Tag: Watching Mates

In the Watching Mates season finale, Lars and Michael unpack the nascent Biden administration through the films Free Guy and Minari.

The brief and tumultuous Trump administration proves to have one of the most direct impacts on American cinema, as Lars and Michael explore through the films Hell or High Water and BlacKkKlansman.

America’s first Black president comes to office offering a vision for a united country and promising change, but is bogged down in the policies and crises of the prior administration, as Lars and Michael explore through the films Gran Torino ...

The world changes dramatically over the course of George W. Bush’s presidency. One place it changes most visibly is Hollywood, as Lars and Michael unpack through 2004’s Team America: World Police in his first term and 2008’s The Dark Knight ...

As American presidencies approach the modern day, Lars and Michael dive into the world of scandal, neoliberalism, and partisanship in the Clinton era through the films Wag the Dog and The American President.

America gets a little grungier as President George H.W. Bush comes into office and Lars and Michael explore trends in cinema during his brief tenure, focusing on a zeitgeist of decline and the new American economic reality through the films ...

Knock knock, McFly! Lars and Michael discuss their film picks for the Reagan era — how a decade of nostalgia viewed both the past and the future — through the lens of the films Back to the Future and Back ...

Lars and Michael discuss their film picks for the Carter era — a blend of optimism, underdogs, and perhaps naivety over the coming backlash Jimmy Carter would face through the lens of Rocky and Star Wars.

Lars and Michael discuss the films of the Ford administration, exploring government incompetence and corruption (or maybe it’s just about a shark) through the lens of Jaws and Chinatown. But in true Gerald Ford fashion, they spend most of the ...

Lars and Michael discuss the films of the Nixon administration, reflecting on hippie culture, racism, a developing “us versus them” mentality within the United States — and a whole bunch of dirty tricks — through the lens of the films ...

Lars and Michael discuss the films of the Johnson administration, reflecting on dramatic domestic progress and a distrust of foreign policy apparatus through the lens of Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner and Dr. Strangelove.

Lars and Michael discuss the films of the Kennedy era, discussing themes of heroism and elitism in American society through the lens of The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance and Lolita.

Lars and Michael discuss the films of the Eisenhower era, comparing the infamous The Blob and the more-critically-acclaimed Shane. The narratives on being driven from one’s home, McCarthyism, and generational strife give context to Eisenhower’s above-the-fray approach in his presidency.

In the first episode of Watching Mates, Lars and Michael team up to discuss the films of the Truman era, comparing film noirs The Third Man and The Hitch-Hiker. The international intrigue and sense of being lost in a new ...

Your favorite podcasting 20-something-year-old former DC boys are back on the air with their upcoming project, Watching Mates. Coming out later this March, each episode they’ll delve into postwar presidents, starting with Harry Truman, through the lens of the films of ...