The Puppet Masters

Unclear and Present Danger

Jamelle Bouie

Tv & Film, Society & Culture, History

4.7 • 660 Ratings

🗓️ 9 January 2023

⏱️ 66 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Happy New Year! In this week’s episode of Unclear and Present Danger, we watch “The Puppet Masters,” an adaptation of a 1951 Robert Heinlein novel that feels aimless in the absence of the original Cold War context. Jamelle and John discuss, among other things, the “Body Snatcher” genre, science fiction as a vehicle for allegory, and the war on drugs.

Connor Lynch produced this episode. Artwork by Rachel Eck.

John Ganz

Jamelle Bouie

UnclearPod

And join the Unclear and Present Patreon! For just $5 a month, patrons get access to a bonus show on the films of the Cold War, and much, much more.

Transcript

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0:00.0	An unexpected guest has arrived.
0:09.0	Something unusual was reported entering our atmosphere last night.
0:13.0	And soon everyone's life will be transformed because this guest isn't just visiting.
0:21.5	Still moving.
0:23.5	What the hell is that?
0:25.8	A visitor, I presume.
0:27.1	It's looking.
0:29.0	We're a whole.
0:35.4	The probe penetrates the brain while these hooks lock into the spinal column.
0:37.2	Using us like puppets?
0:38.1	For being manipulated.
0:41.5	They're capable of transmitting not just intelligence, but memory.
0:43.0	We're only human after home.
0:44.0	Stumble them!
0:45.2	Secure the building.
0:45.8	Security!
0:47.9	One day, 4,000.
0:48.3	Ah!
0:51.4	Two days, 16,000.
0:53.8	Two weeks, there would be... More than 250 billion.
0:56.0	You can't move unless they let you.
0:58.0	We've lost a town, now we've lost an army.
	...

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