Disengaged in '68: 'Medium Cool' (1969) & 'Shampoo' (1975) with Sydney Duncan

The Sleepless Cinematic Podcast

Madeline, Julian, and Emilio welcome NYC-based comedian, writer, and actress Sydney Duncan to continue their "Politics" episode cycle with a "Two-Shot" discussion on 1969's "Medium Cool" (dir. Haskell Wexler) and 1975's "Shampoo" (dir. Hal Ashby). Though differing on surface level, the two films bear striking similarities in their portrayals of apathy to politics in the face of the 1968 presidential election, focusing on egotistical male protagonists more invested in their jobs and tumultuous love lives than the far-reaching events occurring around them. The group begins by discussing the ingenious commentary that "Medium Cool" offers on media and class, with its Chicago-set blend of fiction and documentary and fortuitous backdrop of the 1968 Democratic National Convention. Shifting gears to "Shampoo," they then discuss that film's seeming juxtaposition of its characters' sexual promiscuity and their political context over roughly thirty-six hours in Los Angeles during the aforementioned election, along with the film's status as a self-ordained vehicle for star/co-writer/co-producer Warren Beatty. Aided by numerous piercing insights from Sydney and loads of fun trivia and personal stories, the group dives deep into these oddly similar films while finding many notable zeitgeist connections (in film and otherwise) along the way.
Follow Sydney Duncan on IG @syndeyduncanonem, and get tickets to her one-woman show, "ACAB: Angry, Crazy, and Black," at Brooklyn Art Haus on Sat 11/16 @7pm! https://www.stellartickets.com/o/brooklyn-art-haus--2/events/angry-crazy-and-black-sydney-duncan-live-at-bah/occurrences/482afbbd-3b3f-45d3-a26b-8645025eb5ea

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