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Together (Shanks 2025)
Together is an odd sort of film. Starring the real life couple of Brie and Franco, it has a fascinating and horrifying new concept. The films is well made, shot, and acted. It is an outstanding illustration of how hegemonic forces work.
It also evokes some emerging cultural sources of fear and anxiety we don’t yet often see in horror. Annnnd it ends up being almost outstanding. However in the final act they chose to go Hallmark rather than horror. So while the film ends up being just fine, it did lead to some really interesting discussion.
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SPOILERS IN THIS EPISODE
Together (Shanks 2025)
The Substance (Fargeat 2024)
Bring Her Back (Philippou and Philippou 2025)
The Ruins (Smith 2008)
Minor Spoilers
The Fly (Cronenberg 1986)
TOPIC INDEX – Together (Shanks 2025) (times are approximate)
0:30 – Introductions
4:45 – Film discussion begins without spoilers
7:00- SPOILERS BEGIN
10:30 – hegemonic messaging vs hegemonic nature of that messaging
20:30 – final scene working backwards
22:00 – trans allegory?
28:00 – hegemonic heterosexual couple allegory?
32:00 – illustration of hegemonic forces
33:15 – Sociology moment – Goffman – team performance
33:45 – cult?
43:00 – intention
51:00 – increase in body horror
53:00 – geography
56:15 – SPOILERS for The Ruins
57:00 – source of the evil
58:30 – reference to Hedwig and the Angry Inch “The Origin of Love” (we miss you Matt!)
59:30 – grading the film using the Collective Nightmares Evolving Rubric of Social Responsibility
Post credits
1:03:30 – teaching college and parenting in the era of AI and anxiety
1:12:30 – Taylor Sheridan universe
1:28:00 – Book recommendation: Siren’s Call by Chris Hayes
Related Episodes
Bring Her Back (Philippou and Philippou 2025) (coming soon)
The Lodge (Fiala and Franz 2019)
The Substance (Fargeat 2024)
Jakob’s Wife (Stevens 2021)
Related Films
Companion (Hancock 2025)
Credits
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“Horror films are our collective nightmares.”
Episode 149