Oklahoma City: A Survivor's Story

On this week’s episode of Unclear and Present Danger, Jamelle and John watch the 1998 Lifetime film Oklahoma City: A Survivor’s Story, starring Kathy Baker as Priscilla Salyers, a real-life U.S. Customs employee who survived the 1995 bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building. The film follows the attack, Salyers's rescue, and her subsequent struggle with PTSD, as well as the way the tragedy shapes her family life (it is a Lifetime film after all). Notably, the movie avoids the political context of the attack, saying very little about Timothy McVeigh's motivations or the broader world of right-wing extremism from which he emerged.

That absence turns out to be pretty fruitful for the discussion. Jamelle and John use the film as a window into how the Oklahoma City bombing was being processed — and not processed — in the late 1990s, and trace how the political meaning of the attack was fought over in the moment. They also take up the broader question of historical memory and forgetfulness in America: how events that once felt defining gradually recede, and what that says about the country.

Episodes come out roughly every two weeks, so see us then for what is sure-to-be a fun episode on Warren Beatty’s Bulworth.

Also don’t forget our Patreon! We cover the films of the Cold War as well as do a weekly politics podcast. Sign up at patreon.com/unclearpod.

Our producer is Connor Lynch and our artwork is by Rachel Eck.

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Avsnitt(105)

Armageddon

On this week’s episode of the pod, Jamelle and John cover Michael Bay's 1998 asteroid movie Armageddon — the one where oil drillers, not astronauts, are sent to save the world. They discuss why it rea...

17 Juli 0s

Godzilla (1998)

On this week’s episode of Unclear and Present Danger, we watched Roland Emmerich’s attempt to bring Godzilla to Hollywood in the appropriately titled Godzilla. Ostensibly a film about the dangers of n...

4 Juli 0s

Bulworth (feat. Vinson Cunningham)

On this week’s episode of Unclear and Present Danger, Jamelle and John are joined by Vinson Cunningham of the New Yorker to discuss Bulworth, the 1998 black comedy (no pun intended) written, directed ...

27 Maj 0s

Mercury Rising

On this week’s episode of Unclear and Present Danger, Jamelle and John watch the 1998 action thriller Mercury Rising, directed by Harold Becker and starring Bruce Willis, Alec Baldwin, and Miko Hughes...

26 Mars 0s

U.S. Marshals

On this week's episode of Unclear and Present Danger, Jamelle and John watch U.S. Marshals, the extremely lackluster sequel to The Fugitive which dispenses with a straightforward cat and mouse story i...

7 Mars 0s

GI Jane (feat. Hilary Matfess)

On this week's episode of Unclear and Present Danger, Jamelle and John were joined by Hilary Matfess of the University of Denver to discuss G.I. Jane, the 1997 military drama directed by Ridley Scott ...

19 Feb 0s

Unclear and Present Politics Episode 15 [PATREON BONUS]

The next episode of the podcast will be here soon, but while you wait, here is the most recent episode of our politics show on the Patreon. In it, we talk the most recent developments in the Trump adm...

12 Feb 0s