We discuss Kathryn Bigelow’s Strange Days (1995) to explore its chillingly relevant themes of police brutality, surveillance, and AI-created fake memories. Drawing parallels to our real world — from the L.A. riots to Midjourney — we ask why this dystopian sci‑fi noir feels more relevant and unsettling than ever and how its ideas connect to today’s anxieties about over-policing, propaganda, and the way AI technology may soon reshape both our private memories and public histories. *This episode contains spoilers for Strange Days.* Read Jess Kroll's film reviews HERE. Contact the podcast HERE.

(This podcast was formerly titled THIS IS THE END: POP CULTURE & COLLAPSE.)

Well, it's been... a while. In this, the first new episode in over two years, I share a bit of the personal story behind why this podcast has been dormant for so long and how it relates to what I call "personal collapse." But just as with societal collapse, personal collapses don't necessarily have to be a permanent end state. I also share why I've decided to give the show a new title. Going forward it will no longer be called "This is the End: Pop Culture & Collapse." The new title is "Strange Days, Here We Come: Pop Culture, Dystopia & Collapse," and a slightly broader focus to include discussions of dystopian stories in addition to collapse-related ones. But don't worry, there will still be plenty of collapse-related material. :) Even if you are not interested in, or familiar with, concepts surrounding societal collapse, if you are a caregiver or know someone who is, you might find this episode interesting as it goes into how the individualized burdens of caregiving can result in a "personal collapse." A shoutout to the r/CaregiverSupport subreddit on Reddit. They know what I am talking about. https://www.reddit.com/r/CaregiverSupport/ Here's to new beginnings. Strange days, here we come.

(Note: This episode was originally released under the old podcast title "This is the End: Pop Culture & Collapse." As of July 2025 the show is now titled, "Strange Days, Here We Come: Pop Culture, Dystopia & Collapse.") NOTE: This episode was recorded in Dec. of 2022 but I've only gotten around to editing it now. Since then I've become much better acquainted with ChatGPT and so, yes, I know its name (whereas at the time of this recording I still didn't).

LINKS:

• Jess Kroll's film reviews https://www.popmythology.com/author/jmskroll/
• Jess Kroll author page on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/jesskrollauthor
• 'The One' series by Jess Kroll (as J. Manoa) https://amzn.to/3DaKuuJ
• 'The Werewolf Council' series by Jess Kroll (as J. Manoa) https://amzn.to/3Xz1u63

• 'Land of Smiles' by Jess Kroll https://amzn.to/3JlRIjk

LIST OF FILMS (and spoiler time stamps)

-----------------------------------

WALL-E

5:08 - 5:53 (possible minor spoiler)

8:44 - 9:07 spoiler

13:23 - 13:36 spoiler

15:13 - 15:36 spoiler

17:42 - 18:32 spoiler

DON’T LOOK UP

22:50 - 23:05

26:55 - 27:02 (possible minor spoiler)

29:44 - 29:54 (possible minor spoiler)

30:34 - 31:10 spoiler

32:37 - 36:23 (possible minor spoilers)

37:09 - 38:47 spoiler

40:07 - 41:13 spoiler

44:14 - 45:03 spoiler

46:12 - 48:02 spoiler

53:50 - 54:10 spoiler

1:02:45 - 1:03:00 (possible minor spoiler)

THE ROAD

56:43 - 56:53 spoiler

59:25 - 1:03:03 spoiler

MENACE II SOCIETY

No Spoilers

THE GRAPES OF WRATH

No Spoilers