Strange Days, Here We Come: Pop Culture, Dystopia & Collapse

We discuss Kathryn Bigelow’s Strange Days (1995) to explore its chillingly relevant themes of police brutality, surveillance, and AI-created fake memories. Drawing parallels to our real world — from the L.A. riots to Midjourney — we ask why this dystopian sci‑fi noir feels more relevant and unsettling than ever and how its ideas connect to today’s anxieties about over-policing, propaganda, and the way AI technology may soon reshape both our private memories and public histories.

It's... been a while. In this, the first new episode in over two years, I share a bit of the personal story behind why this podcast has been dormant for so long and how it relates to what I call "personal collapse." But just as with societal collapse, personal collapses don't necessarily have to be a permanent end state. I also share why I've decided to give the show a new title. Going forward it will no longer be called "This is the End: Pop Culture & Collapse." The new title is "Strange Days, Here We Come: Pop Culture, Dystopia & Collapse," and a slightly broader focus to include discussions of dystopian stories in addition to collapse-related ones. But don't worry, there will still be plenty of collapse-related material. :) Here's to new beginnings. Strange days, here we come.

NOTE: This episode was recorded in Dec. of 2022 but I've only gotten around to editing it now. Since then I've become much better acquainted with ChatGPT and so, yes, I know its name (whereas at the time of this recording I still didn't). LINKS: https://www.popmythology.com/author/jmskroll/https://www.facebook.com/jesskrollauthorhttps://amzn.to/3DaKuuJhttps://amzn.to/3Xz1u63 https://amzn.to/3JlRIjk LIST OF FILMS (and spoiler time stamps) ----------------------------------- WALL-E 5:08 - 5:53 (possible minor spoiler) 8:44 - 9:07 spoiler 13:23 - 13:36 spoiler 15:13 - 15:36 spoiler 17:42 - 18:32 spoiler DON’T LOOK UP 22:50 - 23:05 26:55 - 27:02 (possible minor spoiler) 29:44 - 29:54 (possible minor spoiler) 30:34 - 31:10 spoiler 32:37 - 36:23 (possible minor spoilers) 37:09 - 38:47 spoiler 40:07 - 41:13 spoiler 44:14 - 45:03 spoiler 46:12 - 48:02 spoiler 53:50 - 54:10 spoiler 1:02:45 - 1:03:00 (possible minor spoiler) THE ROAD 56:43 - 56:53 spoiler 59:25 - 1:03:03 spoiler MENACE II SOCIETY No Spoilers THE GRAPES OF WRATH No Spoilers

PopMythology.com film critic and novelist Jess Kroll joins me to have a conversation about 10 different movies that depict collapse in some way. In this episode, Part 1, we discuss the first five. Scroll all the way down below to see the titles of the films discussed and during which timestamped moments that spoilers or semi-spoilers of these films are mentioned. LINKS: https://www.popmythology.com/author/jmskroll/https://www.facebook.com/jesskrollauthorhttps://amzn.to/3DaKuuJhttps://amzn.to/3Xz1u63https://amzn.to/3JlRIjk LIST OF FILMS (and spoiler demarcations) ----------------------------------- DONBASS (7:32 - 16:42) • No spoilers THREADS (16:57 -28:02) • Spoiler 21:45 - 22:05 • Spoiler 23:36 - 24:18 • Spoiler 26:49 - 27:14 CONTAGION (28:02 - 44:13) • Spoiler 32:38 - 34:16 • Spoiler 35:23 - 35:45 • Spoiler 38:48 - 41:15 • Spoiler 41:29 - 42:23 • Spoiler 42:34 - 44:13 CHILDREN OF MEN (44:13 - 1:01:05) • Spoiler 51:40 - 52:14 • Spoiler 52:35 - 54:23 • Spoiler 55:21 - 55:46 • Spoiler 56:25 - 57:54 • Spoiler 58:17 - 1:00:14 IDIOCRACY (1:01:05 - 1:16:12) • Spoiler 1:04:40 - 1:05:34 • Spoiler 1:11:23 - 1:12:14

In this episode, I interview political commentator, former congressional candidate, and now regenerative farmer Haven Scott McVarish, author of LAST CHANCE TO SAVE AMERICAN DEMOCRACY. Haven talks about his favorite novel, STARK by Ben Elton, a dystopian comedy thriller about how corporations and the wealthy cause a global ecological collapse. Haven also discusses the novel's themes in relation to his own book about the current, ongoing collapse of U.S. democracy. We talk about how to save our imperiled democracy as well as what ordinary people can start doing now to prepare for collapse via local community building and restorative agriculture. LINKS: https://amzn.to/3eqPxxBhttps://amzn.to/3wY6dD2https://www.5journeys.org/

This is a longer version of a talk I recently gave at San Diego Comic Con 2022 as part of a panel on Marvel's street-level characters (Daredevil, Jessica Jones, etc.) moderated by Dr. Scott Jordan as part of the Comics Arts Conference. Thank you to Dr. Jordan for inviting me onto the panel and to Dr. Shelly Clevenger, my guest from the last episode, who was the speaker originally slated to talk about the Punisher on the panel but was not able to attend. Also a warm thank you to Dr. Michael Kersulov whose encouraging words after the panel resulted in adapting my talk into a podcast episode. NOTE: This episode contains quotations from fictional works that contain some NSFW language—specifically two instances of the F word. Works discussed in this episode: All of the above works are available in these collected volumes: https://amzn.to/3zgINsPhttps://amzn.to/3ScJHz2https://amzn.to/3OH2yiThttps://amzn.to/3vnIdbo

We're joined by Dr. Shelly Clevenger, professor of criminology and victim studies, and chair of the Department of Victim Studies at Sam Houston State University, to discuss BITCH PLANET, the feminist dystopian comic book by Kelly Sue DeConnick and Valentine DeLandro, published by Image Comics. Dr. Clevenger, who is also a gender scholar, discusses crime and criminal justice through the lens of gender and gender identity and answers the question of what all of it has to do with the idea of "collapse." Among the topics covered include Roe vs. Wade, the Texas ban of abortions after six weeks of pregnancy, the Johnny Depp vs. Amber Heard trial, a shocking historical government program to arrest and imprison women suspected of having STDs without due process, and many other issues affecting women - especially working class women, women of color, queer women, and trans women - in an age of increasing dystopia. ***NO SPOILERS for Bitch Planet*** LINKS https://www.shsu.edu/~icc_www/_inc/dir.php?mode=view&item=467 http://catalog.shsu.edu/graduate-and-professional/college-departments/criminal-justice/victim-studies/ https://twitter.com/drclevenger Gendering Criminology by Shelly Clevenger and Jordana N. Navarro https://amzn.to/3Qpi3y8 Bitch Planet, Vol. 1 by Kelly Sue DeConnick and Valentine DeLandro https://amzn.to/3QoXlyr Enjoying the podcast? Please give us a 5-star review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify! It really helps!!! https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/this-is-the-end-pop-culture-collapse/id1593793050 https://open.spotify.com/show/416cLdU3lYZNzpvk2FVPoX?si=wzL_0j3wQfmM0oXA7zKecQ&utm_source=copy-link Really, really enjoying the podcast? Consider leaving a tip on Ko-Fi! https://ko-fi.com/popmythology

In this episode, I interview Jim Carey, host of ‘The Left is Dead,’ a podcast about news, politics, and culture from a leftist lens. We discuss one of Jim’s favorite works of fiction, the novel LES MISERABLES by Victor Hugo, and its relevance to the societal and political turmoil we see today. Jim talks about how the U.S. has basically become an entire nation of Javerts—moral absolutists obsessed with control and punishment—and how a lack of class consciousness, revolutionary zeal, and a broad coalition with the working class prevents our ability to find real solutions to the biggest problems of our day. He also talks about the moral and political lessons that can be taken away from LES MISERABLES, particularly from the characters of Valjean, Fantine, Marius, and the young revolutionaries whose uprising becomes a failure we can learn from. We also compare the novel and its socio-political objectives with adaptations of it in pop culture such as the Broadway musical and various film and TV adaptations. I spend a fair amount of time praising the PBS miniseries version and ragging on the Broadway musical for failing to cultivate a more meaningful level of class consciousness among its viewers. The Left is Dead https://leftisdead.com/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheLeftIsDead Twitter: https://twitter.com/TheLeftisDead1 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/leftisdead/ Outro music by Benny Martin Piano https://bennymartin.com.au/ licensed under a Creative Commons License https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/ Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/bennymartinpianist YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCJ-yPr5SzsB0WHeKcwVONyQ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bennymartinmusic/

UkraineNow.org StandWithUkraine.how StandWithUkraine.live Chopin's Polonaise Op. 40 No. 1 in A major ("Polanaise Militaire") performed by Pistos, licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Non-Commercial 2.5 Canada License

In this episode I interviewed four amazingly talented songwriters from the U.S., Germany, and Brazil who have written music on the subject of collapse, and who discuss what they feel are the important roles and value of music, and of art in general, amid the current societal turmoil and the many risks of collapse. LINKS My “Collapse Challenge” on FAWM (February Album Writing Month) https://fawm.org/forums/topic/12288/ You can find all of the “Collapse Challenge” songs here: https://fawm.org/songs/tags/collapsechallenge/ Beto (@elesimo on FAWM) https://fawm.org/fawmers/elesimo/ https://thefishermenandthepriestess.com/ “How Does it Feel?” https://fawm.org/songs/126378/ Deirdre (@wylddandelyon on FAWM) https://fawm.org/fawmers/wylddandelyon/ https://www.patreon.com/Wyld_Dandelyon https://www.patreon.com/posts/62265129 https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5199620.Deirdre_M_Murphy “Steel Skeletons of the Past” https://fawm.org/songs/127560/ Mike (@mikeskliar on FAWM) https://fawm.org/fawmers/mikeskliar/ https://mikeskliar.bandcamp.com/ “Interesting Times” https://fawm.org/songs/125354/ Robert (@ampersandman on FAWM) https://fawm.org/fawmers/ampersandman/ https://soundcloud.com/ampersandman https://ampersandman-de.bandcamp.com/ https://www.facebook.com/jaariberlin “The Lie” https://fawm.org/songs/128187/ Opening quote courtesy of: Sunfire Carl B (@sunfire on FAWM) https://fawm.org/fawmers/sunfire/ “The Collapse” https://fawm.org/songs/129537/ Outro courtesy of: The Jelly Factory (@cts on FAWM) https://fawm.org/fawmers/cts/ “Star Ark” (co-written w/ the Pop Mythologist) https://fawm.org/songs/130000/

In this episode, I talk to Dr. Sørina Higgins, a professor of English literature at Signum University. We discuss how speculative fiction can teach us to take care of our planet, both ecologically and societally. Authors and works discussed include: Tolkien's Lord of the Rings, Kim Stanley Robinson's Red Mars, Octavia Butler's Kindred, Christopher Nolan's Interstellar, and superhero fiction. (**NO SPOILERS** for any works.) Real world topics discussed include: climate change, racial and economic justice, terraforming, space colonization, permaculture, regenerative agriculture, and small scale activism. Dr. Higgins also tells us about TexMoot 2022, a speculative fiction conference that is currently seeking submissions for papers and round table discussion prompts from the general public (not just academics). Check the link below! LINKS: TexMoot 2022: Call for Submissions http://texmoot.org/call-for-papers TexMoot 2022 general info https://signumuniversity.org/event/texmoot-2022/ Register for TexMoot 2022: https://registration.signumuniversity.org/events/texmoot-2022/ Signum University https://signumuniversity.org/ SorinaHiggins.com https://sorinahiggins.wordpress.com/ Daily Choices https://sorinahiggins.wordpress.com/daily-choices/ Sørina Higgins' author page https://amzn.to/3rEDrEY Sørina Higgins on Twitter https://twitter.com/SorinaHiggins Signum University on Twitter https://twitter.com/SignumU ENJOY THIS PODCAST? https://ko-fi.com/popmythologyhttps://www.patreon.com/popmythology

**No spoilers** for any of the works discussed in this episode. LINKS: https://collapsepod.buzzsprout.com/1403161/9909499 https://www.nytimes.com/2017/06/04/us/education-climate-change-science-class-students.html https://climatecommunication.yale.edu/publications/before-and-after-the-day-after-tomorrow/ https://www.cnn.com/2019/02/08/world/climate-change-movies-eprise/index.html https://statmodeling.stat.columbia.edu/2019/02/13/michael-crichton-on-science-and-storytelling/ https://theconversation.com/sci-fi-and-jurassic-park-have-driven-research-scientists-say-42864 https://www.npr.org/2018/07/10/627782777/many-paleontologists-today-are-part-of-the-jurassic-park-generationhttps://www.forbes.com/sites/marshallshepherd/2017/02/26/the-death-of-bill-paxton-reminds-us-that-twister-changed-meteorology/?sh=8d2d28e6b7e0 https://okcfox.com/weather/fox-25-weather-wise/25-year-anniversary-of-twister-its-far-reaching-impacts#:~:text=Meteorology%20majors%20increased%20by%2010,and%20her%20team%20chase%20tornadoes https://www.oklahoman.com/article/5499438/how-twister-made-meteorology-cool-in-oklahoma-and-beyond SUPPORT THE PODCAST: https://ko-fi.com/popmythologyhttps://www.patreon.com/popmythology

Since the very day of its release, Don’t Look Up has been spurring intense discussion and debate about its symbolic depiction of climate change as an existential threat, and the struggle of climate activists to get governments and people to mobilize and take action against it. In this episode, I explain why it is so difficult for people to understand the urgency of the threat, and what we must do to rectify this before it’s too late. LINKS: Don’t Even Think About It: Why Our Brains Are Wired to Ignore Climate Change, by George Marshall https://amzn.to/3GaZqbJ “At the End of the World, It’s Hyperobjects All the Way Down.” https://www.wired.com/story/timothy-morton-hyperobjects-all-the-way-down/ Hyperobjects: Philosophy and Ecology after the End of the World, by Timothy Morton https://amzn.to/3teUyPf Being Ecological, by Timothy Morton https://amzn.to/3r1p38w Please support this podcast to help make it sustainable: • Patreon https://www.patreon.com/popmythology • Ko-fi https://ko-fi.com/popmythology

We interview Dr. Althea Rizzo, Geological Hazards Program Coordinator, of the Oregon Office of Emergency Management (OEM), about WITHOUT WARNING! WILDFIRE, a comic book produced in partnership between OEM and Dark Horse Comics with the objective to help kids and teens get informed about, and prepared for, wildfires (and other hazards). WITHOUT WARNING! WILDFIRE is available for free at Dark Horse Digital, the website for the Oregon Office of Emergency Management, and on iOS and Android apps. It’s also available on Kindle, Comixology, Google Play and Apple Books. The first two comics in the series, Without Warning! Earthquake and Without Warning! Tsunami are available online from the same sources as well. Support this podcast Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/popmythology Ko-Fi: https://ko-fi.com/popmythology wPermyiXqbnBdeJlnvET

In this episode, we talk to Muncie Central High School English teacher Katey O'Connor about teaching V FOR VENDETTA and how her students practiced civil disobedience when their class projects, which drew parallels between the book and real-life issues, were censored. We also discuss the wave of book banning and the hysteria over race, gender, and sexuality that's sweeping schools across the U.S. NOTE: In our opinion, there are no spoilers for 'V for Vendetta' in this episode. But out of an abundance of caution, here are 3 time marks where something is mentioned that *might* be perceived as micro-spoilers: Even if you have only seen the 2005 film, there are absolutely no new spoilers for the book (or vice versa). LINKS: "School removes student project about fascism after cops complain" https://www.vice.com/en/article/3abqp8/muncie-school-removes-student-project-about-fascism-after-cops-complain "Police in schools continue to target Black, Brown, and Indigenous students with disabilities. The Trump administration has data that's likely to prove it." https://www.aclu.org/news/criminal-law-reform/police-in-schools-continue-to-target-black-brown-and-indigenous-students-with-disabilities-the-trump-administration-has-data-thats-likely-to-prove-it/ "Conservatives are just openly endorsing book burning now" https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2021/11/virginia-school-board-book-burning "Texas House committee to investigate school districts' books on race and sexuality" https://www.texastribune.org/2021/10/26/texas-school-books-race-sexuality/ "Let's talk about Muncie Central High and V for Vendetta..." by Beau of the Fifth Column (YouTube video mentioned by Katey O'Connor) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NrHxTU-k47M&t=229s Leah Moore's tweet about Alan Moore's statement https://twitter.com/leahmoore/status/1462425010816040963 Student Voices (Muncie Central High School student activism page) https://www.facebook.com/MuncieStudentVoices/ Muncie students' BLM t-shirt fundraiser on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=1617898138587004&id=100011005005621 Muncie students' BLM t-shirt fundraiser on Twitter https://twitter.com/MrsBoudreau/status/1462645762404323329 (Or make a donation to Elayna Justice on Venmo at @elaynajustice ) Comic Book Legal Defense Fund http://cbldf.org/ "I understood the assignment" TikTok compilation (mentioned by Katey O'Connor) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=51Gy6yA1bvI Katey O'Connor on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/katey.oconnor.3 Katey O'Connor on Twitter https://twitter.com/OConnorKatey Support our Patreon https://www.patreon.com/popmythology

Content Warnings: Extreme climate change, Ecological/societal collapse, Natural disasters, Hurricanes (loss of shelter, power), Past personal crises Spoiler Warning: FOUNDATION S1 E1, “The Emperor’s Peace” (No spoilers before the 2:00 time mark and after the 6:00 time mark) LINKS Deep Adaptation: Navigating the Realities of Climate Chaos (the best single source to understand Deep Adaptation) https://amzn.to/3qEJidu "Deep adaptation: A map for navigating climate tragedy" (the paper mentioned in this episode) https://www.lifeworth.com/deepadaptation.pdf Article criticizing the Deep Adaptation paper & movement https://www.opendemocracy.net/en/oureconomy/faulty-science-doomism-and-flawed-conclusions-deep-adaptation/ Professor Jem Bendell’s response to the article above https://jembendell.com/2020/07/15/letter-to-deep-adaptation-advocate-volunteers-about-misrepresentations-of-the-agenda-and-movement/ “To criticize Deep Adaptation, start here” https://www.opendemocracy.net/en/oureconomy/criticise-deep-adaptation-start-here/ Prof. Bendell’s general response to overall criticism https://jembendell.com/2020/02/27/the-worst-argument-to-try-to-win-response-to-criticism-of-the-climate-science-in-deep-adaptation/ How to Talk About Climate Change in a Way That Makes a Difference, by Dr. Rebecca Huntley https://amzn.to/3cuCo2i "Does hope inspire more action on climate action than fear? We don't know" https://www.vox.com/energy-and-environment/2017/12/5/16732772/emotion-climate-change-communication “Does anticipating the possibility of collapse motivate prosocial behaviors?” http://iflas.blogspot.com/2020/06/does-anticipating-societal-collapse.html “Climate science and collapse: Warnings lost in the wind” https://jembendell.com/2020/06/15/climate-science-and-collapse-warnings-lost-in-the-wind/ International Scholars Warning on Societal Disruption & Collapse https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f0frHoqXLB0&list=WL&index=93 Energy and Human Ambitions on a Finite Planet by Dr. Tom Murphy https://escholarship.org/uc/item/9js5291m Do the Math (Dr. Tom Murphy’s blog) https://dothemath.ucsd.edu/ "Society could collapse in a decade, predicts math historian" https://www.huffpost.com/entry/peter-turchin-cliodynamics-society-collapse_n_586f1e22e4b02b5f85882988 Ages of Discord: A Structural-Demographic Analysis of American History, by Dr. Peter Turchin https://amzn.to/3HFODre Curated playlist of all podcasts/interviews mentioned in episode https://open.spotify.com/playlist/1c8KrxJi9hTDLzWHPdyvlF?si=a111ffcd6d7546a0 Support our Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/popmythology

In this episode, we use DUNE to springboard into a discussion about the growing crisis of water scarcity in the face of climate change and what we can do about it. LINKS: https://www.usgs.gov/media/images/all-earths-water-a-single-spherehttps://www.washingtonpost.com/climate-environment/2019/08/06/mapping-strain-our-water/https://reliefweb.int/report/world/editor-s-pick-10-violent-water-conflictshttps://theconversation.com/interstate-water-wars-are-heating-up-along-with-the-climate-159092https://amzn.to/3bUlREzhttps://www.haaretz.com/world-news/.premium-death-knell-for-mayan-city-inadvertently-poisoned-its-own-water-supply-1.8953324https://amzn.to/3C06aGrhttps://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/what-about-water-with-jay-famiglietti/id1485919205https://open.spotify.com/playlist/4Mstq0W7Lq6Weob2xH01qT?si=c2b4e45253204e71&nd=1 Support our Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/popmythology

This "episode zero" describes what this podcast will be about and its origin story. It also clarifies certain terminology and concepts that are often used vaguely and misunderstood. LINKS: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/11/04/magazine/societal-collapse.htmlhttps://www.bbc.com/future/article/20190218-are-we-on-the-road-to-civilisation-collapse https://www.livescience.com/collapse-human-society-limits-to-growth.htmlhttps://theweek.com/articles/958509/are-witnessing-fall-united-states Interview with John Michael Greer - Breaking Down: Collapse (podcast)https://collapsepod.buzzsprout.com/1403161/7916929-episode-22-interview-with-john-michael-greer Support our Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/popmythology