Episode 128: Tuesday is Soylent Green day!

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November 8, 2023 • 72 mins

This year marks the fiftieth anniversary of the film Soylent Green (1973), a dystopian thriller set in the year 2022, which has one of the greatest shock endings of all time. ***SPOILER*** The crackers being distributed to the grubby crowds, called Soylent Green and supposedly made from plankton, actually come from a far more disturbing source. As star Charlton Heston shouts at the film's end (and which has become a popular meme), "Soylent Green is people!"

This was the third of Heston's dystopian science fiction films (fourth, if you count his brief appearance in Beneath the Planet of the Apes) - he started with the classic Planet of the Apes in 1968, moved on to the action-packed Omega Man in 1971, and then concluded it with this, what he called his only "message picture." Heston was concerned with the prospect of worldwide overpopulation, and wanted to make a film about it. His friend and producer, Walter Seltzer, gave the book Make Room! Make Room! by Harry Harrison to Heston. They both tried to persuade MGM to adapt it to film. It was only when they added the element of the unwitting cannibalism to the script that the studio heads gave it a thumbs-up.

While the whole concept could sound corny on paper, and might have been B grade at best in the hands of others, it was a top-notch production. Heston and his fellow actors, especially Edward G. Robinson, really elevated the material. Heston and Robinson have wonderful chemistry in the film. Robinson's death scene is especially moving, given that the actor was ill, and passed away only a couple of weeks after filming.

In 2022, many articles were published dissecting the film, looking at what the film got right and where it was off target. While we're not eating people crackers (as far as we know!), some of the things in the film have hit kind of close to home. Issues with climate and global warming, the widening gap between the haves and have-nots, increasing militarization of police forces, the influence of corporations on governments and so on, all were shown in the film, and seem a lot more real than they once did.

We urge people to give Soylent Green another look. Do you feel differently about the film now than you did when you saw it before?

For our Sensor Sweep, we gab about a bunch of stuff. Chief Engineer Bob has a whole lot of Godzilla stuff going on! That lucky guy is going to see the new Godzilla Minus One movie this Friday, November 11, at the red carpet premiere! Next time, he'll tell us all about it. He's also been able to see the 1st 8 episodes of the Monarch series on Apple TV and says it's pretty awesome.

Karen gives props to the Charlton Heston autobiography she referenced for this episode, In The Arena. It's a fascinating read if you have an interest in Heston or the 50s-70s era of Hollywood.

Our Mission Commander, Larry, shared his vinyl album (what's that?) Songs from Beyond by the Bomboras, a surf guitar band, which he very much enjoyed and recommends. He's also hoping to get some celebrity interviews for Planet 8 at Fan Expo, which he has a press pass for. So keep your fingers crossed!

That's all for us. Next episode is our Thanksgiving special, which will feature our thanks for a very big legend - one that has stood out from the crowd for over 60 years now! See you next time!