Fascism in Cinema: Control Throug...
Fascism in Cinema: Control Through Spectacle
Explicit
Sonic Cinema Podcast by Brian Skutle
S12 · E10
Jun 26, 2026
01:32:30
Episode notes

As we've gone through this series, many of the topics have been more inspired by the larger atmosphere around the United States during Trump Administration II. This episode, however, had a very specific inspiration in the recent UFC cage fight on President Trump's birthday- and part of his celebrations for America's 250th anniversary. The idea of a UFC fight in front of the White House made me think of films that depict past, and futuristic, examples of state-sanctioned violent spectacle as a way of exerting control over its population. Joining me on the episode is Chris Scalzo of The First Run podcast as we look at Norman Jewison's "Rollerball", Ridley Scott's "Gladiator" and Gary Ross's " ... 

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