For this week’s episode, Jamelle and John watched Kathryn Bigelow’s 1995 cult favorite Strange Days, a collaboration with James Cameron inspired by the political and social turmoil of the late 1980s and early 1990s. Although not quite “cyberpunk” — it isn’t a William Gibson pastiche like its contemporary Johnny Mnemonic — Strange Days borrows heavily from the genre and its various conceits. Strange Days stars Ralph Fiennes as protagonist Lenny Nero, Angela Bassett as “Mace,” Juliette Lewis as Faith and Tom Sizemore as Max, with appearances from Vincent D’Onofrio, Michael Wincott, William Fichtner and Richard Edson.

Here is a brief plot synopsis:

Set in the year 1999 during the last days of the old millennium, the movie tells the story of Lenny Nero, an ex-cop who now deals with data-discs containing recorded memories and emotions. One day he receives a disc which contains the memories of a murderer killing a prostitute. Lenny investigates and is pulled deeper and deeper in a whirl of blackmail, murder and rape. Will he survive and solve the case?

The tagline for Strange Days is “New Year’s Eve 1999. Anything is possible. Nothing is forbidden.”

Strange Days is available to stream on HBO Max and is available for rent or purchase on iTunes and Amazon. Our next episode is on the Hughes brother’s crime thriller Dead Presidents.

Connor Lynch produced this episode. Artwork by Rachel Eck.

Contact us!

Follow us on Twitter!

John Ganz

Jamelle Bouie

UnclearPod

And join the Unclear and Present Patreon! For just $5 a month, patrons get access to a bonus show on the films of the Cold War, and much, much more. Our latest episode of the patreon is on The Battle of Algiers.

Story Driven Design with Jen Davidson