Movies vs. Capitalism

Network (w/ Josh Olson)

Rivka and Frank are joined by screenwriter Josh Olson for a discussion of Sidney Lumet and Paddy Chayefsky’s 1976 dark satire Network. They unpack the film's depiction the ideological battle between the Greatest Generation and the Baby Boomers, and how the character of TV executive Dianna Christensen remains one of the most important film characters ever rendered on screen. 
🤝 SUBSCRIBE TO OUR PATREON 🤝
www.patreon.com/movies_vs_capitalism
MVC donates its ad space to progressive or leftist causes and organizations. If you’re interested in promoting your work, email us at moviesvscapitalism@gmail.com.
Artwork by Rufus Paisley | Theme song by JustBen

Clueless (w/ Karen DiConcetto)

Rivka and Frank are joined by television and film writer Karen DiConcetto for a material analysis of a film about materialism: Amy Heckerling’s 1995 teen comedy Clueless. In today’s interview, Rivka, Frank, and Karen celebrate Heckerling’s brilliant script while unpacking the rampant materialism depicted by the film’s Beverly Hills teenagers — and how those themes were potentially harmful to its audience, particularly young women. They also draw a line between the lead character Cher Horowitz and the liberal charity model, and even go so far as to describe this film’s satire as “The Wolf of Wall Street for rich teenagers.” 
🤝 SUBSCRIBE TO OUR PATREON 🤝
www.patreon.com/movies_vs_capitalism
MVC donates its ad space to progressive or leftist causes and organizations. If you’re interested in promoting your work, email us at moviesvscapitalism@gmail.com.
Artwork by Rufus Paisley | Theme song by JustBen

Sorry to Bother You (w/ Boots Riley)

Rivka and Frank are joined by musician, activist, screenwriter, and director Boots Riley for a discussion about his film debut — the 2018 satire set in the world of telemarketing, Sorry to Bother You. Boots talks about his creative process, including his personal experience working in the telemarketing industry. They also discuss the depiction of organized labor in the film, how the story feels even more relevant in 2023 than it did five years ago, and how we could see a resurgence of “company towns” like the WorryFree Corporation.
🤝 SUBSCRIBE TO OUR PATREON 🤝
www.patreon.com/movies_vs_capitalism
MVC donates its ad space to progressive or leftist causes and organizations. If you’re interested in promoting your work, email us at moviesvscapitalism@gmail.com.
Artwork by Rufus Paisley | Theme song by JustBen

Killers of the Flower Moon, Fair Play, The Morning Show [PATREON PREVIEW]

Rivka and Frank discuss Martin Scorcese’s epic historical drama, Killers of the Flower Moon. They also chat about reading Karl Marx’s Capital, the gender politics of Netflix’s Fair Play, and the new season of the Apple TV+ series The Morning Show.
🤝 TO HEAR THE FULL EPISODE SUBSCRIBE TO OUR PATREON 🤝
www.patreon.com/movies_vs_capitalism

Bee Movie (w/ CJ Koepp)

Rivka and Frank are joined by comedian and climate activist CJ Koepp for an analytical discussion about the 2007 animated feature and Jerry Seinfeld vehicle Bee Movie. Rivka, Frank, and CJ unpack the status quo-reinforcing themes of Bee Movie. They also lambast the film for being deeply unfunny, and size it up against the other animated bug movies from the same era (of which, surprisingly, there are a lot). 
Grief Café for Gaza
🤝 SUBSCRIBE TO OUR PATREON 🤝
www.patreon.com/movies_vs_capitalism
MVC donates its ad space to progressive or leftist causes and organizations. If you’re interested in promoting your work, email us at moviesvscapitalism@gmail.com.
Artwork by Rufus Paisley | Theme song by JustBen

The Wizard of Oz (w/ Francisco Pérez)

Rivka and Frank are joined by Francisco Pérez, an activist, educator, and the director of the Center for Popular Economics, who blows the lid off the 1939 movie-musical classic The Wizard of Oz. Francisco explains how L. Frank Baum’s original 1900 novel, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, offered an allegory for U.S. monetary policy and the populist economics movement of the 19th century. Specifically, the Sherman Silver Purchase Act of 1890 which sought to upend the gold standard in order to ease the strain on indebted American farmers. 
Economics4Emancipation.net
🤝 SUBSCRIBE TO OUR PATREON 🤝
www.patreon.com/movies_vs_capitalism
MVC donates its ad space to progressive or leftist causes and organizations. If you’re interested in promoting your work, email us at moviesvscapitalism@gmail.com.
Artwork by Rufus Paisley | Theme song by JustBen

Antz (w/ Max Epstein)

Rivka and Frank are joined by Max Epstein, Head of Content for Means TV, a worker-owned streaming service, for an in-depth conversation about Dreamworks’ 1998 film Antz. They talk about the film’s depiction of class consciousness spreading throughout an ant colony, the theme of individualism vs. collectivism, and question if the screenwriter read Marx. 
Jewish Voices For Peace
Means TV
🤝 SUBSCRIBE TO OUR PATREON 🤝
www.patreon.com/movies_vs_capitalism
MVC donates its ad space to progressive or leftist causes and organizations. If you’re interested in promoting your work, email us at moviesvscapitalism@gmail.com.
Artwork by Rufus Paisley | Theme song by JustBen

9 to 5 (w/ Patricia Resnick)

Rivka and Frank are joined by Patricia Resnick, screenwriter of the iconic 1980 comedy 9 to 5, for a firsthand conversation about the radical pro-labor film. Patricia describes the history of 9 to 5, including the lived experiences of female office workers she spent time with, and how studio executives were afraid to make a movie about three women kidnapping their boss. They also discuss 9 to 5’s depiction of the intersection of capitalism and patriarchy, and its recent cultural resurgence as a popular anti-capitalist film.
Auditions Are Work
Unlock Her Potential
🤝 SUBSCRIBE TO OUR PATREON 🤝
www.patreon.com/movies_vs_capitalism
MVC donates its ad space to progressive or leftist causes and organizations. If you’re interested in promoting your work, email us at moviesvscapitalism@gmail.com.
Artwork by Rufus Paisley | Theme song by JustBen

Telemarketers, Love Is Blind, Blowback, Kardashians [PATREON PREVIEW]

Rivka and Frank chat about the HBO documentary series Telemarketers, the return of reality TV series Love is Blind and Survivor, the cultural impact of the Kardashians, the historical narrative podcast Blowback, and more.
🤝 TO HEAR THE FULL EPISODE SUBSCRIBE TO OUR PATREON 🤝 
www.patreon.com/movies_vs_capitalism

Heaven’s Gate (w/ Matthew Donovan)

Rivka and Frank are joined by Matthew Donovan — founder of The Future Left and co-host of the Neoliberal Hell podcast — to discuss Michael Cimino’s epic  1980 Western Heaven’s Gate. They discuss the film’s depiction of law enforcement aligning itself with property owners in order to violently eradicate the immigrant underclass, the dichotomy of the class traitor vs. the class apologist, and the film’s infamous production.
🤝 SUBSCRIBE TO OUR PATREON 🤝
www.patreon.com/movies_vs_capitalism
MVC donates its ad space to progressive or leftist causes and organizations. If you’re interested in promoting your work, email us at moviesvscapitalism@gmail.com.
Artwork by Rufus Paisley | Theme song by JustBen