We’re back with Dave Brouillette to speak in defense of cinema’s great unsung wet blankets. The long-suffering adults left to pick up the pieces when the reckless hot shot protagonist with a disregard for human life blows up half of downtown or nearly starts World War III while they were saving the day or just looking cool.
Is there an age where your empathy naturally starts to gravitate to these people over the bad boy hero?
We also dig into the complicated emotions of watching popular media with jingoistic or reactionary politics — from Top Gun to 24 to Death Wish — both overt and implicit. Even the stuff we like can be a bit harrowing to watch at times.
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“Crush your enemies. See them driven before you. Hear the lamentations of their women.”
“A game nobody survives. But Schwarzenegger has yet to play.”