About this episode

The episode discusses the influence of 1980s politics on action cinema, focusing on films like 'Rambo: First Blood - Part II' and 'Invasion U.S.A.'

We've looked at resistance to fascism. The police state. Faith peddlers. And journalists holding power accountable. The first few episodes in this series have looked at serious topics when dealing with encroaching authoritarianism. For the fifth and final episode of the series for 2025, it's time to have a little bit of fun. While cinematic propaganda has been around for pretty much the entirety of the medium's existence, when it comes to American propaganda, there was something about the politics of the 1980s that found its way into a lot of action cinema. Joining me is Phil Fasso, and here we discuss "Rambo: First Blood - Part II" and "Rambo III", "Invasion U.S.A." and "The Sum of All Fears". I hope you enjoy!

People in this episode

Host: Brian Skutle

Guest: Phil Fasso

Topics covered

• fascism

Mentioned in this episode

Books & works: Rambo: First Blood - Part II, Rambo III, Invasion U.S.A., The Sum of All Fears

More episodes of Sonic Cinema Podcast

• Fascism in Cinema: Past Future Present · April 27, 2026 · 3h 6m
• Why Sci-Fi? · March 27, 2026 · 15 min
• Oscar Thoughts with Amanda Spears and Brian's Top 10 of 2025 · March 14, 2026 · 1h 53m
• Discussing "Network" at 50 · February 25, 2026 · 1h 34m
• Discussing "To Catch a Thief" · February 13, 2026 · 55 min
• Discussing Rachel McAdams · January 31, 2026 · 1h 53m

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