The Long Walk: Class Solidarity and Foot Pain

Kathryn joins Melvin to discuss The Long Walk, a film whose premise is extremely simple yet whose content is incredibly challenging. Based on a novel influenced by the woes of the Vietnam War, this film adaptation from Francis Lawrence is updated for a modern yet not-so-different demographic. Class solidarity, the importance of beauty, the vile oppression of facism; The Long Walk has it all! 

Topics:

• (PATREON EXCLUSIVE) 25-minutes discussing LA Comic-Con’s inclusion of an AI Stan Lee sideshow attraction where-in guests may pay to “talk” to “Stan Lee”, and how this is actually the scariest thing we could talk about during the spookiest month of the year. (PATREON EXCLUSIVE)
• Melvin found The Long Walk extremely affecting, and says it’s his favorite movie of 2025.
• Kathryn read the book, so she brings some reader-insights to the table.
• Why Melvin feels the film is prescient, and also seemingly unmakeable outside of releasing Summer 2025.
• Kathryn on how some may consider The Long Walk an exploitation movie, but in reality it’s a movie about how these young men are being exploited.
• Talking about the characters and how the system exploits them differently.
• Talking about the ending, both the film & the book ending, and what makes them both satisfying.

Recommendations:

• Night of the Living Dead (1968) (Movie)
• David Romero (YouTuber)

The Long Walk is Rated R for strong bloody violence, grisly images, suicide, pervasive language, and sexual references. It features Cooper Hoffman, David Jonsson, Garrett Wareing, Tut Nyuot, Charlie Plummer, Ben Wang, Jordan Gonzalez, Joshua Odjick, Mark Hamill, Roman Griffin Davis, and Judy Greer. Directed by Francis Lawrence. The Long Walk is available here.

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Melvin Benson is the Founder, Editor-In-Chief, and Lead Host of Cinematic Doctrine. Whether it’s a movie, show, game, comic, or novel, it doesn’t matter. As long as it’s rich, he’s ready and willing to give it a try! His hope is to see King Jesus glorified as far as the east is from the west!

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