For a sci-fi author known for his dense and trippy short stories, Philip K Dick has had a surprising amount of breezy action movies made from his work. Chief among those adaptations is Total Recall, the Arnold Schwarzenegger-starring, Paul Verhoven-directed film that injects visceral thrills into the ontological puzzle box of Dick's original short story "We Can Remember It For You Wholesale". Total Recall presents a ebullient but deadly world of spies in space, but under the fun lie deep questions about the the nature of reailty and whether we can choose who we really are. And yes, it's got a lady with three breasts in it.
In this episode, we discuss interfacing with Dick through his adaptations, the way his work conflates memory and identity, entry-level mindfuckery, Verhoven's mastery of American satire, the film's exploration of colonialism in space, the persistence of the male narrative in cyberpunk, Barsoom and Red Mars, trusting your educated audience, and why Schwarzenegger is the perfect everyspaceman. We also talk about the science of Marvel fatigue, the Thin Graphite Line, gritty undertones and raw emotional subtext, asking if the kids know Arnold, a Dick deep dive, Regarding Henry, smartly dumb films, Mars as a projection screen, "pantsing", a Italo Calvino nightmare, the World Wide Coffee Klatsch, and vampires are so hot right now (and later).
I wish I had three ears!
The new edition of Lyda's book, Ressurection Code, is out now!
https://wizardstowerpress.com/books-2/books-by-lyda-morehouse/resurrection-code/
Join Kaliban on Twitch weekdays at 12pm for the Cyber Lunch Hour!
http://twitch.tv/justenoughtrope
Put Just Enough Trope merch on your body!
http://justenoughtrope.threadless.com
MLOP is a part of the Just Enough Trope podcast network. Check out our other shows about your favorite pop culture topics and join our Discord!
http://www.twitter.com/monalisaoverpod
http://www.justenoughtrope.com
http://www.instagram.com/monalisaoverpod
https://discord.gg/7E6wUayq
Buy us a coffee on Ko-Fi!
https://ko-fi.com/justenoughtrope
Popular Podcasts
NFL Daily with Gregg Rosenthal
Gregg Rosenthal and a rotating crew of elite NFL Media co-hosts, including Patrick Claybon, Colleen Wolfe, Steve Wyche, Nick Shook and Jourdan Rodrigue of The Athletic get you caught up daily on all the NFL news and analysis you need to be smarter and funnier than your friends.
On Purpose with Jay Shetty
I’m Jay Shetty host of On Purpose the worlds #1 Mental Health podcast and I’m so grateful you found us. I started this podcast 5 years ago to invite you into conversations and workshops that are designed to help make you happier, healthier and more healed. I believe that when you (yes you) feel seen, heard and understood you’re able to deal with relationship struggles, work challenges and life’s ups and downs with more ease and grace. I interview experts, celebrities, thought leaders and athletes so that we can grow our mindset, build better habits and uncover a side of them we’ve never seen before. New episodes every Monday and Friday. Your support means the world to me and I don’t take it for granted — click the follow button and leave a review to help us spread the love with On Purpose. I can’t wait for you to listen to your first or 500th episode!
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com