Episode Overview

Theme:
This episode of Holmberg's Morning Sickness centers around the art of reading subtext—both in the context of unhinged listener emails and within movies. John Holmberg and his regular crew (Brady Bogen, Bret Vesely, and Dick Toledo) navigate an entertaining discussion about how we often miss what’s hidden beneath the surface, whether it’s the real meaning in a baseball movie or provocative correspondence from passionate listeners. Along the way, they tackle memorable films, the peculiarities of fans, and poke fun at their own experiences with English class metaphors.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Saga of Unhinged Listener "Ernie" and Email Subtext

• Listener Ernie's Over-Eager Responses:
  Holmberg discusses a listener ("Ernie") who bombarded the show with emails after getting a personal reply.
  • Ernie agreed to "consolidate" his thoughts to one or two emails a day, which Holmberg wryly appreciates.
• Wild Accusations & Humor:
  Ernie's emails are nonsensical and filled with taunts, calling Holmberg a "Gay communist, Trump supporter" and suggesting he hasn't come out yet.
  • Holmberg responds tongue-in-cheek, embracing the accusation by saying:

    "I'm just born this way, so I am gay. I identify as a gay whenever there's trouble because you can't tell me I'm not. That's the new world we live in." (02:03)

2. Subtext in Literature and Movie Critique

• Learning About Subtext:
  The discussion launches into how Holmberg’s high school teacher introduced him to the notion that "not everything is as it seems" in literature and film.
  • The "boring" experience of reading Hemingway's The Old Man and the Sea versus its symbolic meaning:
    • "Everything was a metaphor and everything had subtext. He wasn't just fishing. It was a life's journey... his struggles and all that." (03:43)
    • Brady: "When you're reading it, it's just a guy pulling a shark and having it getting eaten. A lot of pages." (03:55)
• Movies: The Natural, Top Gun, Field of Dreams & More:
  A deep dive into how popular “sports movies” aren’t actually about sports, but instead use sports as a catalyst for deeper issues like sexuality, aging, or personal relationships. - "People don’t realize… Top Gun's about being gay. It's like finding your way in life between battling your sexuality. That's a fact." (02:35) - "The Natural... has nothing to do with baseball. You could have put basketball in there. Be careful who you surround yourself with—that's the subtext." (07:05) - Field of Dreams: "Not about baseball; it's about a father and a son." (05:22)

3. Debate: What Makes a Movie “About” a Sport?

• George Will’s Theory:
  Referencing George Will:
  • Only Bull Durham is truly “about” baseball; in most sports movies, the sport is just a setting.
• Bull Durham, Moneyball, Major League:
  • Major League: “Just a comedy about the hijinks of baseball players. Not about the game.” (05:36)
  • Moneyball: "It's about Billy Beane, a process, not about baseball per se." (07:20)
• For Love of the Game, The Rookie, A Perfect Game:
  • The consensus: these movies are about love, aging, or other themes, not actually about the sport itself.
    • "It's a broad movie. All about love." (06:04)

4. On Golden Pond & Movie Metaphor

• Interpretation of On Golden Pond:
  • Catching "Walter the Fish" is a metaphor for the main character facing mortality.
    • "They did catch him and they realized, oh, it's right in front of us the whole time. And he. And that was his mortality." (09:43)
    • "The joy was knowing he was there the whole time." (10:15)
    • "It's a beautiful story about mortality… sometimes it's right in front of you." (10:26)

5. Football Movies & Why They Don’t “Work”

• No truly “About Football” Movies:
  • Any Given Sunday, The Longest Yard, North Dallas Forty, The Last Boy Scout
    • They’re ultimately about corruption, overcoming authority, or action—football is just the backdrop.
  • "There hasn't been a good football movie ever…" (12:58)
• What Would Make a Sport Central?
  • You shouldn’t be able to swap the sport for some other topic and keep the same movie.
  • “It has to be about football. People can still be human beings, it doesn't have to be X's and O's… but it has to be… you can’t replace football.” (13:17)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Subtext and “Gay” Accusations:
  • "I'm just born this way, so I am gay. I identify as a gay whenever there's trouble because you can't tell me I'm not. That's the new world we live in." — Holmberg (02:03)
• On Reading Hemingway:
  • "That's the most overrated. You know how I know [Old Man and the Sea] is boring? They've never made a good movie out of it." — Holmberg (04:05)
• On What Sports Movies Are “About:”
  • "The only [movie] that's ever been about baseball is Bull Durham, where baseball is the theme. All other movies are about something happening and baseball's in the center of it." (05:14)
• On Movies About Mortality:
  • "The joy was knowing [Walter the Fish] was there the whole time…It's a beautiful story about mortality, dealing with the end and recognizing that all that distractions in your life… Sometimes it's right in front of you." (10:13 – 10:26)
• On Football Movies:
  • "There hasn't been a good football movie ever. Remember when you tried it with… Damon Wayans and Bruce Willis were in that… They needed a murder." (14:00)

Important Timestamps

• [00:00 – 02:30]: Listener Ernie’s unhinged emails and Holmberg’s satirical self-response about “gay communism”
• [03:40 – 04:20]: The pain and subtext of high school literature (Hemingway and The Old Man and the Sea)
• [05:10 – 07:30]: What sports movies are really about—debate over Bull Durham, The Natural, Moneyball, etc.
• [09:34 – 10:26]: Dissecting On Golden Pond and movies as metaphors for life and mortality
• [12:58 – 14:26]: Why football movies never feel like they’re actually about football

Tone & Language

The tone throughout the episode is irreverent, playful, and quick-witted—full of digressions, teasing, self-awareness, and a deep love for movies and pop culture. Holmberg’s deadpan humor and sarcasm set the mood, while the rest of the crew jibes in with supportive banter and movie references.

Summary

In this episode, Holmberg and the crew blend comedy and media analysis as they field wild listener correspondence and peel back layers on why we love movies about sports (even if they’re never really about sports). From analyzing the hidden homoeroticism of Top Gun to skewering the “meaning” found in high school English class, the episode is a clever look at how subtext shapes both our understanding of movies and the signals we send each other—even “unhinged” listeners like Ernie. Whether you're a film buff or love a good rant, there’s plenty here to keep you entertained—and thinking twice about what your favorite movies are really about.