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Introduction

 [00:00:00] It’s another episode of the Better Learning Podcast. We’ve been talking movies, school related movies this year. It’s always really fun. And I got a movie that was, uh, sent my way that I had not seen yet before, so I am joined by Peter Sharma.

Kevin: Peter, how you doing?

Peter: Hey, Kevin. Good. How are you?

Kevin: Good. So, so Medal Lords is the one that you picked here, so I, I want to hear, I mean, you got the long hair. You, I, I’m, I’m assuming you got some music background or something like really spoke to you in this movie. What, how, how’d you pick this movie?

Initial Movie Discussion

Peter: Uh, I I’m just really into music. Unfortunately, don’t play instruments. I want to get into it. I’m kind of living that dream through my daughter as well, hoping that she becomes a rock star. Who knows? We’ll see.

Kevin: Nice. How old is she?

Peter: but, uh, she is 20 months old. She’s tiny. She loves rock and metal music as well. Uh, we just recently watched, uh, Ozzy’s Farewell concert just a few weeks ago, before he had passed away and she was going, bye Ozzy. Bye Ozzy. And she was having a great time. But, , for music, I’m just a huge, huge music fan, especially rock and metal. And my journey started with Metallica. Their song, nothing Else Matters. Um, a friend showed me a video of Nothing Else Matters from this concert in Memes 2009. So I got in pretty late, into rock and metal, but uh, that’s what you get growing up in India. Metal wasn’t mainstream. that’s where it started. and some of ’em, my first, uh, concert memories and uh, stuff started there too with Mega Death and Guns and Roses back.

Kevin: Oh man.

Peter: 2012 right before I left for Canada. And I finally got to see Metallica in 2017 in their full glory when they came to Edmonton, the city just three yard north of Calgary where I live. yeah, this country became home. I’m a citizen here. Um, have a wife here and daughter here as well. And yeah, the movie just was right up my alley.

Uh, I, I was, I was like School of Rock or Middle Lords.

Kevin: I, I know School of Rock was a fun one too. You could definitely see, you know, like some of the similarities, definitely the battle of the bands. Um, you know, that happens in there. But, um, yeah, it’s kind of crazy. ’cause I was thinking as I was watching this of like, they’re like. There just needs to be more of this, like, there just needs like, like music, like just battle bands.

You see like how much like towards like athletics and different areas of kinda like that high school experience. And it’s just, it just surprises me that there’s not more music. Opportunities to, to have those types of like showcases or, or events. And I think it’d be fun.

Peter: And, and there’s a lot of really good, like advocates and stewards for this as well. So the music direction in this movie is provided by Tom Morello, uh, free against the Machine. And, uh, he is sort of a connector. He connects the right people. He was also, uh, involved with Ozzie’s Farewell. He is been involved with, uh, Metallica’s, 40th anniversary and some of the, I can’t remember 40th anniversary or all within my Hands.

Foundation. Metallica does these annual concerts, but yeah, we need more. More advocates out there?

Kevin: Yeah. 

Plot and Character Analysis

Kevin: Yeah. Well, to, to give the premise of this movie, um, I mean, it it’s really kind of about two, two kids in high school that were best friends for a long time, and, kind of like a, that typical setup where they’re the outcast in there. Um, they’re getting bullied, uh, or one in particular is getting bullied.

And the other one, um, yeah. Is they dig into more of his struggles at home. It sounds like his mom passed away and his dad was Yeah. Like, not, not the best, uh, the best father figure for him. And, uh, but that retreat kept coming back to music. Um, in particular, hunter, who was like the, the, the medal. Lord, if there were, if we were gonna pick one, he was the medal Lord.

Peter: Yes. Absolutely. Yeah. It’s a, a high school driver just wrapped in heavy metal, identity crisis in a way, sense of belonging. There’s, there’s everything in it.

Kevin: Yeah. And I feel like it, you know, like these are one of those movies, those coming of age types of movies that like everyone relates to, everyone can see themselves in one or multiple characters. Was there one for you that you’re like, like that that’s the one you related to most?

Character Development and Relatability

Peter: probably Kevin. Um, so Kevin is this shy kid and he’s, you know, trying to find his identity in a way. I was a shy kid in school as well. so I could completely relate to a lot of character development that Kevin has had gone through as well. so yeah, that, that would be the character that I would pick and his, [00:05:00] his transformation, I think around midpoint in the movie or where, where whenever, war pigs, uh, started and, you know, he started really getting into it and, I was like, yeah, that’s like.

If I had a different, you know, child, childhood, if I got into rock and metal a bit early on.

Kevin: Yeah.

Peter: Yeah.

Kevin: Yep. Yep.

Peter: How about you? Was there

Kevin: like, I love like listening to music and I love like, like pretty, like I listen to a pretty wide variety of, of music and, But it was never, like, I, I joke around like, I think in like seventh grade you had to like get tests. Like, like they would, maybe it wasn’t that late, it was probably like fifth or sixth grade, but you had to like pass a test to like joined band and apparently I failed it, so I wasn’t like, yeah, like I didn’t even like all like all my friends.

Like we were playing like some instrument and I’m like, oh, I, nope, I guess I didn’t pass. so I wish I would’ve, um, ’cause I, I just didn’t have, uh, yeah, I, I feel like I just didn’t have that type of exposure. so I didn’t have like any of the connections to like the musical component of it. But it’s definitely from like just the high school experience of, you know, like you, you just kind of have the kids that are, you know, like, just kind of in the middle of the road and kinda get lost.

I would say I was probably one of those, ’cause I was like, yeah, I wasn’t great at anything. I wasn’t horrible at anything, I was just kind. one of the ones that just can easily get lost, like right in the right in the middle of it. 

Peter: Yeah. And it, it, it kind of speaks to what we go through in schools as well, right? It’s not always just about the tests or being the best at one thing I’ve seen, like, there’s a lot of creative artists that may not be the best at the intro instrument itself, but they have the creativity to draw things out.

You know, they see things differently. So I think there, there’s a lot that, That movie explores in that sense, as well.

Kevin: And I always give, like all the kid, the ones that are, that are willing to like, get up on stage like in front of their peers. That definitely was not me.

Peter: Yeah,

Kevin: Did not want anything. No. Like no way. They won’t want the spotlight on me at all.

Peter: yeah, yeah. It wasn’t me neither. Yeah,

Kevin: Yeah. So, so maybe in that way it was more of like, yeah, more of like Emily who, who, like she was, yeah, she was a cello player.

Although she got a lot of attention early in the movie. 

Um. 

Peter: Yeah. Yeah. She went through an interesting, uh, character arc as well, and I, I could relate so many things. Just, you know, there’s the what. Metal. There’s a lot of, um, like you’d see there’s a lot of gatekeepers and, you know, people that are like, oh, this is not really metal. Or, there’s a lot of moments in the movie about, uh, similar moments in the movie as well.

I’m pretty open-minded, before getting each rock and metal is into a whole lot of different kinds of music. Bollywood, of course, rap, and just like a lot of different things. uh, I, I see it as, it connected me through like a lot of concerts that I’ve, uh, that I’ve been to. Uh, and every time James Hetfield from Metallica is like, you’re a family.

You know, it’s, there’s no judgment. You’re here for the love of music. You know, uh, I think that sentiment needs to be there a bit more and.

Kevin: yeah, yeah, yeah. The last concert I went to was not, it was like a, an indie folk, um, group that I really like. but it was the day that Ozzy died and they played an Ozzy cover song, and it was, it was awesome. It was really

Peter: that’s, that’s great. Did they play my mom coming home?

Kevin: no, they didn’t. man, no. I should look up the name of it. I’ll have to look it up.

Um, but, um.

Peter: Yeah. It’s okay.

Kevin: Yeah, but it, it, yeah, it was really cool because yeah, I mean, it’s just like, yeah, you get like metallic, you get all of these like big names that are just like woven into the fabric of like, yeah. I, I think even the people who are not like metal fans, they at least know who they are and they like know what they represent.

Peter: Yeah. Yeah. And they would all of course be judgment, right? That, I’m gonna say met because that’s my favorite band. Uh, but they went through an era when they released like a music video, uh, for their song, one from Injustice for All, and everyone was like. Their sellouts, they’re, you know, they’re going mainstream and then they came out with the black album, uh, and that enter Sandman, nothing else matters.

And they became really, really big and, gatekeepers and some people that, you know, that felt like Metallica is my thing, you know, it’s my precious thing. And they don’t wanna share as much, you know, they want it to be a smaller crowd. But, that’s the thing, right? That, the perception that you have about, where a band is going and, just overall, uh, [00:10:00] acceptance

Kevin: Well this, so the movie came out in 2022. Was it only on Netflix? Was that the, like, that’s where I watch it. Okay. So yeah, release on Netflix. all right. What’s your guess? I always do IMDB ratings. Um, I don’t know if you look this up or not. Um, ’cause I feel like it’s like, like this is not the critics, this is just people rating it.

And I always feel like it’s extremely accurate. Um, so what would you say out of outta 10, what would be your guess?

Peter: uh, I’m gonna give it two different readings. One is my rating.

Kevin: Yeah, let’s hear your rating first.

Peter: my rating would be close to eight and a half

because it connected with me a lot. Um, but a general rating I might give it, uh, I’d say seven.

Kevin: I you’re right there. So it was, it was a 6.7, which is like right around that borderline. I always say like, if, if it’s over seven, it’s usually like, like it’s usually a, a good movie that, and I would say that in between is like that six and a half to seven, where it’s like, all right, like that’s connected with some people, but not everyone there.

So I, I feel like it’s probably pretty accurate of just like general, I mean, 35. Oh. Ratings. So, that’s, that’s probably what I would’ve guessed. I probably would’ve guessed like high

Peter: That’s where you would say too. Yeah.

Kevin: For me, for me, I, I probably would’ve given it a seven. yeah, I, I always just like these, I just think they, I don’t know.

I mean, obviously we’re doing a whole show that’s around, like, uh, that’s around school related movies, and I just feel like there’s a reason why there’s so many of these. It’s because everyone, it’s that shared experience. Everyone, you know, for the most part went through school, um, and had their own kind of unique experience, but can feel like they connected or had a very similar, similar experience to, to people in these movies.

Peter: Yeah. Yeah. I, I like, I dropped the reading a little bit because like it was just both. Good, good. And a bad thing is, uh, the movie suffers a bit from. Identity crisis, uh, in a way which is like perfect for Metalheads and something that I can relate with, uh, phase that you go through. You’re trying to figure out who you are and, uh, there’s some things that draw you to, to, to this music as well, right?

D different kinds of music that give you that sense of empowerment. Uh, right before the podcast, I’ll listen to the song, uh, from, I don’t, I don’t know if I’m pronouncing correctly, NIO, Meni, uh, the Ecstasy of Gold. Uh, it always gives me power in a way. Like if before I’m doing something, uh, like a presentation or the podcast today, I’ll listen to it similar to how Metallica opens with them.

Um, yeah.

Kevin: That’s very cool. Nice. Um, all you good? Anything else general on the movie before we dig into some of these awards?

Peter: No, I think I’m, I’m, I’m good to go.

Kevin: All right. So we always started out with, with the John Keating Award, which is like the best teacher or mentor. I, I’m curious to hear your nominees. There, there were, you know, there, there was some interaction with adults, not a lot of interaction with adults. Um, so yeah, curious to hear, what, what are you, what are your thoughts?

Did you have anyone, anyone stand out in this category?

Peter: Mine’s not gonna be a traditional mentor in

Kevin: Well, it shouldn’t.

Peter: Uh, it, it, it’s, it’s going to be, uh, Dr. Troy, um,

Kevin: I was thinking that too. Yep.

Peter: his character, a from being a metal guitarist and to a rehab doctor trying to give back to the community. ’cause he went through, um, rehab as well. Overall reflects that transformation in a way, and it, it kind of connects with, um, the schools evolving from, or how the infrastructure is now to more sustainable adaptive spaces.

I see it as, you know, a, a bit of parallels between the two there.

I’m curious to hear yours.

Kevin: no, I, I was thinking that too, especially from like the adult figure. It was kind of like that mentor, the one that Hunter was looking up to, and then, yeah, and that feeling of like, no way, like, like, I followed you and now you’re a doctor, and now like you’re, and then he’s, yeah, like rejecting him saying like, Nope, maybe next year.

And then at the end kind of redeems himself and helps him, helps him escape so he could play a battle of bands. My mine was actually, um, I, I thought Kevin. Like, 

Peter: Yeah.

Kevin: Like he was the friend that was there for Hunter when, you know, he was really, really struggling. Um, and just kinda like forced him to think differently.

I looked at that, I’m like, wow. Like he really helped him grow. And then you, you obviously saw like hunter’s evolution towards the end of just like, turning in total really almost like a totally different person. Like just completely, yeah, just open and [00:15:00] accepting and wanting to, to let other people into his life.

yeah, it felt like Kevin was the one that really helped him to, was there, you know, there through kind of all the bad times for him and helped him get through it, so,

Peter: yeah, yeah. There’s, I could connect to that actually. Just, uh, you, you see at one point in the movie, when. Hunter and Kevin are, they’re not talking right. And uh, uh, Kevin goes to this music store and he sees these two kids, uh, fighting and that reminded him of him and Hunter. They’re fighting and, you know, you, you get be back together and you help your friend out.

Right?

Kevin: Yeah. 

Peter: So, which is exactly what he did. It is

Kevin: Yeah. He didn’t give up on him. Yeah. He snuck in to, to get him outta that facility. Uh, yeah. 

Um, 

Peter: that take. Yeah.

Kevin: yeah. All right. So clicks, a lot of clicks in this movie. Um, I’m just gonna open that up. What, what stood out for you?

Peter: Uh, hunter versus Jacques,

Kevin: Yeah.

Peter: uh, I mean the movie, it kind of critiques the overall stereotypes and you know, how creative students could often like, support in a way. Which was, which was interesting. Again, I, I connect a lot of these things with how approach some of the projects I work on too. So traditional school design could marginalize non stream, non-mainstream learners, right?

So, uh, in a way sustain through sustainability. I tend to uplift everyone in a way. So yeah, that a hundred percent jocks is the,

the cliques for me. 

Kevin: yeah, yeah, Or just like, yeah, the other band was kinda like the, the cool kids playing like this mainstream, like, which I mean, in that era was, I mean, that was the music. but yeah, they were just mainstream, kind of boring. I, I just think of like, all right, I should probably just ask you right now, what, what’s your take on Nickelback, the

Peter: Uh, I like them. Uh, I know a lot of people, a lot of people. Hate them because it’s cool to hate them in a way. Um, but I, I like them. Uh, and they’re from, uh, they’re from a town in Alberta, in Canada. Yes.

Kevin: Oh, you know what I did? I feel like I watched something about them. Yeah. Of, yeah. They, yeah. At least the two main guy. Yeah. I don’t remember their names, but the two main guys like, grew up together.

Peter: yeah,

Kevin: Uh,

Peter: yeah. I’m forgetting the name of the town, but yeah, they’re Canadian.

Kevin: but they, yeah, they definitely got this label of like, the most like, hated band that really you could have given it to like, like any other band in that era.

Peter: Yes. And, And,

Kevin: were so many that they just played very similar sounding songs over and over again.

Peter: Yeah. And you know what? Like now some of those bands that were hated in that era. Or have become nostalgic, uh, in a way that’s not you going into the concert for nostalgia. You’re gonna see Nickelback, you’re going to see Limp Bizkit. Um, yeah, it’s interesting how things change and yeah. Being cool to hate some bands.

Kevin: I know. Yeah. It is funny ’cause I, I, it does feel like all of those bands are Yeah. Are touring around right now. I just saw, yeah. I just saw one that came. I’m like, oh man, I had thought about that band in forever that was coming through. I need to look it up now because I’m trying to remember what it was.

yeah.

Peter: Park

Kevin: that’s another good one. But that was not the Yeah. I feel like we’re getting, I’m getting just so many, of ones that are just touring around, like, oh man, I took, yeah. Forgot about them. Like Offspring or some of these other ones that Yeah. They’re just like, wow. They had, you know, a couple songs and now they’re, they’re still touring.

It’s

Peter: Yeah. The love of music is still with them.

Kevin: Yeah. Yep. For sure. Yep. Um, all right. Class Clown is, is there somebody that, that stole the show? They were ma you know, in some of the scenes that were just either funny or just, uh, it got a lot of attention in there.

Peter: it’s, it’s a bit different. Uh, uh, very different take on this. Uh, it’s the cameos that were made by the metal legends when you see Rob Halford Scott and Kirk, Mt. just those guys, um, when they showed up and, um, they’re trying to give advice to Kevin in a way, uh, which is like funny, like some things that Kirk said as well.

They’re, they’re, they’re arguing amongst themselves as well. So I, I, I saw them as class clowns. 

Kevin: That’s awesome. I didn’t even catch that. See, this is where like, yeah, your knowledge probably really helped in this movie. That’s awesome to hear. I didn’t, I didn’t even catch it. There were all those cameos in there.

Peter: Yeah, Tom Mar showed up too. He was by the pool when, uh, this girl came up to Kevin to kiss him, and they’re telling him that, oh, what about Emily? You’d really love her. And, [00:20:00] uh, Kirk is giving an argument that, oh, but Kendall has these feelings as well, and Kevin’s young and all those things. So he’s like giving, you know, like we’ve all been there, uh, advice and Rob Helford in the old and pulls him, you know, that, oh, what are you doing?

You

know, I can’t do the accent. But, uh, yeah, that, that one

Kevin: Yeah. 

That, 

Peter: me as class clowns in a way.

Kevin: cool. Yeah. That, that, I’m gonna go with that one. That’s a great one. wa was there a one-liner that stood out for you in this movie? Um, like anything, anything that you find yourself repeating or, or saying.

Peter: there, there were a few, um, the one that really stood out to me was, when Hunter said to, uh, Robbie, uh, we see Robbie throughout the movie, he is a, a kid with Down syndrome, that people treat you like you’re invisible. that line really hit hard. It’s, it’s a reminder that, you know, inclusion is an optional, it’s essential for us in, in design as well.

We must consider everyone, uh, neuro divergent students, those with disabilities, vulnerable communities. It’s not an ideology thing, it’s basic human decency, right? So that, yeah, people treat you like you’re invisible. That when, uh, and a lot of kids feel that way. How do we make them not feel that way?

Kevin: That, that’s good. Um, I, I had like one that was more of like, I, I felt like it was just a good line. I may use it again here later, but Hunter says like, metal is taking the pain that you feel and turning it into something loud. and so I’m like that, that’s pretty good. Um, one for the movie, but then I, they, Emily had one in there too of like, I’m not like the other girls.

I play the cello. Like, I’m like, look that, I like that too in there. yeah. And then I, I wrote a note here, but I can’t, maybe you can remember exactly where it was, where I wrote it. I don’t even remember that context, but, but a quote of, I take Pepcid.

Peter: Oh, yes. Yeah. Uh, yeah. At one point when, uh, Kevin walks into the music room and Emily’s playing the cello, they’re talking and, uh, she talks about, you know, she snapped at the band teacher, and that was because like she hasn’t been taking her pills. And, uh, she of course has some, uh, mental issues she was going through.

And she says she takes these pills and she hasn’t taken those. And hunter’s like, oh, I take Pepsi, which is just like, it shows, you know, hunters just, uh, sorry, not Hunter. Kevin, uh, is just, a, a lot of times he thinks that he says things just. That, that just

Kevin: Trying to relate, but yeah. 

Peter: to relate, but they don’t, uh, there was a very similar moment.

There are a few similar moments. Another one that connects with me is like, uh, when, um, hunter, uh, shapes his head, um, after getting beat up, he says that, uh, oh, I look like Jason New said, uh, from Metallica as the bassist. And Kevin’s like, oh yeah, the one who got fired. And Hunter looks at him weird because Jason did not get fired.

He left the band. and so he is pretending he knows, you know, a lot of things. And in the beginning of the movie too, he was saying that, uh, uh, that, you know, the homework that Hunter gave him, have you gone through this or not? And he’s like, oh, yeah, yeah, I, I know what poly rhythms are. And he definitely doesn’t.

Right.

Kevin: Yeah.

Peter: Yeah. I really like that one.

Kevin: Yep. Um, yeah. I look at the other one too at the beginning. He goes, I don’t play the drums. I play the drum

Peter: yeah, 

Kevin: talking to, to this marching band.

Peter: yeah, yeah. That was great.

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 All right. Realistic or ridiculous? Were, were there things in this movie that were overly like, like very realistically thinking?

Kevin: Then let’s start there and then we’ll go if there’s anything ridiculous.

Peter: um, so a, a lot of emotional truths are spot on. Just, uh, how Hunter feels or how Kevin [00:25:00] feel in some ways that, why is this band Molly Coddle, that’s playing, they’re not even that good at instruments, but they’re drawing the crowd, right? uh, they’re playing a lot of pop music and they’re trying to understand like.

You know that those are the emotional truths that you go through and not everybody likes what you like, what you may like. so that, that would be a realistic thing for me. Um,

Kevin: I, yeah, I would, I, I felt they, they really hit like. The, the high school experience

Peter: mm-hmm.

Kevin: like, really could, I mean all of those, like, yeah, the party scene, um, but like of just really getting those dynamics in there. And then obviously like you and I spent a lot of time like on designing schools and oh man, that was just like the most stereotypical, but also very real view of like what the inside of schools look like.

Cafeterias, like super plain, hallways lined with, with lockers, the classrooms set up with those. Yeah, with the combo, you know, all, all facing the front, you 

know, and the teacher, yes, I mean, extremely realistic that I hope we, we can help make that less realistic in the future. But as far as like that era and what school looked like it, it hit pretty good.

Peter: It, it, it did. They did a really good job of that. Uh, I have a bit of a design iot. I was pointing things out that, oh, like they, they, they keep reusing this. I, I think they were, when they were shooting, they were just shooting on one wing of, of a school or something, I

Kevin: kind of noticed that too. They had like one area that looked like it would’ve been designed for like an extended learning area, like kind of like open more and it was just like nothing there. And then they had like a few, like little like soft, like soft seating stools, like lining the walls, but you’re like, oh man, you can see there was like, so somebody tried to think to, to give this a little, like a little different space and clearly just, I don’t, and I don’t know, it makes me wonder if like they actually like had to like clear that out just for filming because it, there was so little, just like open space in that school.

Peter: Yeah, I’m assuming that like, uh, since it’s a Netflix only movie, they have like limited budget they’re working with and, you know, trying to make things work and uh, it’s all the illusion that you draw in, uh, in the movies and shows, right. That, uh, makes it appear real. But when you have the designer, you’re like, oh, like this thing, you know, you pinpoint some of those things out.

Kevin: Yeah. Yep, yep. And, all right. Anything ridiculous? Anything that wa, that seemed like completely unreal?

Peter: There’s so many things that are really over the top in this movie. Uh, so like when, uh, Hunter’s Rehab. you know, when, when, uh, Kevin broke him out? I mean, that stuff’s not gonna happen in real life, right? Like, you, you, you think about that, that Kevin just sneaks through and, uh, pulls a fire alarm and they just run away, which was like, it, it was fantastic.

There was like, there’s a lot of really great music. Um, Metallica’s, we flash starts playing, adrenaline starts to flow. You’re trashing all around acting like a maniac. All those things that, that they’re doing is a perfect song. But yeah, that was, that’s, one ridiculous thing that I would pick. Um, yeah.

What would you pick?

Kevin: Being able to break out of, of that rehab facility was, was very ridiculous. Um, I’m look, but if I had anything else in, in there, the, I mean there, there’s always the, the last scene, which we haven’t talked about, but we’ll, we’ll have to talk about here at some point of like, you know, like the actual battle of the band scene.

That was kind of ridiculous 

in there. It made it funny, it made it, it made it good. But,

Peter: And Hunter’s flying

Kevin: Yeah. Yeah. I think that’s probably, that’s probably the winner for me. It was, yeah. There, there was definitely, yeah, that was definitely ridiculous. But it, it made it good. It made, it made it entertaining for the movie.

Peter: it. It definitely did. Um, I’ve watched a interview of the act of the actors that were involved

Kevin: oh 

Peter: the, actors that played, uh, Emily. I forget what the instrument is. Uh, but the cello, is it a string? What is it called? The handle,

Kevin: Oh yeah. 

I don’t, the bow, I don’t know if they 

call it the bow, for that too. Yeah. 

Peter: that is, but apparently she threw to the crowd so many times during takes and, uh, was maybe hitting some people there too, and just, just, you know, getting in the character, which was really fun.

But yeah, she was like, you know, just being over the top a little bit there.

Kevin: Yeah. Yeah. All right. So this, this one, we [00:30:00] call it the iPhone effect, but if it was remade, you know, into today’s era, which, which was, I mean, it kind of was right? So,

Peter: Mm-hmm.

Kevin: but they didn’t really have a whole lot of like, I don’t know, it, it felt like it, it could have been f filmed like for an era 20 years ago.

what, is there anything different that you think, you know, technology wise, whether, you know it’s phones or just other things that, that changed that would, that would make this movie different?

Peter: Yeah, I, I was surprised too, uh, since, since the movie was done in 2022, I mean, it’s also COVID era and, you know, things are a blur around that era. but in today’s world, like I would’ve expected it being, the characters that are in the movie, if they were in today’s world, they would have to be influencer heavy in a way like tiktoks reels.

and that’s how they get visibility in a way. Um, which makes me think of, you know, what about all these gems that may not be good at social media, may not be good at tiktoks and reels, and, you know, that’s the hidden talent. Um, there’s a lot of noise. Up there, right? There’s like so many platforms.

There’s Spotify, SoundCloud, you can, uh, you can really access the markets now easily, but amongst all these people, all the talent, how do you stand out? You know? And tiktoks reels, they, they connect with, um, a lot of people. So I think Mo Mo modern remake would focus on that being influencer heavy and, yeah.

Kevin: Totally agree. And I, and I actually wonder if that may be a little bit why we see less of, you know, less of kind of these live events now. It’s because a lot of time they, they don’t have to. I mean, if, if you’re a band or you’re a musician, you can do it at home, just record it and then put it out to the world that you don’t, you don’t need kind of those, those school events, to really share your music and your craft and yeah, the good or the bad of that, I, I mean, I, I definitely miss like that shared experience, that you have in there, but.

They, they didn’t, they really did. I don’t know. It must have been purposeful because I’m trying to like, think back through like clearly, like he called, like he tried calling him. So I didn’t think anything of like the technology seeming old or out of place, but there was not a lot of emphasis on which I, which I see teenagers, how much they are just glued to their phones.

Um, and it 

didn’t feel that way in the movie.

Peter: Yeah, it, it, it didn’t, uh, it was almost like you’re, like you’re saying it could have been 20 years ago in a way. Um, like there’s a, there’s this band called Ghost, In their live concerts. They recently have included a policy that they’re not going to allow phones. Your phones will be locked in, like pouches that you’d be given.

Um, and when you leave the venue, the phones, you can, you can access the phone again, just so that you don’t have a phone in front of you the whole time. Which that’s something that, uh, made the experience better for a lot of people. Um, because you’re present, you know, you’re not just trying to, how, how many times do we try to do, we go back and watch those recordings, maybe like here or there.

Right. But, uh, some people record the whole thing.

Kevin: I’m gonna, I’m gonna skip ahead here just for timing. On, on two i, I wanna hit two more good categories of where are they now?

Peter: Yes.

Kevin: do you think they’re doing right now? What do you think, hunter, Kevin, Emily, what do you think they’re up to?

Peter: I, I think they. They’re doing what they set out to do. they have a band, they record a demo, they release their music and they’re, uh, they’re playing local gigs after Battle of Bands because they were head, they were headlining on the newspaper. Right. And, uh, even though they didn’t win, they became popular.

So they won in a way. , I mean, in real life I would love to see them tour Calgary and I’d be in the front row supporting them before they blow up, you know? And, that, that’d be really cool. I think that’s where things would go.

Kevin: that that’d be cool. I mean, yeah. I, I would say since it’s so close that you can totally still seeing them do it. I think if, I think if I, I was gonna fast forward a little bit, like to, like, after the breakup of the band, like when they do end up going their own direction, um, I, I think Hunter would probably still be like, involved with music to some degree.

I could see Kevin like to like not having anything to do with music. He can go, uh, yeah, I don’t know. I, 

I 

like, he, he, he really could have gone any direction, but Emily was the one that I’m like, I’m like, I could see her. Are you familiar with, um, this, uh, violinist, uh, Lindsay Sterling?

Peter: She’s coming to Calgary. I’m going to see her in about a month or so. Yes.

Kevin: so I always [00:35:00] point to her, not everyone knows who she is, but I have a daughter who also plays violin.

So like she’s really tracked her. But to me that this is like a perfect, like, she’s such a good example of how you can take like music and make it your own. pretty much everyone who plays violin, they are playing, you know, like in an orchestra or, you know, like just in a very formal environment.

And she just like

Peter: Mm-hmm.

Kevin: completely made it herself, like with dance and more pop and doing like, collaborations with other artists. Um, and I could totally see Emily doing that for the cello.

Peter: Yeah, yeah,

Kevin: could, she could be the one that’s like, like, makes that like a cool instrument and, and does something out of, yeah, out of like that traditional type of orchestra.

Peter: yeah, yeah. I, I could, I could see that, um, that’s where my mind went as well when I saw Emily, because it’s not, not traditional, right? That to have a cello player, um, be a part of a metal band. my all time favorite album, is a Metallica Symphony and Metallica, when they played with the San Francisco Symphony and, uh, rest in Peace, Michael Cayman, uh, he, he was, uh, the artist behind, like connecting a lot of dots there, but.

That non-traditional way of doing things, it connected so well with the band. Um, I have played that CD like for, for years, and years since I discovered it. That’s still in my car.

Kevin: That’s really cool. Yeah. I’ve lo Yeah, I love, like, like, I just love when they have like that little twist in there in, in the music or, you know, a certain artist will play a cover in a different stuff. Like, I just, yeah. I really love when, when people do that. Um, all right, which goes into to the last category, probably the most important category for this movie, which we actually call the Battle of the Bands.

Best Musical Moments

Kevin: There was a battle of the bands, but what, what, what was the best musical moment for you in this movie?

Peter: there, there’s a few, uh, and machinery of torment. The, the song that it started with,

Kevin: wrote it. Right? So like, that, that was a good song that, 

that they wrote. Yeah. For that movie. I thought that was, I mean, that was great. I mean, that final performance, but, but go ahead. What, what else were you gonna say?

Peter: Uh, I’d say so. I already mentioned like Whiplash song when, uh, they broke out of the rehab facility that they’re playing was very fitting, in a way. I love that song and I’m glad to glad that I got to see Metallica played that song in front of me in the snake pit. And, memories I will cherish forever.

But, uh, the second one was, um, at the transformation point, uh, for Kevin when they played war Pigs, uh, and towards the end when they played war Pigs too. rest in peace. Ozzy, uh, like that’s

Kevin: War Pigs was a song they played at that concert I was at.

Peter: Yeah. War pigs. Okay. Okay. Okay. Generals gathering their masses. What a fantastic song. I mean that, that’s what connected with me, uh, at that time. And, uh, when I re-watched it recently, hit home with Ozzy, yeah, first time I listened to that album, uh, after I got into medal through Metallica, mega Death, guns and Roses, I had to save myself say to myself that like, I was just born in the wrong era and an old soul at heart.

Uh, I really gravitated towards like seventies, eighties,

Kevin: Very cool. 

Peter: a lot.

Kevin: Yeah, very cool. Nice. well, good choice. Thanks for bringing this movie to my attention.

What? To fill me in? Like, tell me real life. What, what, tell me about like the work you’re doing and, uh, some of the things, because you’re, you’re at Stantec. How long have you been with Stantec?

Design and Sustainability Discussion

Peter: Uh, with Stantec almost seven years. yeah. Uh, seven years at Stantec and have been industry about like 11 more than 11 years. Um. My journey has been a bit unconventional, similar to the movie I started in computer science, like, and then shifted to architectural technologies, like I could have been a tech bro.

And then, uh, I worked at an electrical engineering firm, and that, that overall mix gave me like a strong foundation to understand buildings holistically in a way. And sustainability was always a passion of mine. Like in, in my projects, I started, I initially, I started with just throwing solar panels on my design and sustainable done.

Uh, and there was a lot of learning that I went through and, got involved with the Canada Green Building Council and, there’s a lot of learning, a lot of mentors that I’ve had in, in the industry. So, uh, now end up, I, I happen to work on a lot of, uh, amazing education in K 12 projects. Not just Red Canada, but in, in, in the US as well.

sharing that expertise that I have, helping design and construction teams build [00:40:00] healthier and more sustainable schools in a way. So, yeah, like, I mean, I’m gonna channel through the movie a little bit here, here as well, that, uh, there’s, in the movie there’s a lot of empowerment through non-conformity, in, in a way, uh, the characters embrace metal.

Um, a genre that is tied to rebellion and authenticity in a way. and I do sustainability consulting, uh, that, that sustainability education does the same with challenges, norms, and. Um, you know, imagining better features. I mean, it’s all about giving the students, the teachers, designers, traits, everyone permission to think differently, to question the status quo in a way, and to act on what matters to them.

in schools. I, I, I’m really good, really big proponent for there’s no one single sustainability strategy for every single project. It’s unique to every, every project that we approach. Um, and that’s what I built on in my holistic sustainability, uh, through a holistic sustainability lens 

Kevin: So, so when, when do you typically get involved within a project? Are you, are you in there really early talking, talking through this with, with the team? 

Peter: As early as possible, you know, before, before schematic design pre-designed, we want to be at the visioning sessions, um, helping identify those opportunities early on, , especially since like that’s the, venue approach sustainability as another item, then you’re going to see just like costs attached to sustainability, right?

But when you integrate into design, when you really think, okay, this is going to bring value to us long term. these schools that we’re building are also, a hub for our communities for, you know, in case of emergency as well. How do we build them more resilient so that, uh, we could provide a safe haven in in those conditions as well.

Uh, there’s a lot that goes into it, so we, ideally we wanna be involved. As soon as possible. we, we say that a lot that, uh, if you’re missing sustainability, um, and energy from the conversa conversation early on, you’re missing a key discipline. It’s like not having your mechanical engineer, structural engineer on the table, um, you know, you can’t imagine not having them there.

Kevin: yeah. Do, do you, are you noticing any differences from projects that are happening in Canada versus the states?

Peter: the projects are approached, in a very similar way, I would say, in terms of, you know, your. Your design process, how you’re, uh, the traditional design approach for design bid, build, some design build projects, and integrated project delivery. All of those are in the US and Canada too. So I think we benefit a lot from those shared pla, shared construction, uh, topologies and all those things that we work through.

Um, funding is different, in US versus Canada. Um, schools are funded provincially. so when you think of province, think of state, so all the funding comes from there versus in, in the US you have like these bonds, that you go through, right? So it’s, that’s a one different thing that I would point out there.

Kevin: Yeah, yeah. Well, good. Well, it’s, uh, yeah, it’s always nice when you can learn from each other. Like, that’s what I always like too, of even just like some of the community, whether it’s like the Association for Learning Environments or ED markets, some of these other associations where you can kind of see what other, what other people are doing, what other space are doing, and be, and try to apply it in, into the projects that we’re working on.

So, 

Peter: when I work on projects in the us, um, we bring a lot, uh, great perspective for cold climate design, and, uh, we know how to, um, a lot of projects that we work on, we, we work on really tight budgets, tighter, uh, than some of the US school projects that we work on as well.

So we know how to be frugal. We know how to bring value to these projects, um, and achieve a balance between, your capital investment that you have, and what are you able to get out of it, and how long is that building going to last for you? So at Stantec we have, All the designers, we have engineers, we have marine biologists, climate scientists, everybody, uh, on, on the table that is helping inform these designs to be better, uh, moving forward with long-term in mind.

yeah, so there, there’s a lot of creative collaboration and inclusion that takes place with like Emily’s cello thing that, that we are talking about, right? It’s a metaphor for me, uh, for interdisciplinary collaboration as working cross borders, cross states. there’s, there’s a lot of great examples there.

Um,

Kevin: really cool. 

Yeah, 

Closing Remarks

Kevin: nice. Good way to [00:45:00] tie it back in too as we wrap up. So I appreciate that. well thanks for doing this to, to the listeners out there, if you have not al already subscribed, wherever you’re watching or listing this, hit the button, whether it’s YouTube, Spotify, apple, uh, we try to put it out everywhere.

Um, better learning podcast.com really is our hub for, for everything too. So we do, uh, get a lot of suggestions and ideas, um, from people that have filled out the form on the website. So we just always really appreciate that. Uh, but Peter, this is great, great, great meeting you. Great talking, talking, met lords with you and uh, yeah, we’ll, we’ll connect here soon.

Peter: Yeah. Great conversation. Thank you, Kevin.