you’d like us to engage with? Let us know!
Next week, Tomek and I keep calm and carry on in Brit mode, as we review an episode of John Cleese’s classic sitcom Fawlty Towers. Stay tuned . . . and don’t mention the war!
MW
P.S. Last week’s episode on ChatGPT and AI is now on YouTube:
"Another Punch in the Gut"