44: Oliver Stone’s JFK (with Ursula Lawrence)

Comedy writer Ursula Lawrence (Drunk History, Adam Ruins Everything) returns to the podcast from Madison, Wisconsin to discuss the cultural influence of Oliver Stone’s JFK (1991), which 30 years ago revolutionized visual language in American cinema; a hybrid of classic all-star Hollywood filmmaking and experimental film techniques with its mixture of various film stocks and a complex editing structure, made just before digital editing was a post-production standard. We discuss the great performances, the radical elements, the flaws, and how JFK’s information bath and blending of facts and conjecture normalized and mainstreamed conspiracy thinking in the wider culture, providing a stylistic template for Galaxy Brain arguments in the post 9/11 information age. Plus I had to ask Ursula about the new NBA champions! Follow Ursula Lawrence on Twitter and be aware of her Jacobin Calendar project! Trailer for JFK (Stone, 1991)