Good Morning, Vietnam is perhaps the most popular Vietnam war film ever made. Loosely based on the real life experiences of Army Forces Radio Service DJ Adrian Cronauer it takes a sideways look at the war that is often sardonic and satirical. The US military's file on the movie reveals ...
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Over the last few weeks a storm has been brewing about the Chinese government’s censorship of American movies, as well as several countries banning or censoring the Chinese co-production Abominable. On this month’s subscriber-only podcast I analyse these controversies for their double standards and general stupidity, and review the recent ...
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Why is it that capitalist economies and cultures produce anti-capitalist products? In this month's subscriber podcast I examine three examples of anti-capitalist pop culture - Sorry to Bother You, Office Uprising and Corporate. I discuss how their storylines contain some very pertinent criticisms of capitalism as an economic model and ...
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Amazon Prime's The Boys is not only the most enjoyable TV show I've seen all year, it's also the most subversive.  While it will appeal to audiences suffering from superhero fatigue after more than a decade of relentless Marvel and DC products, it is so much more than that.  It ...
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A week ago the US Army posted a youtube video of the Army Field Band's new hip-hop track 'Won't Be Defeated'.  At the time of writing its likes-dislikes ratio is 625 to 593, and the comments section is littered with mocking and ironic comments.  As a PR and recruiting effort ...
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Superman is one of the world’s most recognisable cultural icons. A symbol of human idealism, he has been subject to a range of political and philosophical agendas over the last 80 years. This week I analyse the ideas behind Superman, and how they have manifested and changed throughout the course ...
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In early 1977 the producers of Attack of the Killer Tomatoes approached the Pentagon about filming a couple of brief scenes at National Guard armories.  Even though the National Guard Public Affairs staff thought it was a fun film and were happy to help, they were overruled by the Pentagon's ...
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In this month's susbcriber-only podcast I talk about my new screenplay project - a political satire of Hollywood. I talk about my history with acting and writing, and discuss some of my creative process, how I developed two simple ideas and combined them to form the basis for my screenplay ...
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