On Friday, May 6th, Tyler Hummel released his The AntiSocial Network Podcast episode “The Northman, Postmodernism, and Satanic Paganism(?!) w/Ethan McGuire – AntiSocial Entertainment,” in which Tyler and I discuss and debate various aspects of the film director Robert Eggers’s filmography, especially his most recent movie, The Northman.
You may remember Tyler from the two GroupThink Productions Podcast episodes I did with him in September 2019 and in May 2020 and the two AntiSocial Network Podcast episodes I did with him in November 2020 and in September 2021. Tyler is a prolific writer for various well-respected culture sites (Law & Liberty, The New York Sun, Arc Digital, 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 on YouTube, Apple Podcasts, and most other podcast platforms, like Google Podcasts, Overcast, and Soundcloud.
On this AntiSocial Entertainment episode, Tyler and I had a conversation about the successes and shortcomings of Robert Eggers’s films and their inconsistent but admirably engaged search for the sublime in the premodern world. We disagree a lot in this episode, but civilly so. This episode was prompted by messages between Tyler and I, based on our separate written takes in Geeks Under Grace and The Dispatch. I was happy to talk with Tyler again!
“The Northman, Postmodernism, and Satanic Paganism(?!) w/Ethan McGuire – AntiSocial Entertainment”
Tyler Hummel’s Geeks Under Grace review of The Northman: “Review – The Northman“
My Letterboxd “notes” on The Northman
Corrections, Additions to, & Notes on Our Podcast Episode:
- Forgive the subtle crying appearances my young daughter makes in the background!
- I talked about how fate is a throughline in Eggers’ films, but I should have discussed how fear is as well.
- When I called The Last Duel “modern and premodern,” I meant to say “modern and postmodern.”
E.D. 
Reblogged this on The Flummoxed and commented:
I recently appeared on a podcast to discuss a strange but impressive 2022 film, The Northman. This post of mine about the podcast appearance also includes links to other pieces of writing, etc. with which I was involved about the film and more. Check them out (but beware of spoilers!).
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