Ep 17: Justice - The Punisher & Where The Crawdads Sing

In this episode of Parallel Fiction, Heather and Jeff deal with the heavy subject of Justice. Pulling stories where justice is carried out by the main character, the Parallel Fiction duo discuss the meaning of Justice in America, where it can go wrong, and what the system can and can’t do.

Jeff begins the outline portion of the show by presenting the 2004 film The Punisher starring Tom Jane & John Travolta. Before the summary, Jeff reads a quote by the character’s creator Gerry Conway in response to the rampant misuse of the iconic Punisher skull and how the character doesn’t and shouldn’t represent real life justice. Jeff gives an outline of the action movie with additional quotes from film itself about how the punisher is the antithesis of legal and fair judgement. Jeff points out how, despite the heroic nature of the movie, how the character is essentially a murderer & vigilante.

Did you know? Tom Jane, who plays the Punisher Frank Castle, put on 20 pounds of muscle by training for 7 months with Navy Seals to train for this role.

Heather anchors the second half of the summary section with her outline of Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens. Main character Kya spends her life alone in the marsh collecting shells and living off the land. Heather takes us through her life, which includes being shunned by the community as a child, to being a renowned book writer on marine wildlife. Events take a turn when one of her former lovers is murdered & Kya is put on trial but later acquitted. Though she lives the rest of her life in peace, it is discovered she really did commit the murder she was accused of.

Fun Fact! Where The Crawdads Sing was Delia Owen’s debut novel, however it spent an accumulative 32 non-consecutive weeks on top of the NYTimes best seller list.

Following these reviews, Heather and Jeff dive into commonalities between the two works such as karma, inside/outside of the boundaries of the law, punishment, morality, and real life examples of the American justice system’s flaws.

Listen in to hear Jeff and Heather’s candid thoughts on the masterpiece scenes of each story, how The Punisher and Where The Crawdads Sing compare, and how Jeff and Heather relate the two. Share this episode with anyone who you think would enjoy!

Heather’s rating for Where the Crawdads Sing: Super Nice – A powerhouse debut novel & a must read. This novel inspired Heather to increase her reading time

Jeff’s rating for The Punisher: Hot Trash – A total junk food movie, but still one that can’t be passed up while flipping through the channels on a lazy weekend day. Check out the Netflix Punisher series for real substance.

Watch The Punisher here: https://www.amazon.com/Punisher-Thomas-Jane/dp/B000QE9ERU

Read Where the Crawdads Sing here: https://www.amazon.com/Where-Crawdads-Sing-Delia-Owens/dp/0735219095

About Parallel Fiction:

Parallel Fiction is the perfect supplemental companion to all of the stories you consume. We will be covering movies, television, books, graphic novels, video games, and music whenever it applies. Learn more about things you love, and get to know us a little bit better as we give you a peak into our lives and opinions.

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