Parallax Views w/ J.G. Michael
Society & Culture
On this edition of Parallax Views, for a period in the 1970s a conspiracy-drenched genre known alternately as the paranoid thriller or paranoid political came into vogue. The aftermath of the political assassinations of the 1960s, which saw the violent deaths of public figures like Civil Rights leader Martin Luther King, Jr., black radical Malcolm X, Sen. Robert F. Kennedy, and President John F. Kennedy, combined with the tumult of the Vietnam War, the Presidency of Richard Nixon, the saga of Daniel Ellsberg and the Pentagon Papers, and the scandal of the Watergate break-in created the perfect storm for critical, bleak reassessments of the American political system that stood in stark contrast to the seeming innocence of the "Camelot years" that preceded it. Meanwhile, the collapse of the Old Hollywood studio system led to a period (often referred to as New Hollywood) of daring and creative flourishing in American cinema that produced such modern classics as Bonnie and Clyde, Easy Rider, and Midnight Cowboy among others.
It was from this fertile ground that the conspiracy-drenched 1970s paranoid thriller rose to prominence. Among the classics of this particular genre are such features as Three Days of the Condor, The Boys from Brazil, The Conversation, Soylent Green, Serpico, Capricorn One, and the film that's been referred to as "The Godfather of paranoid political thrillers", The Parallax View.
Following in the footsteps of 1973's Executive Action, The Parallax View dealt with questions of conspiracy as they related to political assassinations. But whereas the Burt Lancaster starring Executive Action offered a conspiratorial explanation for the JFK assassination, The Parallax View took a different approach. Although the film featured veiled references to real life matters like the Warren Commission, the death of journalist Dorothy Kilgallen, the PERMINDEX trade organization believed by New Orleans DA Jim Garrison to have played a pivotal role in the JFK assassination, and the "girl in the polka dot dress" of the RFK assassination, its characters and events are ultimately constructions of its makers imaginations. In other words, The Parallax View is a fictional exploration of political assassinations and the conspiracy theories that arise from them.
The Parallax View stars Warren Beatty as dogged reporter Joseph Frady, who, after the fatal shooting of a presidential candidate, stumbles upon a vast conspiracy involving a shadowy organization known as the Parallax Corporation. As Frady falls deeper down the proverbial rabbit hole in his search for the truth he finds that the Parallax Corporation seemingly specializes in the recruitment of assassins for highly-valued hits on political leaders. Will Frady be able to bust the story wide open by staying one-step ahead of the Parallax Corporation? Or is the Parallax Corporation already one step ahead of him?
Based on the novel of the same name by Lorenzo Singer, The Parallax View was adapted for the silver screen by David Giler and Three Days of the Condor's Lorenzo Semple, Jr. with a rewrite by Robert Towne amidst a looming Writer's Guild of America strike. The film marks the second entry in director Alan J. Pakula's "Paranoia Trilogy" that started with Klute and ended with All the President Men.
Although The Parallax View received mix reviews upon it initial release, today it is generally considered a classic of its genre that reflects America in the 1970s and the worst fears many had about its political system during that turbulent moment in the nation's history. Although the film does deal with political assassinations and conspiracy, it also provides a powerful meditation, specifically through its infamous montage scene known as the "Parallax Test Sequence", on the U.S.'s often spoken of "loss of innocence" after the assassination of John F. Kennedy. Additionally the film's cinematography by Gordon Willis and soundtrack by Michael Small have been praised as well.
It is, perhaps, for this reason that The Parallax View, all these years later in 2021, received the coveted Criterion Collection treatment in a new Blu-Ray release. To coincide with this Parallax Views, which takes its name in part from this film, is offering up a three part retrospective of the classic 1970s paranoid thriller.
In part one, noted film historian Joseph McBride returns to the show to give his thoughts on The Parallax View as well as to discuss the film in the context of the Kennedy assassination, the Nixon Presidency and Watergate, and the rise of New Hollywood. He also offers some personal stories about The Parallax View's director Alan J. Pakula, discusses the technical aspects of the film such as the lauded cinematography done by Gordon Willis, and much, much more.
Parallax Vlog - Project 2025 and the Presidential Election (Segment Only - Full Episode on Patreon)
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Life as a Film Critic/Movie Reviewer + The State of Film Criticism & the Movie Industry Today w/ Albert Lanier
DEFAMATION: Revisiting the Controversial Israeli Documentary on Antisemitism w/ Yoav Shamir
Inside Erik Prince's Secret Chat Group & Its Gallery of Hawkish Far-Right Power Players w/ Ken Silverstein
The Manichean Psychology of Hasbara Culture w/ Yakov Hirsch
House Commitee on Education and the Workforce Investigation Echoes HUAC and the Era of McCarthyism w/ Sahar Aziz
Israel's Covert War Against the ICC w/ Meron Rapoport
How Activists Scored a Victory for the #CeasefireNow Movement in California w/ Mirvette Judeh
US Officials Throw Military Vets Under the Bus to Excuse Israel's Conduct in Gaza + US's $320 Million Gaza Pier Boondoggle w/ Kelley Vlahos + Iraq War Combat Veteran James R. Webb
A Comprehensive Look At the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict & Where It Is Headed w/ Hussein Ibish
The ICC, ICJ, and Israel/Palestine w/ Heidi Matthews/A History of Foreign Bribery from Koreagate & Abscam to the Recent Indictments of Sen. Menendez & Rep. Cuellar w/ Brett Heinz
The Uncommitted Campaign & Student Encampments w/ Elektra Kostopoulou and Kale Yost
The "Day After" in Gaza is Today, the "Day After" in Gaza is Yesterday: The Failures of U.S. Diplomacy and the Legacy of Israeli Policy Since 1967 w/ Geoffrey Aronson
The State of the Israeli Psyche and Society w/ Ori Goldberg
Analysis of ICC Charges, Regional Dynamics in the Gaza War, Abbas as an Obstacle to Palestinian Unity, Long-Term Israel-Palestine Resolution, & Israel's AI War Machine w/ Mouin Rabbani
Israel/Palestine & the Myths and Realities of the 2000 Camp David Summit w/ Prof. Jeremy Pressman
The History of Communism in Israel/Palestine w/ Prof. Joel Beinin
A Former Advisor to Palestinian Negotiators Weighs in on Israel/Palestine, Gaza, the West Bank, UNRWA, and More w/ Leila Hilal
Author Rifk Ebeid On Writing Palestinian Children's Books, Palestinian Identity & Narratives, & Her Animated Children's Short Film I AM FROM PALESTINE
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