Political noise is as American as baseball and apple pie and in this election season it’s impossible to tune it out completely: it’s on our televisions, radios, phones, and computers. Brian DePalma’s *Blow Out *(1981) follows a man who is able to hear something underneath all the noise: a perfect character to think about this election season. The real debate for Mike and Dan is whether or not the film makes a statement about the United States and each takes a different side. But they do agree that *Blow Out *is a wonderful downer and one of DePalma’s best.
In this episode, Mike mentions Don DeLillo’s Underworld)*, *which offers a conspiratorial tone that contrasts with the one that marks Blow Out.
Follow us on X) and Letterboxd)–and let us know what you’d like us to watch! Incredible bumper music by John Deley). Also check out Dan’s new Substack site, Pages and Frames), for more film-related material.
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