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Bonfireside Chat 195: The Green Knight
🕑 Added 2021-11-28 23:22:37 +0000 UTCRemember, it's only a game. More accurately, it's a movie about a game gone very wrong. This week we talk about the Green Knight, a 2021 adaptation of the classic Arthurian legend directed by David Lowery. Specifically, we look at the movie through the lens of the themes and motifs of the Souls series, looking at the importance of our changing relationships to Arthurian myths as the basis of modern fantasy.
EDIT: Little note from Gary on the ending: I just found out in the original ending, they depict the beheading, but the director decided to leave it ambiguous so Kole and I could argue about it (that's me being cheeky; he decided it was better if it was left ambiguous). But I am relieved to see that at some point, he was going that way, just so I don't feel like the only person in the world who likes the story better with Gawain biting it at the end.
EDIT 2: A little note from Kole, who is just now seeing Gary's little note a few months later. Not cool, bro, sneaking around like this. Though there was an original intent, deciding to leave it ambiguous was also a conscious decision, and ultimately the final one. Gary is alone in the world as the only one who takes his read on the ending and I WILL NOT HEAR OTHERWISE.
Comments
Charlie Frame
Loved this episode. And as others have said, it was great to hear G+K have it out over their interpretations of the ending. I watched this for the first time at Christmas and I can see it being an annual staple. FWIW, I think I'm tending more on Kole's more optimistic reading of the ending
thelorehunter
Hey! I just wanted to comment that I really enjoyed this episode, and I really liked hearing both of you present your case for what the movie was saying, and I think you both made strong points. The Green Knight and Dark Souls share an absurdist core for me that you both alluded to about embracing the inevitability of death, and I think looking at The Green Knight and Dark Souls through that lens makes both pieces of media somewhat hopeful in a bittersweet way. I actually made a video about this on my channel, if you'd like to check it out. https://youtu.be/m8uJU-bchKE
Eric Nagurney
While both interpretations are valid, I feel the "Green Knight was just goofing" read supports the most important theme of the film: this Gawain mfer is getting pranked NONSTOP
Ryan Lazarus
I believe Gawain lives - the Green Knight drawing his thumb across his neck is his joking way of "returning the blow." Also, I think the way he says "off with your head" functions as a sort of play on words, like "get outta here, *with* your head." That said, I think Gary presents a better argument in general, via-a-vis the kind of worldview the movie presents.
Duckfeed.tv
IMO, there's a lot going on here other than being taught a lesson, but I have litigated that on the show. Just clarifying - GB
jaccob hanley
Watched it last night! Loved it so much. Tarkovsky is pretty great IMO although v slow burning & not for everyone. Stalker & Mirror are two of the most cathartic experiences I’ve had in the medium.
Mike Suskie
It makes more sense to me that Gawain lives at the end. Partly because that's just a more satisfying conclusion to me (because the story is a lesson, and what good is the lesson if the guy dies immediately after he learns it?) but also because his mother summoned the Green Knight to begin with and I guess I just assumed she was in control on some level (or at least ensured that the Green Knight wouldn't ACTUALLY kill her son). The fox being the mother also makes sense to me under that reading, because the fox tests him but also intervenes during one of the only sequences where Gawain is in ACTUAL danger (the giants).
gwenny_
So happy to see this covered on Bonfireside Chat. Absolutely amazing movie to me. Very much bleak fantasy and Souls vibes, imo.
Rodrigo Campos Varandas
Great podcast about a great movie and I agree with Kole about the ending. If you're open to suggestions to another media thing you can do a BFSC about, I would recommend Fevre Dream by GRR Martin, as he did some righting for Elden Ring, Miyazaki said to be one of his favourites novels by Martin and recommended to all From's new employees and it's a stand alone not that lenght-y book
Bob Witz
At work today. Can't wait to hear your guys' thoughts!
Duff
Glad I wasn’t the only one who got a Souls vibe from this.
