The Fugitive (feat. Michael Liroff)

November 10, 2022 by Jamelle Bouie

Jamelle and John are joined by Michael Liroff of the Five Four podcast to discuss “The Fugitive,” a masterpiece of Dad cinema. They talk the liberal politics of the 1990s, the surprisingly nuanced racial politics of the film, and complain, as always, that they just don’t make them like this anymore.

Connor Lynch produced this episode. Artwork by Rachel Eck.

And join the Unclear and Present Patreon! For just $5 a month, patrons get access to a bonus show on the films of the Cold War, and much, much more.

Links from the episode!

The Hunt for Red October (Take Two)

October 30, 2022 by Jamelle Bouie

Episode 26 — The Hunt for Red October

In this one year anniversary episode of Unclear and Present Danger, Jamelle and John return to the film that started it all, “The Hunt for Red October.” They discuss the film as an elegy for the Cold War era, and further explore the dilemma of American power and identity in the post-Soviet world.

Connor Lynch produced this episode. Artwork by Rachel Eck.

Links from the episode!

New York Times front-page for March 2, 1990

The Firm

October 16, 2022 by Jamelle Bouie

In this episode of Unclear and Present Danger, John and Jamelle discuss the 1993 John Grisham film adaptation “The Firm.” They use the genre of the legal thriller to discuss the legalization of American life in the 1990s and the turn from politics in crucible of history to management at its putative end. They also talk about Wilford Brimley, so there’s that too.

Connor Lynch produced this episode. Artwork by Rachel Eck.

Links from the episode!

Next time on Unclear and Present Danger…Jamelle and John return to “The Hunt for Red October.”

Passenger 57 (feat. Amanda Smith)

October 03, 2022 by Jamelle Bouie

In this episode of Unclear and Present Danger, Jamelle and John are joined by Amanda Smith of the Disaster Girls podcast to discuss the Wesley Snipes vehicle “Passenger 57,” which features an extremely charismatic Snipes facing off against an off-band Hannibal Lecter and also, casual racism.

Connor Lynch produced this episode. Artwork by Rachel Eck.

• UnclearPod

• John Ganz

• Jamelle Bouie

• Amanda Smith

Links from the episode!

• New York Times front-page for November 6, 1992

• Interview with Stewart Raffill, one of the writers for Passenger 57

• Disaster Girls podcast

White Sands

September 20, 2022 by Jamelle Bouie

Somehow, a crime thriller starring Willem Dafoe, Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio and Mickey Rourke set in the New Mexico desert isn’t especially good. Still, the 1992 film “White Sands” gave Jamelle and John a little bit to discuss for this week’s episode of Unclear and Present Danger.

Connor Lynch produced this episode. Artwork by Rachel Eck.

Links from the episode!

New York Times front-page for April 24, 1992

Deep Cover (feat. Adam Serwer)

September 02, 2022 by Jamelle Bouie

Jamelle, John and special guest Adam Serwer of The Atlantic watch one of the great crime movies of the 1990s — Bill Duke’s “Deep Cover” — and talk about post-Cold War anxiety over the drug trade, Black “tough on crime” politics, and the war on drugs.

Connor Lynch produced this episode. Artwork by Rachel Eck.

Links from the episode!

New York Times front-page for April 15, 1992
James Forman’s book on the Black politics of the early 1990s, “Locking Up Our Own: Crime and Punishment in Black America.”
“THE 1992 CAMPAIGN: Candidates' Records; Four Years of Bush’s Drug War: New Funds but an Old Strategy”

Die Hard 2: Die Harder

August 20, 2022 by Jamelle Bouie

Welcome to episode 22 of Unclear and Present Danger. This week, we watched “Die Hard 2: Die Harder,” the sequel — of course — to “Die Hard.” In this conversation, Jamelle and John talk the 1990s panic over violence in pop culture, the working-class qualities of John McClane, and the lost days of American suspicion of, even hostility to, the military.

Connor Lynch produced this episode. Artwork by Rachel Eck.

Links from the episode!

The New York Times front page for July 4, 1990

Rising Sun

August 06, 2022 by Jamelle Bouie

On episode 21 of Unclear and Present Danger, Jamelle and John discuss the horrifically problematic 1993 thriller “Rising Sun” starring Wesley Snipes and Sean Connery. It’s lurid, salacious and incredibly racist, which makes it fertile ground for a discussion of the anti-Japanese panic of the late 1980s and early 1990s. Additional topics include Wesley Snipes' career, Michael Crighton’s whole deal, and the question of whether it is even possible to forge a unifying national narrative.

Connor Lynch produced this episode. Artwork by Rachel Eck.

Links from the episode!

In the Line of Fire

July 24, 2022 by Jamelle Bouie

In this, our twentieth episode of Unclear and Present Danger, Jamelle and John watched the hit 1993 thriller “In the Line of Fire,” directed by Wolfgang Petersen and starring Clint Eastwood, Rene Russo and John Malkovich. They discuss Eastwood’s career and star persona, the anti-political apathy of the 1990s, and the “end of history” vibes of Eastwood and Malkovich’s characters.

Links from the episode!

In the Line of Duty: Ambush in Waco

July 08, 2022 by Jamelle Bouie

For episode 19 of Unclear and Present Danger, Jamelle and John watch “In the Line of Duty: Ambush in Waco,” a ripped-from-the-headlines-style movie about the siege at Waco. They use the movie as an occasion to discuss right-wing extremism, abuse and overreach among federal law enforcement, and how both played themselves out in American culture.

Connor Lynch produced this episode. Artwork by Rachel Eck.

Links from the episode!

Falling Down

June 25, 2022 by Jamelle Bouie

Jamelle, for one, has been very excited about this episode, an analysis of Joel Schumacher’s 1993 film “Falling Down.” In the conversation, Jamelle and John discuss the populist moment of the early 1990s, the discourse around the “angry white man,” the class politics (or lack thereof) of the film, and the erosion of the post-war anti-fascist consensus.

Connor Lynch produced this episode. Artwork by Rachel Eck.

Links from the episode!

Sniper

June 10, 2022 by Jamelle Bouie

In this episode of Unclear and President Danger, Jamelle and John discuss “Sniper,” a delightful piece of genre trash that also happens to speak to some of the paranoias and prejudices of the era. To that point, their conversation veers from the anti-Bill Clinton conspiracy theories of the early 1990s to the militia aesthetic that emerged later in the decade.

Links from the episode!

Under Siege

May 27, 2022 by Jamelle Bouie

For episode 16 of Unclear and Present Danger, Jamelle and John discuss “Under Siege,” 1992 action thriller directed by Andrew Davis and starring Steven Seagal in what is clearly his best role. We talk about Seagal’s career, Hollywood’s view of the American military in this era of filmmaking, and the strange, almost left-wing politics of this movie in particular. Jamelle also attempts a bad impression of Seagal. It’s a good time.

“Under Siege” is available for rent on Amazon and iTunes.

Our logo, as always, is courtesy of the great Rachel Eck, who you can find on Instagram.

Links from the episode!

Sneakers (feat. Mike Duncan)

May 13, 2022 by Jamelle Bouie

On episode 15 of Unclear and Present Danger, we are joined by Mike Duncan (Revolutions podcast, “Hero of Two Worlds: The Marquis de Lafayette in the Age of Revolution”) to discuss the delightful 1992 thriller Sneakers. It’s a movie about a tech mogul who hopes to stage an information revolution and, not surprisingly, John, Jamelle and Mike discuss the internet, social revolutions, and the challenge of building something out of nothing.

Our logo, as always, is courtesy of the great Rachel Eck, who you can find on Instagram.

Links from the episode!

JFK (feat. Alexis Coe)

April 29, 2022 by Jamelle Bouie

It’s episode 14 of Unclear and Present Danger and we’re talking Oliver Stone’s ridiculous yet incredibly-compelling conspiracy thriller, JFK. Jamelle and John are joined by the historian Alexis Coe to discuss the film, as well as the real John F. Kennedy, his life and legacy. This is a long and fruitful conversation, that covers everything from the Boomer wish-fulfillment which animates the movie to the political consequences of conspiracy-thinking.

Once again, our new logo is courtesy of the great Rachel Eck! You can find her on Instagram.

Links from the episode!

Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country (feat. Sam Adler-Bell)

April 15, 2022 by Jamelle Bouie

Is a Star Trek movie a political and military thriller? We think so! Which is why, for this thirteenth episode of Unclear and Present Danger, Jamelle and John (and their guest, Sam Adler-Bell of the “Know Your Enemy” podcast) discussed Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country. They talked about the nature of Star Trek’s utopianism, questioned whether the Federation is actually a good thing, and gave a close reading of the film’s Cold War allegory.

Our new logo is courtesy of the great Rachel Eck! You can find her on Instagram.

Links from the episode!

Company Business

April 01, 2022 by Jamelle Bouie

On episode 12 of Unclear and Present and Danger, Jamelle and John talk about, and puzzle over, the 1991 action comedy (comedic thriller?) “Company Business.” They have an extended discussion of Gene Hackman’s career, talk Mikhail Gorbachev and the collapse of the Soviet Union, and think about the surge of populism that struck American politics in the early 1990s.

Our new logo is courtesy of the great Rachel Eck! You can find her on Instagram.

Links from the episode!

Flight of the Intruder (feat. Jonathan Katz)

March 17, 2022 by Jamelle Bouie

On this 11th episode of Unclear and Present Danger, Jamelle and John are joined by the journalist and author Jonathan Katz to talk John Milius' 1991 Vietnam drama, “Flight of the Intruder.” Among many other things, they talk Milius' work and career, the place of Vietnam in American’s historical memory, the political impact of the Gulf War, and the search for meaning through conflict.

Our logo is courtesy of the great Rachel Eck! You can find her on Instagram.

Links from the episode!

Going Under

March 04, 2022 by Jamelle Bouie

In this tenth episode of Unclear and Present Danger, Jamelle and John talk a little about this week’s movie, the 1991 submarine farce “Going Under,” but devote most of the episode to discussing the war in Ukraine, Vladimir Putin’s regime in Russia, and the way the world has underestimated the power of democracy.

Also, you might notice that we have a new logo. That is courtesy of the great Rachel Eck! You can find her on Instagram.

Links from the episode!

The Russia House

February 18, 2022 by Jamelle Bouie

On this week’s episode of Unclear and Present Danger, Jamelle and John talk the 1990 John Le Carré adaptation “The Russia House,” starring Sean Connery and Michelle Pfeiffer. They discuss the social base for intelligence work during the Cold War, the period of glasnost and perestroika in the Soviet Union, the politics of nostalgia and the film’s excellent wardrobe. You can rent “The Russia House” on iTunes or on Amazon.

Also, you might notice that we have a new logo. That is courtesy of the great Rachel Eck! You can find her on Instagram.

Links from the episode!

The New York Times for December 25, 1990
Wikipedia article for glasnost and perestroika
John D. Skrentny’s “The Minority Rights Revolution” on the impact of the Cold War on liberal reforms in the United States.