Overcritical

Ready Player One is one of those movies that's fun and pretty on the surface but leads to some interesting - and even some troubling - ideas about nostalgia and what sort of future we're walking into. My special guest, Aaron Thorpe, joins me for a meandering conversation about what "the good old days" really means for a generation that increasingly feels futureless.Follow Aaron's Work!Aaron's TwitterThe TrillbilliesEverybody Loves CommunismStruggle SessionFollow me on social media!My TwitterPodcast TwitterPodcast InstagramAlso here's that video I referencedStranger Things, IT and the Upside Down of Nostalgia by Lindsey Ellis

The original Top Gun is very much a movie of its time, in its presentation...and also its politics. Let's just say I was surprised at how much I disliked Tom Cruise, especially given how modern Cruise movies try so hard to make him extremely likeable.CONTENT WARNING: Talk about sexual assault in the military happens at 12:32 to 18:42 and at 33:10 to 36:30.Follow me on social media!Twitter: @TallLeftist and @OvercriticalPodInstagram: @OvercriticalPodcastFacebook: Overcritical PodcastSources:1) ‘A Poison in the System’: The Epidemic of Military Sexual Assault2) Legacy of the Tailhook Scandal | Retro Report | The New York Times 3) Operation Hollywood: How the Pentagon Shapes and Censors the Movies by David L. RobbMusic:Intro Song: Bangarang (Instrumental) by AGROCULTUREOpening Theme by Harold Faltermeyer - Top Gun OSTDanger Zone by Kenny LogginsTake My Breath Away by BerlinSerious Dark Ambient Atmosphere by Ashot DanielyanElevator Music Lofi Background Music For Video by Lesfm 

I'm joined today by Elena Ortiz and Sungmanitu of The Red Nation and Red Media to talk about Taylor Sheridan's universe of Western genre movies and TV and the many problems with his writing of indigenous issues, characters, and themes. Plus, the eternal thorn-in-the-side that is Kevin Costner!Check out Red Media!TheRedNation.orgRed Media PatreonThe Red Nation TwitterSungmanitu's TwitterElena's TwitterFollow me on social media!Twitter: @TallLeftist and @OvercriticalPodInstagram: @OvercriticalPodcastFacebook: Overcritical Podcast

I sit down with Pearson Bolt from Coffee with Comrades to discuss the absolute trip of a show that is Squid Game (2021) and how capitalism can absorb even the most scathing anti-capitalist messages to its own benefit. Spoilers beware!Follow me on social media!Twitter: @TallLeftist and @OvercriticalPodInstagram: @OvercriticalPodcastFacebook: Overcritical PodcastFollow Pearson and Coffee with Comrades!Twitter: @PearsonBolt and @CoffeewithComradesInstagram: @CoffeewithComradesWebsite: http://coffeewithcomrades.com/

Karl Marx already predicted NFTs, but did you know he also predicted how Ryan Gosling would play the character of a forever alone android in Blade Runner 2049? Bio-engineered robots are workers too, you know!Sources: 1) Economic and Philosophic Manuscripts of 1844: Estranged LabourMusic:Show Intro Song: BANGARANG by Agroculture1) 2049 - Blade Runner 2049 OST2) Sapper's Tree - Blade Runner 2049 OST 3) Flight to LAPD - Blade Runner 2049 OST4) Signals III by Sabled Sun5) Elevator Music Lofi Background Music For Videos by Lesfm6) That's Why We Believe  - Blade Runner 2049 OST7) Memory  - Blade Runner 2049 OST8) Tears in the Rain - Blade Runner 2049 OST   

This episode contains full spoilers for The Northman (2022)! Listener beware!The Nordic Mythology Podcast with Mathias Nordvig and Daniel FarrandDr. Nordvig's academic workMidgardsblot Metal Festival 2022hyldyr.comFollow me on social media!Twitter: @TallLeftist and @OvercriticalPodInstagram: @OvercriticalPodcastFacebook: Overcritical Podcast

In the wake of the horrific shooting in Uvalde, Texas, Ben Shapiro's tone-deaf school shooter movie deserves a very close look at how it aims to do nothing except appeal to the fantasies of the right-wing gun-toting audience it's clearly marketing towards.Sources:1) How a Right-Wing Movie Studio Enabled the ‘Harvey Weinstein’ of Indie Film2) School Shooting Drama ‘Run Hide Fight’, Made In Secret By ‘Night Of The Living Deb’ Director...3) Did Bonfire Legend Go Too Far by Shooting a Live Deer for Run Hide Fight? 

Surprise! The Marvel comic book franchise most closely associated with the military-industrial complex doesn't handle the depiction of anarchy and anarchist characters very well. I was totally expecting Disney Plus and the MCU to handle these ideas with care.**THIS EPISODE CONTAINS SPOILERS FOR THE ENTIRE FIRST SEASON OF THE SHOW**Sources:1) Revolutionary Villains Are Turned Into Monsters so That We Don’t Support Them2) 'Captain Marvel' Effect? Air Force Academy Sees Most Female Applicants in 5 Years3) Documents Expose How Hollywood Promotes War on Behalf of the Pentagon, CIA and NSA Music:Intro Song - Bangarang by AGROCULTURE1) Elevator Music Lofi Background Music For Video by Lesfm 2)  VERGNUGUNGSPARK by  Gerhard Trede 

Hello Kitty meets The Office meets Corporate. Who knew an anime about an adorable red panda would be such a scathing political indictment of the dehumanizing structure of the modern day capitalist workplace?Follow me on social media!Twitter: @TallLeftist and @OvercriticalPodInstagram: @OvercriticalPodcastFacebook: Overcritical PodcastSources: 1) Hello Kitty turns 40, draws 25,000 fans to first 'Hello Kitty Con'2)  Why Japan can't shake sexism 3) Gender discrimination comes in many forms for today’s working women4) The Great Resignation continues, as 44% of workers look for a new job5) Working From Home, Japan’s Corporate Warriors Rethink Their Priorities

We're finishing out strong here - The Division is perhaps the most problematic of all the Tom Clancy games we've looked at thus far...and that's saying something. We all love a good fascist government agency with no oversight and extra-legal authority!Follow us on social media!Twitter: @TallLeftist and @OvercriticalPodInstagram: @OvercriticalPodcastFacebook: Overcritical PodcastSources:1) Everything’s becoming a subscription, and the pandemic is partly to blame2) Car Buyers Expected to Pay Extra $135 Monthly for Subscriptions: GM3) What is Rikers Island?4) Games That You Can't Let Yourself Think AboutMusic:1) Elevator Music Lofi Background Music For Video by Lesfm2) Prologue - The Division Original Soundtrack3) Track 001 -  The Division Original Soundtrack 4)  Track 009 -  The Division Original Soundtrack 5)  Track 059 -  The Division Original Soundtrack 6) Track 064 -  The Division Original Soundtrack 7)  Track 108 -  The Division Original Soundtrack8) Rooftops - The Division 2 Original Soundtrack9) The Beginning is the End - The Division 2 Original Soundtrack 10) Prologue 2 - The Division 2 Original Soundtrack 

We're almost done with Clancy! Surprisingly, World War 3 and a flight sim turned out to be some of the least problematic stuff we've looked at so far, so that's saying something.  An episode that's short and sweet, just the way I like it. Enjoy!Sources: 1) "Backgrounder on Russian Fuel Air Explosives ("Vacuum Bombs") | Human Rights Watch"Music:1) Menu 01 - EndWar Original Soundtrack2) Main 02a -  EndWar Original Soundtrack 3) Tense Detective Looped Drone by ZakharValaha4) Ending Credits - H.A.W.X. Original Soundtrack5) Artemis Ascendance -  H.A.W.X. Original Soundtrack 

Guns and explosions give way to sneaky-sneak spy shenanigans in this Tom Clancy franchise. But does the quieter tone mean a more carefully written story? Signs point to "no."Torture is bad, okay, kids?Sources: 1) Monastery Divides Georgia and Azerbaijan2)  A Nation in Waiting: Indonesia in the 1990s3) Report: U.S. Arms Transfers to Indonesia 1975–1997 World Policy Institute4)  Public Committee Against Torture v. Israel5) BBC News: Israeli 'torture' methods illegal6) John Brown, Abolitionist: The Man Who Killed Slavery, Sparked the Civil War, and Seeded Civil Rights by David S. Reynolds7) Grim's Character Design History8) Death Highway, Revisisted - TIME9) Hidden Agendas by John Pilger10) Guantanamo Bay Detention Camp

Based bugs.Sources:1) Wage Stagnation in Nine Charts2) Fear of Losing Health Insurance Keeps 1 in 6 in Their Jobs Music:Time of Your Life - A Bug's Life OST

Being an operator isn't quite operator as fuck, it turns out. The Ghost Recon games have a whole host of problems when it comes to promoting U.S. hegemony and intervention.Sources: 1) Shooters: How Video Games Fund Arms Manufacturers 2) U.S. Army and Ubisoft Join Forces in Unprecedented Agreement to Deploy America's Army Brand Worldwide3) GDC 2005 Proceeding: Ghost Redux - Production Challenges for Ghost Recon 2 Xbox4) Ghost Recon 2 Interview, Xbox Addict5) Ghost Recon 2: Lone Wolf6) The Iron March Forum and the Evolution of the “Skull Mask” Neo-Fascist Network7) A History of The Punisher Logo Being Used By Police, Military & PoliticiansMusic:1) Main Theme - Ghost Recon OST2) Action 1 - Ghost Recon OST3) Intro Music - Ghost Recon Island Thunder OST4) Main Theme - Ghost Recon 25) Silo by Elsewhere6) Drums 24 by 1tamara27) Let's Do This - GRAW OST8) Get to the Embassy - GRAW OST9) Future Soldier - Ghost Recon Future Soldier OST10) MILSIM EXFIL by John Emmons11) Drive to Rancho Sabala - Ghost Recon Wildlands OST12) Music ID 125 - Ghost Recon Wildlands OST 

When Tom Clancy had built enough of a name for himself to where he felt he could start slapping that name onto video games, he started what would eventually becoming a multi-million dollar video game franchise that continues to this day, even after his death. But where did this franchise come from? And just how problematic are the Tom Clancy games? Today, we're starting our five part deep-dive into the Tom Clancy video game empire with the one that started it all: Rainbow Six.Sources:1) Tom Clancy's Inherent Silliness by Cameron Kunzelman2) The Kurds' Democratic Experiment by Carne Ross3) Tracking the Origins of a State Terror Network: Operation Condor by J. Patrice McSherry4) Foreign Relations of the United States, 1952–1954, The American Republics, Volume IV5) Bush Officials Met With Venezuelans Who Ousted Leader by Christopher Marquis6) Social Change and Health Policy in Venezuela7) The Story of Rainbow Six PatriotsMusic:1) Track 09 - Rainbow Six Original Soundtrack2) Ubisoft Logo (2004) Theme (Extended - Full Edit)3)  Track 10 - Rainbow Six Original Soundtrack 4) Samai Bayati (Maqam Bayati)5) Qué bonita es Venezuela6) El Trancao7) MILSIM: EXFIL8) Hell's Gate - Finding Kan - Rainbow Six Vegas Original Soundtrack9) In Pursuit of Miguel - Hell's Gate Remix - Rainbow Six Vegas 2 Original Soundtrack

On our first guest episode we brought on Garrison Davis (@hungrybowtie on Twitter) to discuss the latest movie about our favorite dark knight: The Batman! Spoilers beware!(also, don't worry, this isn't gonna turn into a Batman-only podcast)

Ever wonder why Bruce Wayne doesn't just use his immense wealth (and not his fists) to fix the problems that keep plaguing Gotham? Well, that might actually turn out to be a bad thing, given the track record of billionaires trying to fix social problems.Sources:1) World Health Organization Patent Waiver proposal2) Arundhati Roy on India’s Covid catastrophe3) 11 big recent cultural gifts, by Ken Griffin and others in Chicago4) New Orleans ends its relationship with tech firm Palantir5) Devastating consequences — professional and personal — for cops who 'rat' about misconduct6) Batman doesn't like help (lol)

Have you ever looked up at the night sky and wondered what it’s like living among the stars? Have you dreamt about exploring the far reaches of outer space? Do you like diving into sci-fi movies or TV shows just to live vicariously through the characters on screen? Have you ever noticed how so, so much fiction media about space-travel, past and present, is just an examination of why capitalism sucks?Sources:1. The Economics of Star Trek by Rick Webb

In this premiere episode of Overcritical, we're taking a look at the video game Call of Duty: Black Ops (2010). What could possibly go wrong with setting your gamer-bro shoot-em-up in the Vietnam War? (Spoilers: a lot can go wrong)Sources: 1. Georgia Department of Education: https://www.georgiastandards.org/Georgia-Standards/Documents/Social-Studies-US-History-Unit-9-Sample-Unit.pdf2. Targeting Texas: Social Studies Panel May Include Right-Wing Ideologues: https://www.au.org/blogs/wall-of-separation/targeting-texas-social-studies-panel-may-include-right-wing-ideologues3. 2009 TEKS Review by David Barton: https://tea.texas.gov/sites/default/files/Bartoncurrent.pdf4. Ernesto "Che" Guevara (World Leaders Past & Present) by Douglas Kellner: https://archive.org/details/ernestocheguevar0000kell/page/1125. Big Business Rules American Agriculture—and Congress Doesn’t Seem to Care: https://www.americanprogress.org/article/big-business-rules-american-agriculture-congress-doesnt-seem-care/6. Agrarian Reforms in Cuba by James O'Connor: https://www.jstor.org/stable/40401340?read-now=1&refreqid=excelsior%3A02e7e38c8867c44db6e3c75e792a2bfc&seq=15#page_scan_tab_contents7. The U.S. Marines in Vietnam: 1968, the Decisive Year by Jack Shulimson, Leonard Blaisol, Charles R. Smith, David Dawson8. Tonkin Gulf and the escalation of the Vietnam War by Edwin E. Moise: https://archive.org/details/isbn_97808078230029. Military Assistance Command Studies and Observations Group, Joint Chiefs of Staff10. Tet Offensive: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tet_Offensive11. The Massacre at My Lai by Seymour M. Hersh: https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/1972/01/22/coverup12. Company C: Actions on 16 and 17 March 1968, The Peers Report: http://law2.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/mylai/Ccompany.html13. Agent Orange Still Haunts Vietnam, US, the Washington Post: https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/06/14/AR2007061401077_4.html