Welcome to Taking It One Stef At A Time, and here is a brand new film analysis theory essay blog post for you!
I haven't blogged in months, or at all in 2024, as you can tell. In fact, this is my first blog post in almost a year. Wow. I haven't felt the motivation or care to do it, wondering if I should retire this blog. There are posts that I have in drafts, particularly book reviews that I really want to publish. It's bothering me that I still haven't finished and published my yearly book review round up for 2023 like I usually do.
But I also felt like what I need to do is start from scratch with fresh new blog posts, so that is what I am attempting to do with this. I got inspired. I'm a little rusty, so please bear with me. lol
My favorite actor and celebrity crush Austin Butler, who I have mentioned briefly on this blog in the past and will maybe get more mentions and blog posts dedicated to him in the future, has been having a very busy year and career since his Oscar nominated role as the title character in Elvis (2022). 2024 began with him starring alongside Callum Turner in the AppleTV nine-part WWII Air Force series "Masters of the Air" as Major Gale "Buck" Cleven, in March he was seen as the villainous and psychotic bald, black-toothed Feyd-Rautha Harkonnen in Dune: Part Two, and a mere few months later his portrayal of the stoic and mysterious motorcyclist Benjamin "Benny" Cross in The Bikeriders finally hit theaters. Austin's upcoming projects are Ari Aster's Eddington, which has long since wrapped filming, and Caught Stealing, a film adaption of the Charlie Huston novel directed by Darren Aronofsky that is currently filming in New York City. Then there are also other rumored projects and greenlit projects that aren't getting as much attention yet. He has his plate full and I am so excited for him and for what lies ahead. :)
I have never really been so enamored with a Hollywood celebrity/actor until I discovered Austin Butler. From what we are able to perceive of him, Austin is different to me. He is a celebrity, yes, and becoming a more top-tier A-Lister one at that, but he doesn't necessarily carry himself like one or even consider himself one. He comes across more normal, genuine, wholesome, and down to earth than your average celeb. I like it when celebrities have humble beginnings because at least they have experienced and understand the real world, and he's one of them. He is also the best actor I have ever seen right now because of the intense efforts and transformations he puts into all of his roles. I can't say this about many other actors today. He is often cast among powerhouse actors, but while I can say that the others do a good job playing their roles, I can still see them, the actors, and am aware that they are just acting. With Austin, he becomes possessed by and lost in his roles. When you see his character in action, it's all just the character. Austin Butler is no longer there.
My personal favorite of Austin's filmography so far, Jeff Nichols's The Bikeriders, finally came out in theaters on June 21 after a long postponement and much anticipation due to the writer's strike (the original release date was December 1) and is now available on streaming and physical media. It is a legitimate recount with some creative liberties about the real members of the Chicago 1960s Outlaws motorcycle club based on a book of photographs and interviews by Danny Lyons, played in the movie by Mike Faist. It also had the most fun press tour I've seen Austin participate in as well so far. The Bikeriders era was worth waiting for and I was so excited when it finally showed up. I really enjoyed this one and was really sad when it ended.
Austin Butler as Benny Cross has to be the sexiest character I have ever seen in a film. I'm not alone in this because so many people went feral over him when this movie came out and still are. I was even hyped about him ever since I first saw him in the first trailer when it dropped. He also draws the attention of our leading lady Kathy Bauer, played by Jodie Comer, who is an actress I can confidently say is on the same level as Austin in terms of talent, work ethic, and having a humble past and present. There is a lot to discuss about the movie, but for now I want to just focus on the scene where Benny and Kathy first meet, which is within the first ten minutes of the film. I'm going to include some spoilers here, but nothing about how the movie ends. Just what happens during this sequence of scenes.
Here is a video of the scenes. A majority of what I wrote about here is in that video if you want to watch it to understand what I am referring to and draw your own conclusions.
The scene is as follows. Kathy is called to this bar by her friend who needs money. When she arrives, she is terrified of all of the scary looking bikers that are in there. When she attempts to leave, she catches sight of Benny and is spellbound. She asks her friend about him and her friend is all like, "You don't want to go out with him." Of course, Kathy doesn't care because he's hot. The friend leaves the table and then Benny makes his move on Kathy by coming over to the table and staring at her. Kathy clearly likes him, but she kinda rejects him because...who knows? Well actually, she has a boyfriend. She goes outside to leave, he comes out seconds later to rev up his motorcycle, and then the rest of the Vandals, the main biker club in the movie based on the Outlaws, come out of the bar and start playfully yelling at Kathy to get on the bike with Benny. She reluctantly agrees because what choice does she have and then they drive off into the night.
Now this is all treated as a happenstance meet-cute and is a catalyst for the rest of the drama in the film.
But I have a theory about this scene that I feel like is wrong, but the more I think about it, the more I feel like I am right.
What if I told you that this whole meeting wasn't by chance at all? What if this was all orchestrated just for Benny to meet Kathy?
What if I told you that Kathy's obscure friend character here is way more important than we give her credit for???
She's a sneak, this one! Don't let her fool you! Wait until you read how important I think her role is in all of this!
This whole thing is a play that they all put on, and Kathy is the only audience member. What I'm going to do here is explain what I think happens behind the scenes.
Let's go through the same scene again a little bit more in-depth now and talk about it. :)
The whole movie is actually told in flashback by Kathy as Danny interviews and records her. Danny asks her about when she first met the guys and she begins her story by saying that her friend, a redheaded woman (or brunette depending on who you ask LOL) who according to IMDb is named Donna and played by Maggie Cramer, calls her to bring her money to this bar where the Vandals frequently hang out and is basically their headquarters. Kathy is clearly uncomfortable and out of place when she arrives, even having some awkward encounters with the Vandals one by one. She repeatedly says that she has to go, but Donna encourages her to stick around awhile.
This is actually our first clue, because what does it matter to Donna if Kathy stays or not? Initially I thought okay she doesn't want to be there by herself or she just wants Kathy to chill out for a bit, but I think there is more to it than that now.
Kathy sees the Vandals talking among themselves and makes her move to bolt, but then she notices Benny standing over by the pool table looking like this:
So naturally she goes back to the table and asks Donna about him. She goes, "Hey, who's that good looking guy over by the pool table?" This implies that he is the only good looking guy over by the pool table to her. That is always pretty funny to me. lol
I realized and kinda like that they have Kathy be the one who stops in her tracks and become stunned and mesmerized when she sees a beautiful man, her future husband, for the first time. Usually in media it is the man that does this when he sees a beautiful woman, so flipping the genders here is something we hardly get to witness and is an interesting touch.
Donna knows exactly who Kathy is talking about with the "good looking guy" description right away because she immediately tells her that nobody wants to go out with Benny (Yeah, okay. That right there is BS. Like in Barbie [2023], a note to the filmmakers: Austin Butler is not the actor to cast to make this point, which is interesting because all director Jeff Nichols talked about when promoting this movie is how good looking Austin is. LOL) because he "cracks up on his bike" (She's actually correct about him here because we see this a few scenes later in the movie.) and always gets into accidents. Kathy is literally just like "Oh. Okay." Donna leaves the table and...is never seen again.
Yeah. This is the last we see of her. We never see this woman again in the ENTIRE MOVIE. Unless she's one of the women we see during some of Kathy's interviews, but...I don't think so. And she's not there when the Vandals essentially kidnap Kathy lol, so what happened to her? In fact, she leaves the table to get Kathy a drink, so wouldn't she question where Kathy went when she came back to the table? Kathy doesn't even bother to notify her that she is leaving the bar.
Unless...she just played her part and is no longer needed, so she exits the stage.
Kathy's friend is actually the reason why I started thinking about this theory and is an integral part of it. I think she's in on it and purposely brings Kathy there to meet Benny and wants her to stay at the bar a little longer just so she would run into him more organically.
Donna's involvement in this could be for a variety of reasons. One is that she's actually friends with Benny and wants to set him up with her friend. Maybe the idea that nobody wants to go out with him is real and he actually does find it hard to date women. She seems pretty tight with the Vandals, hanging out with Cockroach (Emory Cohen) when we first meet her, so it is possible that she knows that Benny is interested in meeting someone. Perhaps she told him about Kathy, maybe even showed him photos of her so he is aware of what she looks like, and so now this is his opportunity to meet her in person. Also, Kathy's boyfriend, whom we meet shortly after this introduction, isn't portrayed as very pleasant, so I can imagine that Donna doesn't like him and so she wants her friend to leave him for someone else. (Spoiler alert: The boyfriend actually leaves Kathy because Benny camps outside of their house. We'll get to that in a bit. LOL)
Donna's readiness to give Kathy the tea about Benny tells me this even more. Benny is like her client here let's say so as soon as Kathy mentions him, she pounces on this without even having Kathy clarify which guy she means. Benny is on Donna's mind already to help him, so she immediately talks about him to quickly push her agenda forward.
Now I know what you're probably thinking. If she wants to set Kathy up with Benny, why would she talk down about him?
Two words: Reverse Psychology. She knows that Kathy would want what she can't, or shouldn't, have. She describes him as if he is dangerous and forbidden. Austin Butler's Benny is your typical bad boy, and what girl can resist a bad boy? ;)
So when Donna leaves, that's when Benny makes his move on Kathy for the first time, which is a detail I really love. I love it when movies have men make the first move and start the pursuit. It's so exciting and fun for us women audience members too because we know that she already likes him so therefore this wouldn't be an unwanted greeting for her. How often do we see a guy we like and then HE comes up to US?
I can imagine that a guy would wait until the friend leaves to feel more comfortable approaching a girl he likes and that could be it. But what I always wondered is how Benny notices Kathy in the first place. When Kathy sees Benny, he is not looking in her direction. He lifts up his head and is looking slightly right while Kathy is standing more straight and to the left of his vision. So what prompts him to go up to her? Should we just assume that he sees her offscreen right after she sees him and then decides that he likes what he sees and wants to talk to her?
Or, does Donna give him the go ahead offscreen when she leaves and be like, "She's all yours."? Mere seconds go by between when Donna leaves the table and when Benny sits at the table. This is enough time for Donna to give him his cue.
Again, her job there is done.
Now I personally would prefer that he randomly notices Kathy and then goes after her on his own accord because he is a man pursuing a woman, not because of a matchmaking third party directing him. One is way hotter and more romantic than the other. lol
Kathy and Benny then proceed to have an awkwardly brief first conversation, which I actually really like because it makes them that much more realistic, and I'm not even exaggerating when I say that he stares at her more than he talks. The following is word for word their entire interaction:
(BENNY enters.)
BENNY: Hey.
(BENNY turns a chair around at KATHY's table and sits on it while his muscular arms are propped up on the edge. Thank you, Tom Hardy, for this excellent suggestion! This is a way hotter position than having him just sit there. Very manly.)
I'm Benny.
KATHY: Hello...
BENNY: *Stares*
KATHY: So what are we doing here, just uh, shootin' the breeze?
(I like KATHY's response here. I feel like myself and any girl could relate to the experience of when you're surprised that the guy you like is actually talking to you and so you try to come up with a cute flirtatious line.)
BENNY: (Smiles dangerously and stares) Yeah, I guess. (Stops smiling, continues to stare)
(I LOVE Austin's delivery of that last line. I replay it all the time. It's so sexy and yet it makes me laugh every time too because it is almost too cool lol. He practically whispers it. Even the way he hungrily looks and smiles at her is such a "bad boy" expression. He looks dangerous in a sexy way like he wants to devour her and he is hardly doing anything. It's amazing how Austin's acting gets this across so subtlely.
BENNY's "I don't care" attitude is a very important factor of his character and the story as a whole, much to his detriment, but it's a huge part of his appeal as well.)
KATHY: ....
(KATHY is at first speechless by BENNY's smoothness and lack of elaboration. Her facial expressions here say it all.)
BENNY: *Stares*
KATHY: Well, I gotta go home.
BENNY: Oh. Okay. (Looks up and stares with puppy dog eyes)
(What BENNY is really saying here: "Yeah. How about you go home with me?")
KATHY: .... (Smiles, flattered, but then shakes her head "No")
BENNY: (Lifts up hands in defeat) You gotta go. (In the deepest, most baritone vibrato voice possible lol)
(BENNY exits, leaving KATHY flustered.)
If you want proof of this, here's the actual clip from the film.:
Can we just point out really quick that nothing Benny does in this scene, and even in the rest of the film for that matter, would be attractive if he didn't look like Austin Butler? If any other guy went up to a girl and just stared at her like Benny does, he would be considered creepy. Benny gets away with this staring crap and all of the other strange things that he does because he's handsome and we're okay with it because we already know that Kathy likes him. That needed to be included for this to work. The girl liking the guy truly makes a difference when it comes to what kind of behavior would be accepted.
I just want to make it clear that I don't necessarily dislike Benny's whole staring thing. It's just more like, What's going on? lol
Austin's whole job in this movie is to be hot and cool at the same time.
Notice that Benny never asks Kathy what her name is. He doesn't ask her anything to be frank, at least not verbally. He just introduces himself and then doesn't say anything else. He lets her take the lead of the conversation. It's actually very weird to me. It kind of makes him look a little narcissistic in a way (We're talking about a guy with his own name tattooed on his arm here.), as if he knows that he is that good looking that she would just instantly fall for him without him making any effort in their conversation, and I don't know if that is the impression we're supposed to get. But Benny is a man of few words throughout the movie, so this isn't necessarily out of character for him. This scene is a good example of how characters communicate through facial expressions and thoughts, and I recall Austin and Jodie addressing this in interviews sometimes as well.
However, we could also assume that he already knows her name and other stuff about her because Donna told him, so therefore he knows enough about her that he doesn't have to ask much. This could also explain why he isn't that much intimidated by Kathy's boyfriend later. Yes, this could just be his character once again, but he could also know that he has the upper hand if Donna already informed him of the guy and the fact that their relationship was already going south. The following day the boyfriend officially leaves Kathy because he is triggered by Benny's presence, but he also has his bags packed already, which suggests that he was already considering, or even threatening, to leave her anyway and this is the moment he decides to finally follow through. Benny annoying him just by being there is the extra push.
Back at the bar, after Benny leaves Kathy, Johnny Davis, the founder and president of the Vandals played by Tom Hardy, then comes over to talk to her. Now HE asks for her name, and then proceeds to assure her not to worry and that nothing is going to happen to her, foreshadowing scenes later in the movie. After this interaction is when Kathy finally leaves the bar.
Kathy and Johnny have a tug-of-war rivalry for Benny throughout the film, described by Nichols as a love triangle. Johnny wants Benny to be his successor as the Vandals leader whereas Kathy, as Benny's wife, wants Benny to quit riding and the club because it is too reckless. Regardless of this, the two always have respect for each other to me, which is evident from the first time they meet in the bar. I initially thought that he tells her not to worry because he sees that Benny likes her, so because he loves Benny, he naturally would love the object of Benny's affections and vow to protect her under his wing. However, perhaps like Benny, Johnny already knows who she is and is prepared to accept her into their clan way before she even walks into that bar that night. There is a brief moment between when Donna walks away and Benny comes to have a seat where Johnny is seen looking right at Kathy and the two even share eye contact. This could mean that he knows who she is already.
In fact, I just realized this now. Before ANY of this happens, Donna walking away, Benny making his move, Johnny coming over to talk to her, Kathy observes the guys all whispering among themselves and assumes that they are planning something. This is when she aims to leave and THEN sees Benny. This is played off as the Vandals just being mischievous and Johnny keeping on eye on everything going on in their headquarters.
However, what if they ARE planning something all along??? What if THIS whole matchmaking game is what they are planning??? A lot of them look at her when she walks in, so this could be them determining that their target has made it to her destination.
So Kathy leaves the bar without telling Donna and waits by the bus stop and is the only one outside.
A few seconds later, Benny comes out of the bar himself, lights a cigarette, blows some smoke, and starts up his motorcycle, all the while still not looking at Kathy while she watches him the whole time, reminiscent of what happened by the pool table. Watching him actually makes her stop herself from lighting her own cigarette.
Not for nothing, Kathy does her fair share of staring at Benny too in this movie. lol And while he's all suave with his staring, Kathy stares at him all dumbfounded, like every time she is in complete shock that such an attractive specimen exists. lol
Hey, can you blame her? ;)
All of a sudden, literally EVERYONE ELSE in the bar (besides Donna and Johnny), Vandals, their significant others, as well as other men and women, come out of the bar and start yelling and whistling at Kathy, "Hey, Cinderellie, let's go for a ride! Don't be scared!", coaxing her to get on the motorcycle with Benny as a rite of passage or something. It's like the ENTIRE BAR'S PATRONAGE that night comes together to be Benny's wing people.
How is this NOT planned, you guys????? LOL Like how else would they all know that Benny is interested in her within the last few seconds, especially if the guy doesn't say much to begin with? You mean to tell me that everyone in that bar has nothing better to do than to watch Benny pursue Kathy and think, Hey! Let's all go out there to convince/force her into riding with him!
When I first saw this scene in theaters, as a woman, I felt intimidated and frightened on Kathy's behalf. Imagine being a woman alone at night standing on the street and suddenly a large group of men start approaching you and yelling at you to get onto a motorcycle with a complete stranger and not having any means of escape. That's really scary. I was relieved to see that women are there too so therefore Kathy isn't alone, but them not being on her side and instead encouraging this doesn't make things that much better, although seeing them be okay with this also suggests well maybe this isn't so bad after all. When I watch this scene and the entire movie again I now know that the Vandals mean no harm and are just helping their boy out. But at the same time, you can understand the fear and lack of options Kathy has in this moment, and that still makes the scene slightly uncomfortable no matter what their intentions are and how innocently they go about it.
Also, Kathy already said no to Benny before, so this feels like coercion not giving her much choice in the matter. It seems to be pretty clear that even when they part ways at the table, Benny knows that it wouldn't be for long, because then this happens. It makes it seem like he doesn't take no for an answer. She even says that he drove the motorcycle through stop lights probably so she wouldn't get off. But, once again, because he looks like Austin Butler, it's okay.
Then again, we have to consider the time period. Men were maybe more likely to try again back then even after being rejected and certain things were more common back then. I'm looking at this now through a different generation's lens.
So Kathy gets on the bike, because like I said, what else is she supposed to do? Run away? Where is she going to go? Reject him in front of everyone and then everybody starts yelling at her more, perhaps angrily this time? So she gets on the bike, they all cheer and pop open champagne bottles as if this was a ritual of some kind to induct her into the Vandals family for accepting Benny's hand (I actually thought from trailers and other clips that this was supposed to be their wedding scene before I watched the film itself. lol), and Benny takes off. This ultimately leads to the best scene of the film when Kathy sees the Vandals ride as a unit for the first time on the expressway to the tune of "Out In The Streets" by The Shangri-Las, Benny's motif theme music in the film.
Here's what makes me laugh too. Benny exits the bar, lights his cigarette, puffs out some smoke for a bit, and then when Kathy gets on the bike with him, he tosses the cigarette. All in a matter of seconds.
Now, I don't smoke, so I could be wrong, but that is one pretty quick smoke session! He doesn't even finish the cigarette. It's like he lights his cigarette just to get some puffs in before riding and just to impress her. Like they included it in the scene for no reason other than to make him look even cooler than he already is for a few measly seconds. LOL
So that's pretty much the scene. After this Johnny says, "See, Kathy? I told you you had nothing to worry about. The guy just wants to go out with you, that's all," another indication that he may have known that Benny was interested prior because again it's not like Benny says anything to him about it in the scene other than Johnny just watching everything all unfold.
Kathy ends up staying out with Benny until 4 AM. He brings her home to her upset boyfriend, stays night and day sitting on his bike just smoking cigarettes across the street from their house until the boyfriend leaves in disgust, yet another uncomfortable thing he gets away with because he looks like Austin Butler, and then asks her to attend a Vandals meeting with him. This all works out because she says that she married him five weeks later and then the rest of the movie proceeds from there.
Benny is confident the entire time, as if he just knows that he will get her and doesn't have to do much to achieve this. Even when they're all shouting for her to go for a ride with him, he's just sitting there waiting for her and not even looking at her as if he just expected this and lets everyone else do the work for him. Then, he is convinced that there is only a matter of time until Kathy's boyfriend eventually leaves her, so he just sticks around long enough until he has the chance to swoop in and claim her. This is also after Kathy says that she doesn't want to see them again and tells Benny to go home. She opens the door right up for Benny when he knocks too and doesn't bother to check who it is first. It's like she expects him.
Perhaps Kathy is eventually in on it too, because it crossed my mind that she doesn't try hard enough to get rid of him and just feigns annoyance. She maybe could call the police, but she doesn't. I sometimes think that she secretly wants him there and she too is just waiting for the boyfriend to get fed up with the whole situation and leave.
Wait...hold on...let's backtrack a bit here to Kathy and Donna's conversation about Benny again. If Kathy has a boyfriend, then why doesn't this get brought up by either Kathy or Donna? Why are they even entertaining the idea of Kathy possibly dating Benny then if Kathy is already taken? Donna is like "You don't want to go out with him." and Kathy is like "Why not?", but neither of them give the fact that she already has a boyfriend as the reason. This is actually making me think that Kathy wants out of that relationship just as much as her boyfriend seemingly does and Benny knows this, which further explains his determined actions and her acceptance in these scenes. It could be why Benny lets Kathy carry their first conversation. Donna could have known that both Benny AND Kathy are looking for someone (else), and then she works her matchmaking magic. It was just a matter of getting them to meet.
Dude, can Donna be my friend too and indirectly introduce me to a hot biker man with a deep raspy voice that looks like Austin Butler??? 😍 I'm going about this whole finding a man thing all wrong!
Benny has literally everyone on his side working with him on this, so why wouldn't he feel confident that the end result would work out in his favor? In short, mission accomplished.
There's something about Benny that makes everyone gravitate towards him and band together to do something for him. We see this more than once in this movie, usually because of Johnny's lead and I guess because Benny is the youngest so they feel the need to protect him. Benny's aura and the effect he has on people is a huge component to his character and the film's plot. They talked a lot about this in interviews.
Now here is a rebuttal argument that I have considered. When Kathy first walks into the bar, before she even meets up with Donna and then again while she is with Donna and meeting Cockroach, two other Vandals, Corky and Wahoo (Karl Glusman and Beau Knapp), make passes at her. In order to get rid of them, she claims that she has a date at 12 o'clock, as if that is supposed to make sense (Who has a date at midnight??), and then that's why they start calling her Cinderellie.
Now, if Corky and Wahoo are supposed to be Benny's wingmen and if what I am saying is true and they are in on this pre-planned operation, why would they hit on Kathy? Particular Corky, because he does it twice. In fact, Corky is the main one who encourages Kathy to get on the motorcycle with Benny. He is the loudest big mouth in the scene. lol
They do it BECAUSE they are his wingmen. Loyalty is a huge part of the Vandals lifestyle and a very important theme in the movie, so therefore they want to test Kathy's loyalty first, even though at the time she isn't Benny's girl yet. They could want to see if she would cave for them, even doing this in front of Donna as well. When she doesn't give into them, she inadvertently proves herself worthy enough of Benny for them all, thus setting their plans into motion.
There is also a theory floating around that Corky and Wahoo are gay and a couple because they are always seen together and Wahoo also wears a rainbow on his jacket. I am also under the impression that Wahoo is married to a woman because at one point Corky jokes that he rides Wahoo's "old lady." I thought this meant Wahoo's wife, but maybe "old lady" could also refer to Wahoo's mother. So if they're gay, and together, or if Wahoo is already married or taken, then given their loyalty code, they wouldn't have romantic or sexual interest in Kathy anyway and would actually be the perfect decoys to test out Kathy's loyalty.
A detail that I really appreciate about this movie is that there is no indication that any of the bikers are unfaithful to their girlfriends and wives. Sure sometimes they value the club and their motorcycles more than their families, which isn't right, but they are your average family men and working men who just happen to like riding motorcycles and hanging out with their friends at the end of the day. The whole point of the movie is to shed some light on this and normalize these guys, just focusing on their brotherhood and rough housing antics. There is no evidence that they ride to go gallivanting with other women. That is a breath of fresh air and very wholesome for a film like this.
I could be wrong and none of this is as calculated as it seems, but everything seems to add up so well. In fact, not to sound full of myself lol, but these scenes make more sense with my theory. Without my theory, it feels like they have some plot holes and just occur to move the plot forward.
Or maybe it's just choppy because this is being retold from Kathy's memories. As I said before, she is the only one who wouldn't know what is going on behind the scenes but hers is also the only perspective we get when she explains this as she remembers it. She's not an omniscient narrator and the movie is told from her point of view for the most part.
If anything, it's quite a memorable story to tell people about how you met your husband, which is exactly what Kathy does with fondness for Danny and the other women in the laundromat.
So what do you think? Is this entire opening sequence a master plan with everyone in the bar playing their roles perfectly, or do you have other ideas? lol
*Sigh* It's nice to be back here. 🙂
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