Remember Shuffle

We turn, finally, to the greatest pop-cultural artefact of the 2000s—77 minutes of laying out exactly why Googling “what is the greatest show of all time” will return “The Sopranos”. We go over the Sopranos' greatest features, including the internal continuity that each episode has with its small details and imagery, like Curb Your Enthusiasm’s interweaving plots, but for drama. The episode is a first pass at explaining why the Sopranos is a 6 tool player at: plot, setting, characters, style, technique and themes–specifically of American decline, generational divide, toxic masculinity and class in The Sopranos.

This week we are once again joined by Mike Duncan as we turn to our favourite all-frills movie from the 2000s, Sophia Coppola’s “Marie Antoinette.” We review this film that had mixed reviews at the time, but in retrospect is a masterpiece of ennui, decadence, and style. En route, we discuss different approaches to the historical biopic, malign the double standard of “style-over-substance” discourse, and muse on what different countries’ dogs say about them. Listen to Mike Duncan’s podcasts here:https://thehistoryofrome.typepad.com/revolutions_podcast/

We came, we saw, we podcasted. Huge thanks to @Mike Duncan for coming on the pod to review HBO’s Rome with us. The most expensive TV show ever made at its time, and a beautiful show which actually put its budget to good use (unlike, a certain LoTR series). The show gets the Julius Cesar story so right (with a few funny anachronisms), and adds on a Forrest Gump like historical fiction. It immerses you in the values and morals of classical Rome and we love the voodoo magic of day-to-day Roman life. Find Mike's podcasts at: https://thehistoryofrome.typepad.com/revolutions_podcast/ And get check out 'A Hero of Two Worlds' the story of Lafayette, and 'The Storm Before the Storm' for more classical history https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/34184069-the-storm-before-the-storm Ben's show notes: https://remembershufflepod.wordpress.com/2023/08/19/hbos-rome-with-mike-duncan-e31-lend-us-your-ears/

The Remember Shuffle crew turns the nostalgia dial up to 11 and talks about the rise and fall of Blockbuster. Every millennial’s favourite corporate monopoly, they talk about how Blockbuster’s business morons killed it in the 2000s, by white knuckling the company through 25 years of unprecedented American growth. They examine how Netflix supplanting Blockbuster is a fitting allegory for the ways the world has changed since the 2000s. Specifically, with respect to the almighty Algorithm, the loss of physical media, and how tech companies make our art now.

Ahoy hoy, shuffleheads! Today Remember Shuffle takes a look and 2003’s Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World, the first entry in the best franchise that never was. To help us analyze this film, we are joined by Everett Rummage of the Age of Napoleon podcast. We discuss the uniqueness and out-of-place nature the film in the decade, how this film runs on vibes, the historical authenticity of the film, and why its failure to generate more than 200 million dollars in revenue doomed it to irrelevancy.  We also discuss the a whole host of Napoleonic age topics ranging from the alcoholism of its political and military leaders, the contrast between wonder and enlightenment and the destruction of near-total war, and its totally alien views on masculinity--alright lads, Ship shape and Bristol Fashion! Listen to the Age of Napoleon podcast here: https://cms.megaphone.fm/channel/ADL5280986787?selected=ADL7401113285  Follow Everett on Twitter here: https://twitter.com/AgeofNapoleon   See the gimbal here: https://wordpress.com/post/remembershufflepod.wordpress.com/87

Remember the Iraq War? It’s back, in prestige cable miniseries form. To discuss Generation Kill, Ben and Jordano are joined by two experts in the David Simon cinematic universe: Matt Lieb and Vince Mancini from Pod Yourself a Gun. They review the show’s realism, its “fuck the bosses” ideology, its ability to emphasize the total asymmetry of the Iraq War, and the general lack of Iraq War media in the years since 2003. Check out Vince Mancini’s substack page here: https://substack.com/@vincemancini.

Eleanor Janega and Luke Waters join us (!) for a review of 2010's Robin Hood in our favorite guest episode. A day in the life of a true Folkloric Geezer.  Wake up and meet the wife Marian. isn't she beau’iful? Time to take Much to stoolball. Rev up the Marrymen, ye! Quick stop at the Hostelry and load up that plate. Get a pint. Forest lookin' lovely today lads. Just a bit of banter. The Fair makes a 38-nil loss be’’er. Pop down local pride, Good ol' pie! Look at that! Marian made dinner, lovely! Pop down have a couple pints with the lads, And finish up in the fortress of dreams. See the Truth…Behind the Legend…We chat about this movie’s egregious class politics, its place in the trend of sword-and-sandals films and origin stories, and how making a gritty reboot of a folk tale is a dumb idea.  6:15 for discussion on Robin Hood (2010) start. Check out We’re Not So Different at https://www.patreon.com/wnsdpod , and Eleanor's book at https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/61089456-the-once-and-future-sex.

Since we are now living in the era of the Sonic and Super Mario Bros movie, not to mention HBO’s The Last of Us, Remember Shuffle is taking a look at how the big-budget video game adaptation all began back in the 2000s. They review three films that, even if profitable, have been totally memory-holed by society: Lara Croft: Tomb Raider (2001), Max Payne (2008), and The Prince of Persia: the Sands of Time (2010). They also do some quick rapid-fire reviews of Resident Evil (2001), Doom (2005), and Hitman (2007). En route, they analyze how movie studios fundamentally misunderstand videogame source material in every respect, from character, to visual style, to gaming’s generally lowbrow nature. They also discuss Hollywood’s neverending search for IP that began in the decade, the obsession with the War on Terror in the 2000s, and how we are heading towards a singularity of popular culture.

Remember Shuffle returns to the world of videogames and discusses one of the best-selling PC games of all time and a pillar of 2000s video gaming, The Sims franchise. They describe the most iconic features of The Sims (simlish, woo hoo, pool accidents), analyze what drew people to this consumerist capitalist dollhouse simulator, and debate the best and worst ways to play this game.

There is no Spoonfeeding in this absolutely flawless, perfect film from outside the purview of the dumb decade the Shuffle bois do a podcast about, The Matrix (1999). Sadly, they cannot say the same for the film's 2000s era sequels - movies so bad, they retroactively ruined a great movie. Ben and Jordano look at how The Matrix, an End of History era sci-fi action, hacker thriller, kung fu movie changed the game in so many ways both then and now: from parodies, to memes, to legacy sequels, to the disconcerting number of people who truly believe we are living in a simulation. Themes discussion starts at 1:04:30