In the pod you asked when did movie villains shift from being Russian to Middle Eastern? I was thinking "Back to the Future." But then I looked at other 1985 movie villains. The top three grossing films were "Back to the Future" (Libya), "Rambo: First Blood Part II," (Vietnam), and "Rocky IV," (Soviet Union). Also spending time as a box office #1 that year was "Commando," set in the fictional Latin American dictatorship Val Verde.
Of course there is the obvious Reagan/anti-Communist Cold War through line. But there is something deeper at play that I can't put my finger on. It seems as though in 1985 the US was the only safe place for Americans. After all, Africa/the Middle East, Asia, Eastern Europe, and Latin America were rife with bad guys. And don't forget, 1985's "European Vacation" did little to acquit Western Europe and Australia, at the time, was "Beyond Thunderdome."
So, 1985 showed Americans that bad guys were everywhere and traveling to friendly countries was bad news. In hindsight, this seems like a gift to nationalist and isolationist movements. You mentioned that 1984s Red Dawn was problematic for the same reasons, but if I were to curate an 80s White Nationalist Film Festival (of movies that I, not a white nationalist, love), I might begin in 1985.
Consider 1985.
In the pod you asked when did movie villains shift from being Russian to Middle Eastern? I was thinking "Back to the Future." But then I looked at other 1985 movie villains. The top three grossing films were "Back to the Future" (Libya), "Rambo: First Blood Part II," (Vietnam), and "Rocky IV," (Soviet Union). Also spending time as a box office #1 that year was "Commando," set in the fictional Latin American dictatorship Val Verde.
Of course there is the obvious Reagan/anti-Communist Cold War through line. But there is something deeper at play that I can't put my finger on. It seems as though in 1985 the US was the only safe place for Americans. After all, Africa/the Middle East, Asia, Eastern Europe, and Latin America were rife with bad guys. And don't forget, 1985's "European Vacation" did little to acquit Western Europe and Australia, at the time, was "Beyond Thunderdome."
So, 1985 showed Americans that bad guys were everywhere and traveling to friendly countries was bad news. In hindsight, this seems like a gift to nationalist and isolationist movements. You mentioned that 1984s Red Dawn was problematic for the same reasons, but if I were to curate an 80s White Nationalist Film Festival (of movies that I, not a white nationalist, love), I might begin in 1985.