Fifty boys start walking, three warnings get you shot, and somehow we are the ones out of breath. In this week's Mindframes, Michael and Dave march into The Long Walk—where Cooper Hoffman broods, David Jonsson keeps the heart beating, and Mark Hamill cosplays as your least favorite PE teacher. Along the way we debate whether dystopias should come with better snacks, why America's obsessed with televised misery, and if ★★★/5 means we survived… or just need new shoes.

Basic Facts

• 00:00:14 — Cold open & show intro

• 00:01:49 — Plot setup: rules of the Walk; Garraty & McVries

• 00:04:01 — "Keep the focus on cast": stripped-down craft, performances lead

• 00:08:55 — Why Hoffman & Jonsson elevate "a tough adaptation"

• 00:12:22 — Michael's review: the Walk as real antagonist; issues with the Major

• 00:21:01 — Michael's rating: ★★★/5

• 00:21:12 — Dave's review: resonance with present-day pessimism; skeletal dystopia

• 00:28:14 — Casting types, shifting identities on the road

• 00:30:40 — Mark Hamill thoughts vs. Life of Chuck praise

• 00:32:30 — Theme segment: "the spectacle of violence" in America

• 00:44:14 — Vietnam-era media, body-count reporting, long-walk parallels

• 00:48:08 — Phones, 24/7 news, desensitization

• 00:53:23 — Dignity stripped on camera; do we still see people?

• 01:01:13 — Film vs. book crowds; keeping focus on the walkers

• 01:03:53 — Wrap on causes vs. enablers of violence; no easy answers