This Forgotten 1995 Film Predicted Our Entire Dystopia | STRANGE DAYS
From Four Play by Last Free Nation
March 1, 2026 · 1h 34m · Episode 5
About this episode
The episode discusses the 1995 film 'Strange Days' and its prescient themes related to technology and society.
In 1995, a film predicted POV recording technology, VR experiences you can buy on the black market, deepfake manipulation, police brutality caught on camera, and a society addicted to experiencing other people's lives through a screen. It starred Ralph Fiennes, Angela Bassett, and was written by James Cameron. Almost nobody saw it. Strange Days bombed at the box office, nearly destroyed Kathryn Bigelow's career, and has been virtually impossible to find ever since, as right now no streaming service carries it. But everything it warned us about has come true, and somehow the reality is worse than the fiction. MonteCristo, Thorin, and Richard Lewis make the case for why this is one of the most important sci-fi films ever made. We get into the SQUID tech that directly inspired Cyberpunk 2077's Braindances, the darkest plot device in sci-fi, Ralph Fiennes as the perfect cyberpunk noir anti-hero, Angela Bassett's tragically wasted career as an action star, the Rodney King and OJ parallels baked into the script, and a long conversation about how AI, social media, and surveillance culture have made this film more relevant than ever. Roger Ebert gave it 4 stars in 1995 and called it a…
People in this episode
Hosts: MonteCristo, Thorin, Richard Lewis
Topics covered
- dystopia
- sci-fi films
- technology predictions
- social commentary
- film analysis
Keywords
- Strange Days
- Ralph Fiennes
- Angela Bassett
- James Cameron
- dystopia
- POV recording
- VR experiences
- deepfake
- surveillance culture
Sponsors
Mando
Mentioned in this episode
Organizations: Cyberpunk 2077, Roger Ebert
Books & works: Strange Days
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