Cows in the field
Blobcat Filmindustri
A movie podcast inspired by a Werner Herzog quote, “We have to articulate ourselves, otherwise we would be cows in the field.” Hosted by Justin Khoo (professor of philosophy at MIT) and Laura Khoo (art historian turned fundraiser).
Episodes
Mentioned books
Jun 5, 2020 • 1h 26min
9. No Country For Old Men (w/ Edward Lewis)
The two cows head to Texas with their pal Edward to consider one of the best film adaptations of a book ever. Topics discussed include encounters with the unintelligible, grappling with our shared fate of becoming lost to the passage of time, Sartrean bad faith, and Anton Chigurh’s quarantine haircut.
May 25, 2020 • 1h 6min
8. The Social Network
The two cows revisit a more innocent time, when Facebook was just a silly site where people posted relationship statuses and the only concerns about it involved whether your mom saw that frat party photo your friend tagged you in. Is Sorkin overrated? Is this a breakup movie? Is it a movie about revolutions without ideals? What is Jesse Eisenberg like in real life?
May 17, 2020 • 1h 29min
7. Contact (w/ Molly Perkins)
The two cows are joined this week by special guest Molly Perkins; together, they embark on an interstellar journey into the bureaucratic maze of academic funding. Join us for a discussion of aliens (where are they?), McConaughey vs. Fichtner (who best?), scrunchies (what do they signify?), our favorite first contact movies, and whether this is Robert Zemeckis's masterpiece!
[0:02:08] Overview
[0:25:31] McConaughey: good/bad?
[0:44:57] Aliens!!
[0:51:40] Laura's scrunchie breakdown
[1:13:32] Talking Zemeckis
[1:19:23] Favorite first contact movies
May 7, 2020 • 1h 16min
6. Minority Report
The two cows go running with Tom Cruise and discuss the future as it was projected in 2002, the nature of middle knowledge, themes of blindness/control/justice, and give their top five Spielberg movies.
10.44: Future talk
28.34: Justin's philosophy corner
41.31: Theme and variation
67.22: Spielberg ranked
Apr 18, 2020 • 56min
5. Five Streaming Double Features
The two cows recommend five double features, all streaming on either Netflix or Amazon Prime. The themes are: High and Low, Paranoia, Families Falling Apart, The Rules of the Universe, How to Win Friends and Influence People.
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Movies recommended:
High and Low (0:59 Bringing out the Dead // 5:00 Inside Llewyn Davis)
Paranoia (9:27 Clue // 12:53 The Conversation)
Families Falling Apart (15:52 Suspiria [2018] // 20:03 The Squid and the Whale)
The Rules of the Universe (25:13 Killing of a Sacred Deer // 29:34 Highlander)
How to Win Friends and Influence People (33:14 Aguirre, Wrath of God // 37:16 Mitt)
++ Two bonus recs (44:22 // 51:04)!
Apr 13, 2020 • 43min
4. Can't Hardly Wait
The two cows go back to high school to revisit this classic 90s teen comedy and discuss house parties, a real life Trip McNeely story, and Siskel & Ebert's rating scale.
Apr 5, 2020 • 55min
3. Joy Ride
The two cows take a road trip to discuss how a decade of bored contentment in America gave rise to both the gen-X slacker and prank culture, laying the seeds for a generational conflict that takes center stage in this highly rewatchable 2001 John Dahl thriller.
Mar 30, 2020 • 1h 5min
2. Terminator 2: Judgment Day
The two cows discuss time travel, religious themes, and the nature of sequels in this action-packed episode.
Mar 19, 2020 • 34min
1. The Departed
The two cows go to confession with Martin Scorsese's Boston crime drama.
