Podcast Summary: "The Best of Postapocalyptic Sci-Fi"

Podcast: All Of It (WNYC)
Host: Alison Stewart
Guest: Clyde Foley (Criterion Channel curator)
Original Airdate: January 8, 2024

Episode Overview

This episode spotlights the captivating realm of postapocalyptic science fiction, focusing on a newly curated film series streaming on the Criterion Channel. Host Alison Stewart is joined by Clyde Foley—curator of the series—to dissect the evolution, appeal, and recurring motifs of doomsday cinema from the Cold War era to the present. The episode features lively input from listeners recommending their favorite films and includes insightful reflections on how these grim tales affect our worldview.

Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. Why the 1960s? The Dawn of Postapocalyptic Film

[03:41]

• The genre turned a corner after 1945 due to the atomic bomb’s existential threat.
• Early entries centered on "atomic monster movies" (e.g., Godzilla), but by 1960 filmmakers confronted post-nuclear landscapes more directly.

Clyde Foley: "1945 really sort of changes the game for everything in the most horrifying way imaginable... It's not until about 1960 when people start wrestling with the nuclear bomb and trying to navigate the post apocalyptic landscape." (03:41)

2. Hallmarks of Postapocalyptic Sci-Fi

[04:40]

• Foley divides the genre into two key threads:
  • Action-Oriented: Exhilarating, high-stakes survival adventures (e.g., Mad Max).
  • Bleak Warnings: Sober, sometimes horrifying cautionary tales about human frailty and societal collapse.

Clyde Foley: "There is sort of like the post apocalyptic action film, best exemplified by Mad Max ... and then there's the other thread ... which is just the most horrifying, bleak warning about what would actually happen if the bomb were used or if society would decline." (04:40)

3. New York in Ruins: "Escape from New York"

[05:53]

• John Carpenter’s 1981 cult classic envisions Manhattan as a sealed-off, lawless mega-prison.
• Kurt Russell’s Snake Plissken must rescue the President from this dystopia.

Alison Stewart: "[The poster showed] Kurt Russell, wearing an eye patch, flowing hair, carrying a big gun..." (05:35)
Clyde Foley: "[Air Force One] crashes in the Manhattan prison and the President goes missing and they send in Snake Plissken...to go in and get the President out." (05:53)

4. Real-World Parallels and Viewing Challenges

[07:00]

• Recent history (e.g., pandemic-era NYC) makes these films hit differently for some viewers.
• Foley emphasizes balancing bleakness with lighter fare for emotional wellness.

Clyde Foley: "We need some palette cleansers in there...don't frontload it with the most difficult ones. I beg you for your own mental health." (07:18)

5. Listener Film Recommendations & Discussion

Key films praised by listeners and Foley:

• "The World, the Flesh, and the Devil" (1959): Racial overtones, starring Harry Belafonte.
• "The Quiet Earth" (1985): A New Zealand take on the last-man-on-Earth theme.
• "Night of the Comet" (1984): Lighter, fun end-of-the-world angle.
• "28 Days Later" (2002): Fast zombies, upending conventional genre tropes.

Listener “Ed”: "Night of the Comet ... was like one back in my youth." (08:17)
Clyde Foley (on zombies): "Slow zombies, fast zombies, let's. Whatever. Speed is fine." (08:53)

6. Italian Knockoffs: The Wild Bronx

[09:12]

• Discusses Italian director Enzo Castellari’s "1990: The Bronx Warriors" and knockoff culture after "Mad Max"/"Escape from New York."
• Movies feature exaggerated, wild action (e.g., "fighting with machetes on roller skates").

Clyde Foley: "It's basically...you've seen Escape from New York, you've seen the Road Warrior. Well, cool. I'm gonna put some football pads on a guy and put some mime makeup on someone and we're just gonna run around the burnt out Bronx in the 1980s. And you know what? It's good cinema." (09:35)

7. The Bleakest Cold War Nightmares

- "Panic in Year Zero!" (1962)

[12:03]

• Possibly the first film to truly focus on day-to-day survival after a nuclear attack.
• Small, nasty, and intimate depiction of societal breakdown.

- "The Day the Earth Caught Fire" (1961)

[13:08]

• Earth knocked off its axis during nuclear tests, spiraling toward the sun.
• New scientific anxieties dovetail with later climate change fears.

Clyde Foley: "...it's really about the post nuclear nightmare. But you know, in the age of global warming, this film has extra horrifying resonances." (13:20)

- "Threads" (1984)

[15:18]

• Infamously harrowing British account of nuclear war’s aftermath.
• Constructed partly from personal listener recollections about its traumatic classroom screenings.

Madeline (listener): "We had to show this film called Threads to our students...it was pretty intense." (14:14)
Clyde Foley: "This is truly...one of the bleakest films I've ever seen. It's horrifying on a scale that is unparalleled." (15:18)

- "Testament" (1983)

[16:49]

• Intimate focus on one family; slow, sad loss rather than explosive spectacle.
• Directed by a woman (Lynne Littman), focuses on the unique pain of domestic loss.

Clyde Foley: "Truly...Testament is the saddest film I've ever seen because it's small scale. ... It's about mourning the lives that people had before the bomb." (16:49)

8. Genre Evolution: Environmental Catastrophes & New Voices

[18:26]

• "Fast Color" (2019): A rare, recent entry—about a woman with elemental powers, set after environmental collapse.
• Highlights the genre’s expansion to new anxieties and protagonists.

9. The "Last Man on Earth" Template

[19:13]

• Foley singles out "The Quiet Earth" for its haunting atmosphere and meditative approach to postapocalyptic loneliness.

10. The Curator’s Emotional Ride

[19:47]

• Question from Caroline (Brooklyn): Does curating bleak ‘end of the world’ stories affect you existentially?
• Foley describes it as a “roller coaster ride”—both energizing and sobering—arguing these films help recalibrate one’s appreciation for ordinary life.

Clyde Foley: "...these films really can put things into perspective...it could just make you savor every day. I feel like right now I'm gonna go outside and just enjoy the sunshine and maybe hug a stranger." (20:09)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On the genre’s diversity:

  "There are a couple different strands of the post apocalyptic film ... we need the fun stuff too. So I would definitely say ... don't frontload it with the most difficult ones. I beg you for your own mental health."
  — Clyde Foley (04:40, 07:18)

• On post-pandemic resonance:

  "Every time I see video of April 2020 in the streets, just quiet and desolate, I ... have a physical reaction."
  — Alison Stewart (07:00)

• On why these movies matter:

  "...it's about mourning the lives that people had before the bomb. It's about mourning the lives people won't have."
  — Clyde Foley (16:49)

• On why the genre remains popular:

  "Perhaps it can make you worry...or it could just make you savor every day."
  — Clyde Foley (20:09)

Timestamps for Major Segments

• [03:41] — Why postapocalyptic films flourish post-1945
• [04:40] — Defining traits: action vs. bleak warnings
• [05:53] — "Escape from New York" breakdown
• [07:18] — Balancing bleakness for modern viewers
• [08:11] — Listener call-ins: film recommendations
• [09:35] — Italian knockoff subgenre
• [12:03] — "Panic in Year Zero!" and survival themes
• [13:08] — "The Day the Earth Caught Fire," nuclear anxieties
• [14:14] — Memories of "Threads"
• [16:49] — "Testament" and grief
• [18:26] — Modern entries ("Fast Color")
• [19:13] — "The Quiet Earth" as the paradigm
• [20:09] — Foley on the emotional cost of programming the series

Final Thoughts

This episode of All Of It provides a rich, accessible primer to postapocalyptic sci-fi film—tracing its origins in atomic-age terror, through schlocky '80s Italian action, to modern, diverse reimaginings. Foley's reflections, combined with passionate listener contributions, showcase how the genre acts as both catharsis and warning, inviting us to simultaneously confront our worst fears and appreciate the ordinary world we live in.

The Criterion Channel's curated series, as described by Foley, promises a buffet of both grim cautionary tales and joyful, campy chaos: truly, "a roller coaster ride" through the end of the world.