The Dudes Do Not Rock: Master & Commander & Masculinity | Kill James Bond Highlight

This movie does rule though. From S3E8.5 ("Master & Commander: The Far Side of the World") of the Kill James Bond podcast, hosted by Abigail Thorn, November Kelly, and Devon.
From / killjamesbond
Art by Mattie Lubchansky
ko-fi.com/kjbh...

[@lyndonwesthaven6623]

'The dude's ability to rock is constrained by their material conditions'

[@callumjohnston858]

Subject to the requirements of the service

[@JohnBenfield]

"Siskel and Ebert were the proto-Kill James Bond" is a powerful statement that might be considered arrogant if it wasn't 100% correct.

[@robertborland5083]

The drive of dudes to rock can be easily weaponized to drive the conditions causing the dudes to suffer.

[@michaeltonus3888]

I love the running bit in this episode where Abi translates every naval thing happening into Star Trek terms in order to understand it.

[@tahrey]

Star Trek literally is a naval drama, just _IN SPAAAACE_ after all. (Like I think it's been stated outright as an intentional thing)

[@discflame]

"Dudes rock! dudes rock!" i continue to insist as i slowly shrink and throw myself overboard

[@zyavoosvawleilte1308]

Well he grabbed the dude´s rock to drown

[@tahrey]

@@zyavoosvawleilte1308 _Well played_

[@charliecussans7638]

"A horror story about command" is utterly fantastic. Shortly before listening to this episode, I read 4 Weeks in May by David Hart Dyke, commander of the HMS Coventry which was sunk in action in the Falklands War, and the amount of trauma he went through emotionally and psychologically from losing his ship was astounding-the guy would wake up screaming after he came home, even after his burn injuries on his hands and face healed.

[@mrvenom88]

At the bottom: The dudes must rock to endure the death machine. In the middle: The joys of command are fleeting, hierarchy must be maintained through brutal violence to the self and the other, your subordinate dudes must be made to rock lest your death machine kill you in the Galapagos. At the top: Inscrutable alien forces half the world away demand death machines, compose poems about dudes rocking.

[@MeonLights]

November truly was on fire this episode.

[@richardpreston7333]

Christ, that quote by the film critic going "Wouldn't it be great to be pressganged into navy service and live a tedious existence where your life means nothing?" is unironically fashy bullshit

[@lucykwiatek5159]

"To make the right decision is a question of training. To make A decision is a question of leadership." That quote has STUCK WITH ME ever since I first heard it. Also, dang, Max Pirkis retired from acting?

[@killjamesbondhighlights]

Yeah, he basically realized he didn't like it very much as he got older. He's in some kind of film industry sales job now.

[@Frommerman]

November really rocking that "wannabe military officer to trans woman" pipeline here.

[@tahrey]

If I had a pound for every time I've seen that happen, I'd have enough for a Tesco Meal Deal (which is neither a Meal, nor a Deal). Which isn't much, but it's interesting that it's happened 4 or 5 times just within my own pretty limited experience.

[@JeevesAnthrozaurUS]

Dude, sick how the machinery of empire grinds down our body and spirits and leaves us stranded both internally and externally! Dudes rock

[@killjamesbondhighlights]

I love having my bones and blood used as fuel to power the Extract Bones and Blood Machine

[@nomisunrider6472]

I really liked this episode but I do want to clarify one thing: the wind doesn't pick up because Hollom dies. They're still dead in the water during his funeral. Aubrey gives a funerary speech about how they all failed Hollom and begging God and Hollom's spirit for forgiveness, and then the wind IMMEDIATELY picks up, implying that the curse wasn't Hollom but their mistreatment of him.

[@killjamesbondhighlights]

I think it's meant to be pretty clear that the funeral is meant to be part of the process of the Jonah's death, and also I just genuinely don't think those men would consider that in that way, because their beliefs aren't rational, they're a response to weakness in a system that can't abide by it. If they recognize that God is displeased with them then it completely undermines the point of the very next scene in which the Marine Captain attempts to kill an albatross, hitting the ship's surgeon instead, and suffers absolutely no repercussions from the men. Like that scene exists for the plot purpose of shooting Maturin, but it also lays bare the malicious arbitrarity of the crew's superstition.

[@nomisunrider6472]

@@killjamesbondhighlights Yup. The sheer unfairness that Hollom gets blamed because bad things happen around him (and other people too but shhh) because they're already inclined to disrespect him but a guy shoots their surgeon in the process of trying to SHOOT AN ALBATROSS and never suffers any consequences for it because he's their badass Captain of the Marines really underscores how blatantly biased and malicious their superstition is. I do think there's a line between depiction and endorsement though, and while I doubt the crew learned anything from Hollom's death, Aubrey himself was affected by it as shown by the speech and by him throwing away "the book of Jonah". He previously dismissed Maturin's desire to go on a naturalist expedition as "hobbies" but after Hollom's death and Maturin's injury he gives up the pursuit and lets Maturin search for birds in the Galapagos. (Which also lets him get the Acheron and....yeah that's a whole other essay). And I think the wind starting up AFTER Aubrey apologizes for failing Hollom is kind of the filmmaker's way of underscoring what the message is supposed to be here. Master and Commander is very committed to historical realism and the toxic military culture is a part of that, so I think the fact that the one bit of possible supernatural activity is "ask forgiveness from the man you drove to suicide and you're immediately saved" is meant to be an out of universe rebuke in addition to Aubrey's in universe rebuke.

[@jmackmcneill]

I think what you infer from the wind picking up is left to the interpretation of the viewer rather than it being clearly one thing. Like, your explanation fits the scene just as validly as mine, which is that Aubrey is glad that Hollum is dead and the curse lifted, but is equally ashamed of that relief, because he knows that it is wrong and there might have been a solution without death if he could have found it.

[@spartan117ak]

Remember being shown this movie, as a teenager, in sea cadets during a break in sailing practice. Nothing to analyze there nope

[@AbsolXGuardian]

I first heard about this movie because a lot of AMC the Terror fans also like it, so the idea that this would be even misunderstood as a "dudes rock" film was completely suprising to me. I was expecting sad and suffering people on a boat being chewed up by the processes of empire. Thats certiantly how Terror fans appreciate it

[@miss_elaineous_]

This is my sign from the universe to both rewatch Terror and to finally watch this movie, because goddamn do I absolutely love that show. Dudes do not rock in the ice, they cry and the darkness consumes them without any care for their personal circumstances, all because their empire wanted a faster route to more money.

[@ComminuoFascis]

🥰 My favourite movie about non-problematic, entirely healthy male relationships 🥰

[@johnsalvucci7922]

21 minute KJB highlight we are SO back

[@IRocaNox]

This is a new record. 2nd longest highlight is _First Blood and the Myth of the Spit-Upon Soldier_ at 13 minutes.

[@jmackmcneill]

"Your urge as a dude 'to rock!', is very easily suborned to the service of the the Death Machine." This is poetry.

[@TBSkyen]

Something that can help avoid the endless carousel of copyright claims is make the footage you're using smaller in frame, with some kind of motion or movement happening behind it. I've found sizing it down to 80% and having some kind of motion background happening behind it usually does the trick. What the bots are looking for is wholesale reuploads of unedited footage, and they (generally) get less aggressive if the footage only takes up part of the screen.

[@killjamesbondhighlights]

Considering they copyright claimed a version of this video where the offending section was mirrored, sped up, had text over it, and had 3 dancing Hatsune Mikus layered on top, I'm thinking I'm not actually dealing with an automated process at all.

[@tahrey]

​@@killjamesbondhighlights ... for real? Though it does seem that the human moderation of most web 2.0 platforms is actively far-right, so just being associated with a pod like this could mean you get judged more harshly :/

[@joearnold6881]

I have the omnibus with all the books in one giant book and goddamnit I had to learn all the sails and rigging to follow the stories (luckily my adhd got extremely focused on it for just long enough) and they definitely changed so much when they made this movie.

[@wizbots]

I can't wait to see KJB's "Mistress and Commander."

[@BarackLesnar]

Commandress

[@tahrey]

@@BarackLesnar Deliberately overshoot and go with Commandrix. (Commandtrix?)

[@robertborland5083]

This episode is one of my favorites on the podcast & this theme is a big part of why.

[@tahrey]

It was a hell of a listen that, having not seen the film or read the books, I absolutely _was not_ expecting.

[@uu8709]

I have a similar thesis to November however it just ends at “Americans cannot be trusted.”

[@candyh4284]

You're incorrect we can definitely be trusted, please sign this End-User Licensing Agreement

[@charliecussans7638]

One interesting tidbit is that a lot of RN sailors were in fact volunteers because the RN offered good pay, good food, decent medical care and a chance for loot/glory... and a hideous death.

[@JackTar-j4k]

So that's a debatable statement; we'll never really know exact numbers of impressed to volunteers as once impressed you would be given the opportunity to volunteer as the benefits were better. Although, if you volunteer and then desert, the punishment was much more severe whereas it was kinda assumed if you were impressed that you would be likely to try and escape. It's estimated that at least 50% of the navy from 1750 - 1830 were impressed although during the Napoleonic wars that was much, much higher. Would recommend Roy and Lesley Adkins' Jack Tar for a fun and horrifying read.

[@IRocaNox]

This movie: *_Dudes Rot!_*

[@alexbiggs1046]

It’s back! Hopefully fox won’t throw a fit again.

[@killjamesbondhighlights]

Fox looked at a 15 second clip which is audioless, mirrored, has text over it, is sped up, and has three dancing Hatsune Mikus on it, and thought to themselves, "this is indistinguishable from our actual film." Which says more about them than anything.

[@jasonyoung5628]

It's not like this movie isn't streaming free, on KZbin amongst other places.

[@ninereeds1810]

Oh sweet! I only managed to get halfway through the old video, before it got taken down. Glad to have the chance to finish it!

[@Bryan-d8j]

British Soldiers need to be 18 to be deployed. During “The Troubles” too many 17 year olds were showing up on casualty list (bad PR) so they up the age.

[@Rinasoir]

This episode and the TrashFuture bookclub about these books are genuinely some of my favourite content online. November honestly manages to discuss this topic in such an engaging way.

[@csours]

Terrence was also fired from The Oaken Death Machine

[@tahrey]

It's for the best, he had a bad attitude

[@coolmikefromcanada]

glad to see you got around the CR claim

[@tahrey]

wait ... _21 minutes?_ (edit: and there doesn't seem to be an ounce of fat on it, excellent work)

[@killjamesbondhighlights]

I wish to God I could have cut stuff but I really couldn't

[@tahrey]

@@killjamesbondhighlights honestly i was being genuine about that

[@killjamesbondhighlights]

Yeah I don't like making videos this long because it takes longer to make and also starts to stretch the term "highlight" but every part really is loadbearing in this one

[@tahrey]

11:00 absolute Chad shit, get in there KJBH