The Real Hail Mary Is The Friends We Made Along The Way!

In this 13th episode of "More Than You Think!" we talk about the new film, "Project Hail Mary," and discuss why the current political and social climate of the world has heightened the impact of the film's message.

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More Than You Think! is a podcast produced by WKNC 88.1 FM HD-1/HD-2, student-run radio from NC State University. Like what you hear? Consider supporting it with a gift to the WKNC Enhancement Fund. Visit our podcast page to hear more and follow us on all social media platforms @WKNC881. Thanks for listening.

Creators and Guests

Host

Valerie Gorham

WKNC Podcast Content Creator

What is More Than You Think!?

“More Than You Think!" is a podcast that explores the deeper layers of pop culture, uncovering how today’s trends connect with the political, economic, and social climate shaping our world. Each episode dives into the ways music, media, and cultural moments reflect — and influence — the society we live in. "More Than You Think!" is a podcast produced by WKNC 88.1 FM HD-1/HD-2 at NC State University.

Valerie: Welcome back, loyal listeners, to More than you think.
Valerie: Yes, this podcast is still going.
Valerie: Guess who's continuing her education.
Valerie: Well, me.
Valerie: So I get to keep working at the radio station.
Valerie: And after a long few weeks of final exams, I am back with a new episode.
Valerie: And today we are going to talk about a beautiful movie that I watched recently.
Valerie: I'm a little bit late to the game with this movie again, just like when I watched Marty supreme, like, three months late.
Valerie: But today we are talking about Project Hail Mary starring Ryan Gosling.
Valerie: And I really wanted to watch this movie because I saw a bunch of people on Twitter, like, I think everyone in the world liked this movie.
Valerie: I think everyone liked it.
Valerie: Like, I don't think anyone disliked the movie.
Valerie: So I was like, I have to watch it.
Valerie: I really like movies about, like, people going to space and stories about people going to space.
Valerie: Who was that?
Valerie: Was it Bhad Bhabie who was like, we.
Valerie: We not supposed to be up there.
Valerie: Like.
Valerie: Like, I agree with that.
Valerie: Like, I don't think I would ever go to space.
Valerie: I don't want to.
Valerie: Like, I'm not Katy Perry.
Valerie: Like, I'm not doing all that.
Valerie: But I do like the stories about space and sci fi, stuff like that.
Valerie: So I loved this movie as well.
Valerie: And I just wanted to dive into a few reasons why this movie resonated with everyone so much right now.
Valerie: For political reasons, for social reasons.
Valerie: And there are, like, I guess I have four reasons listed, but there are two really big reasons that I really wanted to describe here that have to do with how we're world leaders and these social situations that we're living in and that we've always lived in as a humanity, as a society.
Valerie: So let's start with the first reason.
Valerie: So Project Hail Mary.
Valerie: There will be some spoilers ahead, but Project Hail Mary is a story about a man named Grace, who is played by Ryan Gosling, who everyone likes.
Valerie: And Grace has to go to space to save humanity.
Valerie: And it is like a very, very small chance that he's actually going to be able to accomplish the mission.
Valerie: But that's why it's called Project Hail Mary, because he's got to throw a Hail Mary to save humanity.
Valerie: He does end up going into space.
Valerie: He finds an alien that looks kind of like a rock, but like a spider, and he befriends the rock, names it Rocky.
Valerie: They work together to solve the issue of why the sun is dying, which is the reason that the world is about to end.
Valerie: They figure it out.
Valerie: They work together.
Valerie: They figure it out.
Valerie: Bada bing, bada boom.
Valerie: Everything is good.
Valerie: The ending has a little bit of a twist.
Valerie: Not gonna get into that.
Valerie: But what is so beautiful about this movie that lets the audience just kind of relax and watch is that everyone working on Project Hail Mary, which is the project that has been put together by humans on Earth to try to solve this problem, is that these people are all working together and agreeing with each other.
Valerie: Whoa, whoa, whoa.
Valerie: Didn't see that coming.
Valerie: Why?
Valerie: Because that doesn't happen in real life.
Valerie: Okay?
Valerie: The reason Project Hail Mary is so important and so beautiful to so many people isn't just because it's a cool sci fi movie or because the beloved Ryan Gosling, Canadian freaking treasure, like, audiences loved it because in a time where everyone in the White House, like, here in the US I'm speaking for the US At a time where everyone in the White House was A, either chosen based off of their, like, popularity on Fox News or B, like, so freaking old that they can barely stand or talk or see a freaking Nepo baby.
Valerie: At a time like this, Like, Project Hail Mary gives us a story of, like, a competent team that actually works together and listens to each other to save humanity because they have, like, a common goal and they all agree on the same thing.
Valerie: They don't blame each other, they don't fight.
Valerie: They just work together and they listen to one another and they do what's best to save the world.
Valerie: Like, isn't that nice?
Valerie: Now, I guess there is, like, one part of the movie where that's not entirely accurate.
Valerie: Again, like, a spoiler.
Valerie: The main character, Grace, he refuses to do a certain duty, but it's nothing political.
Valerie: It's just like.
Valerie: It's something completely understandable.
Valerie: But then he's forced against his will to do it anyways, which was also understandable because they really needed him to save the world.
Valerie: And it's like he was like, their last option is, like, the last resort.
Valerie: And he was like, no, I don't want to do it.
Valerie: But.
Valerie: But then they forced him to do it anyways.
Valerie: But again, like, nothing political happened here.
Valerie: Everyone, like, no one was really in the wrong with that.
Valerie: Like, it was just an unfortunate circumstance.
Valerie: Like.
Valerie: But yeah, it was.
Valerie: I mean, this movie wasn't outwardly political.
Valerie: It's based on a book that I've been wanting to read since before the movie came out and never got to read.
Valerie: Because you go to the freaking NC State Library.
Valerie: You go online to NCStateLibrary.com you look up Project Hail Mary book, and it's Always checked out.
Valerie: Some loser is always checking out this book instead of me.
Valerie: Like, bro.
Valerie: But anyways, I watched the movie now, so I guess I don't have to read the book.
Valerie: Dang it.
Valerie: But anyways, not outwardly political, but, you know, there are some underlying themes.
Valerie: There's some underlying.
Valerie: But unfortunately, this, like, competence story arc is, like, really unrealistic.
Valerie: It's probably, like, the least realistic part of the movie because, like, here in the real world, where the sun is still very much alive, you know, at least in the usa, our leaders give us no indication that they are working towards the good of mankind.
Valerie: You know, gossip.
Valerie: Or, like, they don't really seem to give any indication that they are totally qualified either.
Valerie: Of course, you know, the people I'm referring to most are the selected members of the cabinet.
Valerie: President Trump's cabinet.
Valerie: I already mentioned the Fox News of it all.
Valerie: But, like, if you don't know what I'm talking about, you can literally watch any recent, like, SNL Cold open where there's, like, a press conference, and then Colin Jost is going to be doing some, like, goofy impression of former Fox and Friends host and current Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth.
Valerie: And his impersonation isn't too far off, to be honest.
Valerie: And I highly encourage everyone to also watch the.
Valerie: The Jeremy Culhane as Tucker Carlson impression on SNL weekend updates.
Valerie: That's really good, too.
Valerie: That's the rule.
Valerie: That's the goal now.
Valerie: And I'm supposed to be attracted to this.
Valerie: Okay, that was just a little taste of the Tucker Carlson impression on SNL weekend Updates.
Valerie: But anyways, back to the topic.
Valerie: Okay, so competence.
Valerie: Competence in Project Hail Mary is what made it so fun to watch.
Valerie: And it's like, yes.
Valerie: Like, do you ever watch, like, something like, something that you've already seen because you know how it's gonna go, so it doesn't stress you out to watch.
Valerie: It felt like that.
Valerie: It felt like that because everything was going smoothly even though the world was about to end.
Valerie: Everyone was like, yeah, let's all just listen to each other and believe in each other.
Valerie: Like, really.
Valerie: And I loved it so much.
Valerie: But that doesn't happen in real life, unfortunately.
Valerie: Yeah, we don't have that in real life.
Valerie: We don't have the luxury of trusting the people in charge in real life.
Valerie: But that's.
Valerie: I guess that's life.
Valerie: So that is kind of like the first reason that I had for why this movie was so great.
Valerie: Reason number two, perhaps a bit of a metaphor that flew over some heads, but probably not everyone's.
Valerie: You know, most people probably got this.
Valerie: Spoiler kinda.
Valerie: I already went over this.
Valerie: The main character, whilst in outer space, befriends an alien named Rocky.
Valerie: An alien?
Valerie: Yes.
Valerie: A being, unlike us, who, as we come to figure out, is going through the exact same hardships and struggles as we are on Earth.
Valerie: And it turns out the only way for Ryan Gosling to find a solution is to work with the alien, not against the alien.
Valerie: No, no.
Valerie: With the alien and Ryan Gosling.
Valerie: Instead of, like, being scared of each other, well, they are scared of each other for a bit at first, but instead of, like, looking at their differences and being like, oh, we're too different to work this out, they actually work together and help each other out.
Valerie: Isn't that nice?
Valerie: Isn't that so beautiful and amazing and meaningful?
Valerie: Like, wouldn't that be the idea of two beings who might initially think they don't have any similarities with each other, coming to the realization that they have the exact same purpose and have gone through almost identical experiences?
Valerie: Isn't that nice when we look past all of the obvious external differences and understand that we are not what we see, but we are what we think, feel, and do?
Valerie: Well, yes.
Valerie: Wouldn't it be nice if we all learned from each other's experiences and journeys instead of just assuming we're too different to understand one another?
Valerie: Because unfortunately, another very unrealistic part of this movie was that a white guy was willing to work and learn from someone unlike himself.
Valerie: Of course, this character of Grace being portrayed by honorary Latino Ryan Gosling, does in fact, help.
Valerie: We love you, Ryan.
Valerie: Okay.
Valerie: But, yes, white supremacy, misogyny, all forms of prejudice and bigotry.
Valerie: They're all very alive and well.
Valerie: We've talked about that on this podcast before.
Valerie: So it's nice to be able to escape into a movie and a reality where those things have to be postponed.
Valerie: But here's the question of the day.
Valerie: Okay.
Valerie: Does it really take the end of the world to shove prejudice aside?
Valerie: Does it really take the death of the soul sun and the fall of humanity to get us on an equal playing field and to reach a consensus to get us all to come together towards a common goal?
Valerie: Is the only thing that can bring people together a common enemy?
Valerie: What does it take for us as a species to realize that not a single life on this Earth has more value than another?
Valerie: And that is the question that Project Hail Mary poses.
Valerie: At least that's what I thought.
Valerie: Of course, there are themes in this film that also resonate with people of optimism.
Valerie: And as we all know, that there are, like, some wars being waged unnecessarily by our government.
Valerie: It's so sad.
Valerie: Like, it's so unnecessary.
Valerie: So much unnecessary blood being spilled, destruction happening that really doesn't need to happen.
Valerie: Does not need to happen.
Valerie: But it's out there.
Valerie: It's happening.
Valerie: And for those folks, it probably seems so hopeless.
Valerie: They probably didn't even get to watch the movie because of what's going on, what we've been doing to them.
Valerie: But they might have families here in the US and obviously this resonates with people right now because of those things.
Valerie: And that question, what does it take for us to realize that we are all literally the same?
Valerie: Like, yes, we're all different, but at the end of the day, we all die and we all get buried.
Valerie: You know, at the end of the day, we all just die.
Valerie: Like, Donald Trump is going to die.
Valerie: You are going to die.
Valerie: I am going to die.
Valerie: We're all going to die.
Valerie: We are all the same thing, right?
Valerie: Like, you know, and some people, to some people that literally does not clog.
Valerie: It's not clocking to them.
Valerie: It's not clocking to them.
Valerie: Justin Bieber.
Valerie: Oh, bro.
Valerie: But anyways, yeah, this is.
Valerie: This is going to be a short episode again, but it's just something to chew on, something to think about.
Valerie: It was a great movie.
Valerie: Very, very relevant because of the situation that we're in today politically.
Valerie: Like, why is Fox and Friends running the country?
Valerie: Seriously?
Valerie: No, actually, because, what the heck?
Valerie: Why was it Donald Trump got shot two weeks ago, he got shot at again or something.
Valerie: And then next thing I see is freaking justice with Judge Jeanine doing a press conference.
Valerie: What is going on?
Valerie: What?
Valerie: No, I don't like that.
Valerie: I don't like that.
Valerie: Like, what is going on.
Valerie: But seriously, guys, it's almost Labor Day.
Valerie: The pools are about to be open.
Valerie: Let's just go swimming this summer.
Valerie: Like, I don't even know.
Valerie: Let's just go swimming this summer.
Valerie: And while you're underwater, just think, Just think.
Valerie: Just brainstorm.
Valerie: Brainstorm ways that we can make the world a better freaking place.
Valerie: Like, number one is going to have to be voting.
Valerie: Number two is going to have to be just raising awareness, having conversations.
Valerie: Number three is going to be researching, making sure that you're supporting brands or purchasing from brands that do not support the things that you don't support.
Valerie: Just do.
Valerie: It doesn't take all that much research, but, yeah, just be socially aware, economically aware.
Valerie: Just know who you're supporting when you do everything because every little thing you do counts.
Valerie: So just.
Valerie: Just be very careful.
Valerie: We all have to be very careful.
Valerie: We all have to.
Valerie: It's gotten to a point where we have to know exactly what we're doing at all times, which is fun.
Valerie: So, yeah, Project Hail Mary.
Valerie: If you haven't seen it, please see it.
Valerie: It was so good.
Valerie: Ryan Gosling cried and he wore reading glasses.
Valerie: I know that a lot of girls like when guys wear reading glasses for some reason, like Simon from Alvin and the Chipmunks.
Valerie: I've seen videos of that.
Valerie: But, yeah, if you like Simon from Alvin and the Chipmunks, you're going to love Project Hail Mary.
Valerie: So today's episode has ended, but basically, guys, just think about that question.
Valerie: What does it take for humanity to realize that we are actually all humans and that no buddy is less valuable than anybody else just because maybe they're a different color or gender or religion?
Valerie: Whoa.
Valerie: What does it take?
Valerie: All right, guys, this has been more than you think.
Valerie: I've been.
Valerie: Valerie and I will be here all summer long.
Valerie: By the way, guys, go follow our Instagram, wknc8081 on Instagram, Facebook, TikTok and Twitter.
Valerie: And that's right, I said Twitter.
Valerie: Okay.
Valerie: But yes, WKNC881 on every single social media platform.
Valerie: That is our name.
Valerie: Go follow us, because we're really awesome.
Valerie: All right, signing off.
Valerie: Until next time.
Valerie: Love you all.
Valerie: Bye, Sam.