{"id":1657962,"date":"2022-09-26T08:03:23","date_gmt":"2022-09-26T12:03:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1657962"},"modified":"2022-09-26T08:05:11","modified_gmt":"2022-09-26T12:05:11","slug":"clerks-iii-reminds-us-how-to-live-and-die-well","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/clerks-iii-reminds-us-how-to-live-and-die-well\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018Clerks III\u2019 Reminds Us How To Live And Die Well"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"float:left\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">20<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fclerks-iii-reminds-us-how-to-live-and-die-well%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1657962&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><div><\/div>\n<p>\u201cClerks III,\u201d the final installation in filmmaker Kevin Smith\u2019s \u201cClerks\u201d franchise, was recently released nationwide in select movie theaters. Smith is slated to continue producing and releasing content in the View Askewniverse (the larger cinematic universe in which \u201cClerks\u201d is contained), nevertheless \u201cClerks III\u201d was a heartfelt and moving goodbye to a franchise that parallels the lives of the audience, which came of age with the franchise.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>For those unable to find a screening of the film near them, it is currently available as a digital preorder on <a href=\"https:\/\/www.primevideo.com\/detail\/Clerks-III\/0H781EAI4AJE4ZLB9KEXQ9Z8NA\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Amazon Prime Video<\/a>. It will be released for streaming in mid-October.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u201cClerks,\u201d the first installment in the eponymous franchise, said to be a very loose retelling of Dante\u2019s \u201cInferno,\u201d was released in 1994 to a shockingly large success. Having been produced on a budget of roughly $30,000, \u201cClerks\u201d made more than <a href=\"https:\/\/www.the-numbers.com\/movie\/Clerks#tab=summary\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">one hundred times<\/a> that at the box office and is one of the films credited with kicking off the independent movie craze, subsequently solidifying its status as a cult film classic. The Library of Congress even entered the movie into the <a href=\"https:\/\/web.archive.org\/web\/20210308071416\/https:\/\/www.hollywoodreporter.com\/news\/purple-rain-amadeus-boys-dont-cry-clerks-enter-national-film-registry-1261469\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">National Film Registry<\/a> for being \u201cculturally, historically or aesthetically\u201d significant in its portrayal of the U.S.<\/p>\n<h2>\u2018Clerks\u2019 and \u2018Clerks II\u2019<\/h2>\n<p>\u201cClerks\u201d was a successful, influential, and surprisingly <a href=\"https:\/\/comicbook.com\/movies\/news\/kevin-smith-finally-reveals-the-name-of-dantes-dog-in-clerks\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">intelligent<\/a> film as it chronicles the daily life of young men who perpetually experience existential dread and confusion as they wander about aimlessly in their dead-end jobs, yearning for something more out of life.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>The film follows convince store worker Dante Hicks and his best friend, video store employee Randal Graves, as they go through the day slacking off from work, pondering the human experience, bickering, and cracking jokes about fellatio while being visited by a cast of mildly infuriating personalities during working hours.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Among other things, the film chronicles the lives of young men as they do what young men do.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Its sequel, \u201cClerks II,\u201d released in 2006, is set 10 years after the first film. \u201cClerks II\u201d had a much larger budget of $5 million and a more robust commercial release which <a href=\"https:\/\/www.boxofficemojo.com\/release\/rl793413121\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">grossed<\/a> the film just under $27 million.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>This sequel follows Dante and Randal as they are forced to begin new careers after Randal accidentally burns down their former places of work. Dante\u2019s personal life falls apart as he falls in love with his new boss Becky, cheats on his fiance with her, and subsequently impregnates her. He and Becky fall in love, and despite his and Randal\u2019s foibles, the two are able to set aside their insecurities and agree to go into business together.<\/p>\n<p>Whereas the first film told the story of the listlessness of living an aimless existence, \u201cClerks II\u201d highlights what happens once people begin to take responsibility for their lives, exert agency, and take steps to realize their potential.<\/p>\n<h2>\u2018Clerks III\u2019<\/h2>\n<p>\u201cClerks\u201d tells the story of young men, and \u201cClerks II\u201d is the story of those men growing up. So, naturally, \u201cClerks III\u201d shows us what happens when men who are grown begin to grow old.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>In 2018, Smith, now in his 50s, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.businessinsider.com\/kevin-smith-thinking-of-yoga-hosers-during-heart-attack-2019-10#:~:text=On%20February%2025%2C%202018%2C%20after,like%20this%20the%20patient%20dies.\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">suffered<\/a> what is known as a \u201cwidowmaker heart attack.\u201d Allegedly, in 80 percent of cases like Smith\u2019s, the patient dies. Faced with his own mortality and a passion for telling more stories, Smith made a full recovery and went on to continue making movies.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cClerks III\u201d takes a good deal of inspiration from Smith\u2019s own life in this regard. The film\u2019s plot is set in motion after Randal suffers a widowmaker heart attack, causing him to buckle down and get serious about his passion to share his life story via film.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>The film, a retrospective of Randal\u2019s life, essentially is a retelling of the first \u201cClerks\u201d movie. Having to relive these memories while dealing with immense ingratitude from Randal for his help causes Dante to further reminisce as he recalls the death of his lover and the mother of his never-to-be-born child, Becky, that happened off-screen at some point between the two movies.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>The sadness and frustration harm Dante\u2019s health, and he, too, suffers a heart attack.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Randal visits Dante to show him an early copy of the film as Dante realizes he had a life well lived and passes on to be with Becky in the afterlife.<\/p>\n<h2>End of an Era\u00a0<\/h2>\n<p>The first two installments in the franchise are explorations of coming of age, while the third shows what happens when we are of age.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Smith\u2019s brush with death is crucial to the message of \u201cClerks III.\u201d Time flies; remember you will die, so live your life well and cherish the people around you.<\/p>\n<p>There are nearly 30 years that separate the first and the final \u201cClerks\u201d films. People who were old enough to see it in theatres in the mid-90s are now, at the youngest, nearing their 50s. Most of them probably have screwed around while on the job, and most have probably lost people they love, similar to how Dante lost Becky and how Randal lost Dante.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>What makes \u201cClerks\u201d such an endearing franchise isn\u2019t the oral sex jokes, the cameos of Smith\u2019s celebrity friends, or Randal\u2019s unceasing sardonic irony. What makes these movies special is that we all share the experiences of Dante and Randal at some point in our lives.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>At some point, we\u2019ve been bored; at some point, we\u2019ve been in love; and at some point, we\u2019re going to die.<\/p>\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator\" \/>\n<p>\n  Samuel Mangold-Lenett is a staff editor at The Federalist. His writing has been featured in the Daily Wire, Townhall, The American Spectator, and other outlets. He is a 2022 Claremont Institute Publius Fellow. Follow him on Twitter @Mangold_Lenett.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>\u201cClerks III,\u201d the final installation in filmmaker Kevin Smith\u2019s \u201cClerks\u201d franchise, was recently released nationwide in select movie theaters. Smith is slated to continue producing and releasing content in the<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1185,"featured_media":2315279,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1657962","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1657962","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1185"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1657962"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1657962\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2315279"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1657962"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1657962"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1657962"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}