Qt3 Movie Podcast: The Death of Stalin

Movies
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I’m with Marquardson and Wand on this as well. This movie has a great deal to offer beyond what it has to say about the time, as well as about how we’ve gotten to the historical moment we are currently experiencing, but its value goes well beyond that. Even if it were entirely a fictional construct I’d love it, because it’s so well written and acted and directed. It’s definitely worth your time, and is a movie that bears repeated viewings, in my estimation.

It is also a joy to talk about with smart people, so if you ever run into one of those, you’ll have something to say!

Heh. I landed in a job like that. I was a long-term sub for a ninth grade health class here in California, for an entire year. It was such a surreal experience. I mean, let’s be honest, teaching Health isn’t like having to master an actual subject like math or science, but I still had to teach myself the material and prepare and plan and then manage all my classes. Luckily I know how to do that, so I didn’t let the inmates run my asylum.

Still, I remember my third period class being a nightmare much of the time. There were like forty students in that class, and it was a beast to manage because a couple of the kids were just total dicks. Luckily I got ahead of them and figured them out, so most of the time it ran smoothly. But teaching Sex Ed. and Driver’s Ed. to that group probably took a couple of years off of my life.

A significant amount of teaching is about behavior management, and once you understand that and understand how to do that (read: how to fool the kids into believing you’re in control of the classroom), it becomes possible to actually help them learn stuff.

Sounds like Bleached Comb-over didn’t have a handle on that. My kid had a similar experience in sixth grade, and it infuriated me because basically it meant an entire year of education wasted. I mean, we picked up the slack at home, because we know what we’re doing, but sixth was my favorite year in school, and it broke my heart to see his experience be such a flat-line.

Oh…wait…we were talking about The Death of Stalin. Sorry. Yeah. See that. You’re a smart person. You’ll get it.

-xtien

“We offer our tears. Although not as a gift of course.”

22

Thanks, buddy.

I guess I’ll hold off on listening to this episode. That is the main thing that stinks about not having 3x3s: nothing new to listen to until I see the movies I care about. Harumph! But if shorter episodes keep you guys from getting burned out, then do whatever you need to keep this thing rolling for decades and decades. (I turn to Kellywand strapped into a Clockwork Orange chair beside me and reassure him it will only feel like an eternity.)

This reminded me that seventh grade was also a bad history year for me. We had a full-time substitute for, like, 3/4 of the year. That was also a world history year, so I got pretty boned all around in that area. 8th and 10th grades focused on American history and I was fortunate to have good, experienced teachers those years. That seventh grade class wasn’t nearly as bad as BC, but I distinctly remember shooting spitwads at the TV while we watched a movie. Now that I think about it that class might have been my first exposure to this little indie film called Monty Python & the Holy Grail. I’ve still never finished the movie. Do a quote. I dare you.

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Must. Not. Take. The bait!

-xtien