On Friday, September 17th, Tyler Hummel released his The AntiSocial Network Podcast episode “The Green Knight (Film SPOILERS) with Hannah Long and Ethan Collins – AntiSocial Entertainment,” in which Tyler, Hannah Grace Long, and I discuss and debate various aspects of David Lowery’s recent film, The Green Knight.

You may remember Tyler from the two GroupThink Productions Podcast episodes I did with him in September 2019 and in May 2020 and The AntiSocial Network Podcast episode I did with him in November 2020. Tyler is a prolific writer for various, well-respected culture sites (Arc Digital, Legal Insurrection, Geeks Under Grace, etc., even this website), and he has a series of podcasts—The AntiSocial Network—and a website—Cultural Revue. The episode I did most recently here is currently available to view on YouTube, Apple Podcasts, and most other podcast platforms, like Bitchute, Castbox, Overcast, and Soundcloud.

On this AntiSocial episode, Tyler, Hannah, and I discussed the successes and shortcomings of The Green Knight, as well as its relation to the Gawain Poet’s late 14th Century long poem, Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, with which Tyler and I are especially familiar. My opinion on the film is much more positive than Tyler’s or Hannah’s, so that makes for some interesting discussion. In fact, Tyler initiated and facilitated this discussion because the three of us wrote three different articles with three unique perspectives that both agree and disagree with each other.

I was happy to talk with Tyler again, and I enjoyed meeting Hannah (virtually) for the first time, even though I have been reading and interacting with her online for a while now.

“The Green Knight (Film SPOILERS) with Hannah Long and Ethan Collins – AntiSocial Entertainment”

Tyler Hummel’s Geeks Under Grace review of The Green Knight: “Review – The Green Knight“

Hannah Long’s The Dispatch review of The Green Knight: “The Green Knight Has No Chest”

My article on The Green Knight: “The Green Knight and David Lowery’s Quest for Virtuous Adulthood”

A Twitter thread I have been maintaining of the rare good reviews, essays, podcasts, etc. on Lowery’s The Green Knight

My Letterboxd reaction to my first viewing of the film (which I turned into my “Quest for Virtuous Adulthood” piece

My Letterboxd reaction to my second viewing of the film

Corrections, Additions to, & Notes on Our Podcast Episode:

  • Forgive Hannah’s Internet issues throughout the episode. She has many good points to make, so listen closely!
  • In our discussion of the character Saint Winifred, I meant to mention that Winifred shows Gawain some of what the goodness looks like that Essel had asked of Gawain earlier in the film.
  • In our discussion of the vision Gawain receives showing what he would look like as a man with greatness but not goodness (unlike his uncle, King Arthur, who has both; also unlike Essel, who has some goodness), I meant to add that we get a vision of Gawain without goodness or greatness (Gawain’s life before he finishes accepting the Green Knight’s challenge), a vision of Gawain with greatness but not goodness (when he sees his future if he runs away from the Green Knight’s challenge but lies and says he accepted it), a vision of Gawain with goodness but not greatness (when he helps Saint Winifred), and a vision of Gawain with both greatness and goodness (the moment he throws away the belt, and the multitude of possibilities left in our imagination at the end of the film; we as the audience are the ones who can receive this particular vision).
  • After Hannah’s comments about “The Green Knight has no chest,” which is a reference to C.S. Lewis’s book The Abolition of Man, I wanted but did not have time to reference a Lewis novel, That Hideous Strength. The Green Knight film lines up with some of That Hideous Strength‘s themes, in that Gawain must make a journey out of an absence of spirituality, through a realm of pagan spirituality (which his mother, the Lord and Lady, and the Green Knight inhabit), and into a realm of Christian spirituality (which Essel, King Arthur, and Guinevere inhabit, and which the Green Knight implies). My comment about pagan imagery being better than imagery absent of spirituality is a Lewis reference as well.
  • I make a comment in this episode to the effect of, “Tyler’s Last Jedi poster is there in the background reminding us,” but Tyler does not have a The Last Jedi poster in his background. I was remembering that from past podcasts I did with Tyler.