Michael and Us

In the early 1970s, Japanese New Wave auteur Masao Adachi travelled to Lebanon, joined the Japanese Red Army, and chronicled the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine in his film RED ARMY/PLFO: DECLARATION OF WORLD WAR (1971). And when the PLFO was designated a terrorist organization, Adachi found himself labelled "the terrorist filmmaker," and didn't return to Japan for over 20 years. In this special interview episode, Will talks to scholar William Andrews, author of a comprehensive new biography about Adachi, about one of the last survivors of an era when filmmakers from around the world considered how to make films politically - not just make political films.

Buy William Andrews' book Pink Auteur, Red Outlaw: Adachi Masao and Japan's Cinema of Revolution - http://awaimedia.com/WilliamAndrewsBook.html

"The Last Revolutionary Filmmaker" by William Andrews - https://jacobin.com/2026/09/adachi-film-japan-1960s-politics

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Check out the Michael & Us website and episode guide - https://michael-and-us.com/

On public space, the death of cinema, cruising in Taipei, and Tsai Ming-liang's masterpiece GOODBYE, DRAGON INN (2003). PLUS: How many DIGGERs is a CEO payout worth?

Join us on Patreon for an extra episode every week - https://patreon.com/michaelandus

Check out the Michael & Us website and episode guide - https://michael-and-us.com/

With Sylvester Stallone back in the news, we felt it was time to consider a movie that has become not just a consensus classic, but also a piece of American folklore, ROCKY (1976). What does this movie tell us about ourselves? Will, a lifelong Rocky fan, and Luke, who only just saw his first Rocky movie today, try to get some answers.

PATREON-EXCLUSIVE EPISODE - https://www.patreon.com/michaelandus/posts/748-great-white-171798733

Eight years after the start of the Great Recession, and mere months before a certain New York real estate mogul ascended to the presidency, several of Hollywood's most elite liberals made a cinematic response to the financial crisis. We discuss Jodie Foster's MONEY MONSTER (2016), starring George Clooney as Jim Cramer. PLUS: Can monoculture be declining when all of culture is centralized? We ponder this question.

Check out the Michael & Us website and episode guide - https://michael-and-us.com/

Join us on Patreon for an extra episode every week - https://patreon.com/michaelandus

We continue our patriotic streak by finally tackling one of the true Canadian cultural institutions of our childhoods. In the days of the monoculture, they defined Canadian political satire. And to many, they were a little bit lame. But today we ask: can we reclaim THE ROYAL CANADIAN AIR FARCE? PLUS: What is "imperialist realism"?

PATREON-EXCLUSIVE EPISODE - https://www.patreon.com/michaelandus/posts/746-chicken-170944703