Vonnegut's Shot At Nixon, Capitalism And Corporations
The 70s were a weird time. America exited a war against communism with its tail between its legs, and its polarizing President just up and peaced out, literally. Free love and hippyism were suddenly the old dudes at the party and the nation was about to enter a 10-year stretch marked by capitalism, cocaine and shoulder pads.
In 1979, in the midst of this cultural transition, Kurt Vonnegut released his ninth novel, Jailbird, which uses the Watergate scandal and America in turmoil as the backdrop for a treatise on communism, corporations and the history of labor in America. Join Alex Schmidt and Michael Swaim as they tackle these themes, discuss the larger meaning and build their dream cast for a movie adaptation of Jailbird in this episode of Kurt Vonneguys.
Sections:
Plot Time! (00:02:30)
Kurt Blurt! (01:17:00)
The Meat! (01:31:15)
Recurring Characters Update! (01:42:10)
Kurt Cameo! (01:45:50)
VonneWHAT! (01:46:50)
Vonnegrades! (01:56:20)
Movie Time! (2:00:50)
Music Time! (2:15:50)
Related Reading (02:24:30):
Short Story: Guy De Maupassant: The Necklace
Book: Ralph Ellison: Invisible Man
Play: Tony Kushner: Angels in America: A Gay Fantasia on National Themes
Short Story: George Saunders: Escape from Spiderhead
Graphic Novel: Alan Moore, David Lloyd: V for Vendetta
Book: Neil Gaiman: American Gods
Be sure to check out our new Cracked Podcast miniseries, "Looking The Part," in which Soren Bowie and Daniel O'Brien are dissecting pop-culture's greatest beards, scars and tattoos. Listen to part one HERE and catch parts two and three in the Cracked Podcast feed on Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts.
