Pessimistic American media from the 90s fascinates me. In the large-scale political zeitgeist, it's the end of history, liberal democracy reigns, god's in his heaven and all is right with the world. When a film like this breaks consensus and portrays the world and the future as a fraying high-tension cable, it's always interesting to see which anxieties it draws out. In this case, the Rodney King riots and the rise of personal tech trapping us in an eternal nostalgia feel pointedly relevant even today.
Various additional thoughts:
* Imagine trying to get back with your shitty ex when Angela Bassett is right there
* Very clever to make the "recorder" and "player" so visually distinctive
* We lost a part of our aesthetic soul when the iPod was introduced
* Could this movie have possibly fumbled its political point worse in the last 15 minutes?
* Love the gag that Max's horrendous haircut was a horrendous wig all along
* Love the shimmery high-gloss barely-there costumes, gotta get one of those for my closet