Introduction to the Rountable

I was talking with some close friends of mine once years ago thinking some of our conversations were worth keeping a record of.  I don't mean to sound too pretentious.  I know that virtually all male groups have discussions over some beers.  Nevertheless, I think we've had some good ones, many of which deal with movies, which is the subject matter of this blog.  I'm making an attempt here to catch lightning in a bottle by removing a little spontaneity for the sake of recording some discussions and posting the meaningful insights online.  This gives me the opportunity to take part in the grand tradition of Plato (or so I aspire to) and the opportunity to bring some other voices to this blog.

What will be the subject matter of upcoming discussions?  Well, firstly, the range of this blog ties things down.  We may get into general movie topics, but for the moment, my intention is to stick with individual movies to give the conversations a focal point.  This does not mean general topics will not be discussed or that other movies will not be brought up when relevant.  As usual for this blog, I would like to keep things relatively outside the box.  We will be watching movies that actually can inspire hours of conversation.  Often this will mean movies on subjects that transcend these movies themselves and veer off into broad subject matter.  I don't intend to do these roundtables very often.

There are a few things I would like to explain about the format I have decided on for these "roundtables."  For starters, I will be posting a transcript from the recording I make.  It will take a while to finish them, but I'm okay with that.  When I'm online, I like to read.  Also, this would be a long podcast.  I would like to deal with the ideas and not the drama of the conversation.  Reading sets a different mindset and allows the reader to find his own pace and really grasp things.  I will also be working with minimal pictures and links.  I want the conversations to be read objectively and not with pictures and links influencing the perception of the material in a way that was not originally there.  I also won't be worried about which movies happen to be cited in these conversations except for the central one.  I understand that these will be long by internet standards and not for everyone, even those who may appreciate the rest of the blog.  I would read it for five minutes, please, before scrolling down the whole page and giving up.  It's something to do when you have the time.