Parallax Views w/ J.G. Michael
Society & Culture
On this edition of Parallax Views, 2023 marks the 40th anniversary of the release of V: The Original Miniseries. A two-part sci-fi television event that brought in around 33 million homes, V was ostensibly the story of reptilian alien invading earth to steal it's resources and turn the human population into a food source. However, beneath the surface it acted as a parable about how fascism and authoritarianism can take hold in a country. In fact, it was inspired by Sinclair Lewis' classic novel It Can't Happen Here and was initially not about malevolent extraterrestrial invaders at all.
In this conversation we discuss how V came to be, the conspiracy theorists who take the miniseries and it's reptilian invasion literally and Kenny's response to them, V as a parable about fascism, Kenny's work with Vincent Price on An Evening With Edgar Allen Poe, what Kenny thinks of being compared to The Twilight Zone's Rod Serling due to his interest in sci-fi that deals with social issues, the TV how Alien Nation, the cast of V (which included such names as Marc Singer of The Beastmaster franchise, Robert Englund of Freddy Krueger fame, Jane Badler, Andrew Prine, and many others), the Holocaust and how it tied into the story of V, racism and diversity and the way those topics figured into V, Kenny's sequel novel to V entitled V: The Second Generation, the possibility of a big screen movie remake of the miniseries, looking back on V in the era of Trump (and anti-vaxxers and conspiracy theories), V's dealing with the topic of anti-science sentiments and how they can be damaging to society, the way in which V is about two powerful women (the heroine Juliet and the villainous reptilian alien Diana), the cinematic quality of V and its European theatrical release, the studio's lack of faith in V and belief that it's dealing with social issues of the time would be too intellectual for American audiences, and much, much more!
The Turbulent World - April 2024 Update on Iran & Israel, Gaza Protests, Extreme Rhetoric in Israel, Israel's Information War, Benjamin Netanyahu, and More w/ James M. Dorsey
Dear Palestine: A Social History of the 1948 War w/ Prof. Shay Hazkani
Columbia U Protests + the Kent State Massacre, Project Censored's State of the Free Press 2024, Forever Chemicals, & Remembering Daniel Ellsberg w/ Mickey Huff
Applying the Lessons of the French Evisceration of Algeria to the Gaza War w/ Sean Tomilson
Examining Biden's Policies on Economics, Gaza, and the Border Heading Into Election Season w/ Karen Dolan/How Autocrats Seek Power w/ Richard Abel
Inside the World of Deathmatch Wrestling w/ Mike Krueger
Is the U.S.-Israel Special Relationship a Strategic Liability? w/ Jon Hoffman
"White Rural Rage" Book Receives More Criticism from a Scholar It Cited w/ Kristin Lunz Trujillo/Culture Warriors Push Propaganda About Haiti Crisis w/ Patrick MacFarlane
Prominent Jewish Americans Sign Letter Opposing AIPAC w/ Alan Minsky
Jonathan Glazer's Oscar Speech, Its Parallels to Vanessa Redgrave's 1978 Oscar Speech, & the Meaning of THE ZONE OF INTEREST w/ Corey Atad
Gaza War Update w/ Prof. James M. Dorsey
Schaller & Waldman's "White Rural Rage" Thesis Misuses Data to Push an Unhelpful Narrative w/ Prof. Nicholas F. Jacobs
Europe Must Look Beyond the U.S. for Its Future in a Changing World + Biden, Netanyahu, and the Gaza War w/ Amb. Patrick Theros
The Death of Film Criticism and the Infantilization of Cinema (+ Oscar Talk) w/ Jim DiEugenio
The Islamophobia Network and the Israel-Palestine Discourse w/ Sahar Aziz and Mitchell Plitnick
Ringmaster: Vince McMahon and the Unmaking of America w/ Josie Riesman
Israel/Palestine, the Gaza War, and Rebel Governance in the Middle East w/ Abdalhadi Alijla
The Confederation Model Approach to Israel/Palestine w/ Josef Avesar
Free Your Mind!: Giovanni 'Tinto' Brass, 'Swinging London' and the 60s Pop Culture Scene w/ Simon Matthews
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