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Twitter-banished Brazilian Gus Lanzetta makes a long-awaited and triumphant return to discuss Iain Softley's sexy, stylish Hackers. Impressively researched and committed to creating a dazzling, expressionistic visual style to evoke the sensations of exploring the uncharted corners of the world wide web, the film is both an ode to the young, brilliant minds at the forefrunt of cyberspace and an anthropological time capsule of a subcutlure that would aesthetically inform the way the burgeoning landscape of the internet and its denizens were depicted on film throughout the rest of the decade and beyond.
We discuss the film's impressive layers of authenticity, as elicited by screenwriter Rafael Moreu alongside real-life hacker consultants (including then-teenager Nicholas Jarecki, who would later become a filmmaker himself). Then, we discuss Hollywood's attempts to visualize the unconquered, uncharted landscape of the fledgling internet, and how the film paints its protagonists as intrepid trailblazers in the same spirit as classic character motifs from the American western. Finally, we discuss the noteworthy landmark design of the film, from its production and sets, to its immaculate fashion, and its pitch-perfect, multi-volume soundtracks of contemporary electronic music.
Brazil isn't on Twitter anymore, so follow Gus Lanzetta on Bluesky.
Check out Gus's latest podcast adventure The Boku Diaries.
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Our theme song is "Mirror" by Chris Fish.