Untimely Reflections #16: At the Movies! - Demolition Man, featuring Amberly

In a second episode with my wife, Amberly, we talk about another movie. This time it's not a movie about Nietzsche, the man, but a film that I argue approximates some of Nietzsche's ideas about the decline of society, the weakness of modernity, and the need to rediscover the barbarian within us all. That film, of course, is Demolition Man (1993) by Paul Verhoeven, starring Sylvester Stallone, Wesley Snipes, and Sandra Bullock. In the film, the reanimation of a super-criminal from a cryogenic prison sees the law enforcement of a dystopian, future "San Angeles" unable to cope with the threat. Society has been transformed into what Sandra Bullock's character describes as a place of peace, comfort, and understanding. Everything potentially harmful, offensive, or disturbing to the public morality has been made illegal, and basic human drives such as sexuality have either been eliminated or translated into a virtual form. We discuss the relationship of this society to the values of the Last Man, argue over whether it is better to live in a soft, dying society or a hard, barbaric one, and get into the weeds on Star Trek a couple times (trust me, it's all related). I hope you all enjoy it, this was a lot of fun for us. This is the Trek episode we were talking about: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Apple_(Star_Trek:_The_Original_Series)