Michael and Us

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First, we discuss the protests in the United States, their bipartisan causes, and the ways that Blue Checkmark discourse seeks to delegitimize them. Then we discuss a quintessential Michael & Us movie, bringing together many of the themes and motifs that have defined this podcast: CAN MR. SMITH GET TO WASHINGTON ANYMORE? (2006), about the "insurgent" congressional candidacy of future-convicted-felon Jeff Smith against a machine-backed dynastic candidate in Missouri. Few films have better illustrated the limits of the American political imagination circa 2004 than this. PLUS: personal tales of the purest, most intense kind of politics there is : local politics.

Oscar Micheaux was the first African American to direct a feature-length film, and no other filmmaker of his age tackled the issues facing black America so directly and painfully. We watched his masterpiece WITHIN OUR GATES (1920) and discussed Micheaux's complicated career and the "race films" of the early 20th century. PLUS: Gone with the Wind! Glossy Time-Life magazines! Luke discusses debating capitalism v. socialism! Will works out his feelings towards Toronto's Garfield-themed restaurant!

PATREON-EXCLUSIVE EPISODE - https://www.patreon.com/posts/37268002

THE SPECIAL RELATIONSHIP (2010) charts the complicated dynamic between political allies/personal rivals Bill Clinton (Dennis Quaid) and Tony Blair (Michael Sheen). This light docudrama gives us opportunity to consider the nature of Britain and the U.S.'s "Special Relationship," the political moment that sparked Blairism and Clintonism, and to what extent the personal relationships of world leaders matter. PLUS: Jean-Luc Godard and the Ontario French school curriculum.

For over two decades, Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert were America's most influential movie critics. Their show SISKEL & EBERT was partly consumer-report movie criticism, and partly a sitcom about two extremely-similar men who didn't particularly like each other. Revisiting the "Thumbs Up!"/"Thumbs Down!" titans gives Will and Luke opportunity to ponder questions about criticism, the canon, and how Siskel and Ebert represented "normalcy." PLUS: spirited discussion of Jerry Seinfeld and Bruce Lee.

PATREON-EXCLUSIVE EPISODE - https://www.patreon.com/posts/151-rant-in-b-36641960

It's finally here - the Bill Hicks episode. To many a young man, this swaggering, tell-it-like-it-is comedian was a revelation. But how well does his work hold up in a landscape he has so enormously influenced? We watched his 1992 special REVELATIONS to find out. Spoiler: our hosts have decidedly mixed feelings. PLUS: political comedy, Lenny Bruce, and Bill Hicks' bizarre Toronto connection.

For episode #150, we're looking back at another of our formative heroes, the godfather of gonzo journalism, Hunter S. Thompson. We reflect on his era-defining book FEAR AND LOATHING IN LAS VEGAS through the lens of Terry Gilliam's 1998 film adaptation. One of these things holds up, and another does not (can you guess which?). Along the way, we discuss gonzo journalism, the 1960s, and the strengths and limitations of both Thompson and Gilliam.

PATREON-EXCLUSIVE EPISODE: https://www.patreon.com/posts/149-from-to-36101522

We travel back to Weimer Germany to celebrate a time of great and flourishing culture, and also to look for the emergence of the horrors soon to come. We watched the silent classic THE CABINET OF DR. CALIGARI (1920) to discuss how its tortured production history led to a self-contradicting film about authority that Captured The Zeitgeist™.

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To mark the end of Bernie Sanders' 2020 presidential campaign, Luke talks to writer Carl Beijer about what went right, what went wrong, and why socialism isn't just a passing identity. Plus: What was Elizabeth Warren's impact? And can Joe Biden actually win? (Uh... well, anything can theoretically happen, right?)

"Voters Won't Risk Their Lives for Joe Biden" by Carl Beijer - https://jacobinmag.com/2020/04/2020-democratic-party-presidential-election-coronavirus-biden

"Bernie Lost. But His Legacy Will Only Grow" by Luke Savage - https://www.jacobinmag.com/2020/04/bernie-2020-campaign-democratic-establishment

With the 2020 Democratic Primary fading away, we look back at an earlier primary and watch Robert Drew's iconic cinema-verite documentary PRIMARY (1960). We discuss "objective" journalism, the Kennedy myth, how presidential campaigns have changed, and why Hubert Humphrey is actually the hero of the film. PLUS: inevitably, some thoughts on the 2020 primary.

PATREON-EXCLUSIVE EPISODE - https://www.patreon.com/posts/35617018

Steven Spielberg's READY PLAYER ONE posits a world in which society is crumbling and the only escape is a virtual fantasyland. Sound familiar? The twist: Steven Spielberg does not regard this as a dystopia. We watch the blockbuster maestro's paean to the geek culture he spawned and decipher its reactionary politics. PLUS: your hosts reflect on life in quarantine.