Themes and Memes

Adam and Aaron review both of the Dune films. These have been some of the only stand out films of the past few years, and are definitely worth talking about.  Topics include: soundtrack, movies worth watching, Bladerunner, Villeneuve, desert landscape, mining, civilization, relative scale, architecture, aristocracy, bloodlines, eugenics, empire, politics, secret societies, intelligence, manipulati...

Adam and Aaron have returned with a new episode of Themes & Memes recorded live on Thanksgiving, 2024. During Aaron's holiday special, War on Christmas Thanksgiving Spectacular, they did a review of the fairly new Francis Ford Coppola movie "Megalopolis." A very unorthodox piece, this film raises a lot of questions.   Topics include: podcast hiatus, Fall of Rome, decadence, elite, aristocracy, dom...

Adam and Aaron recorded a new episode of Themes & Memes in February. It is posted here as an exclusive to the Patreon bonus podcast feed.  Tenet, state of entertainment media, Covid, Great Reset, Club of Rome, global tensions, US and China, ethics, technology, artificial intelligence, Elon Musk, lockdowns, changing economic system, online services, QAnon, micro-targeted influence operations, Post...

Independent broadcasting legend, Alan Watt, died on March 4th, 2021. In this episode of Themes & Memes, Adam and Aaron remember Alan. A unique voice in the wilderness, his message resounded and permeated much further than most realize.  topics include: Alan Watt, Cutting Through The Matrix, independent media, patriot radio, RBN, Jackie Patru, disinformation, new age, shortwave radio, internet show...

Adam and Aaron talk about the strange current atmosphere during this global panemic. From the bizarre present, to the unknown future, there are serious changes and moves being made all around us. Some of the more obscure topics that few talked about before, are now becoming undeniably important.   topics: strange times, Covid19, new normal, America 2.0, mandatory vaccines, police state, comparison...

Pearse Redmond joins Themes & Memes as a return guest. The Covid19 quarantine classic, Tiger King documentary, is the topic of discussion. A variety of issues such as high control groups, media analysis, and politics are discussed on this different kind of review.   topics include: Tiger King, Joe Exotic, Carole Baskin, big cats, animal rights, tigers in captivity, true crime editing tactics, docu...

Adam and Aaron return to do a review of Joker. This is a different sort of comic book movie to be sure. What sort of social commentary is this film trying to make? What esoteric themes are there? These questions and more are discussed on this episode of Themes & Memes. topics include: incels, domestic terrorism, comic book movies, Scorsese, Gotham City, social unrest, poverty, mental illness, anti...

Adam and Aaron return for a casual, but serious conversation about digital media, censorship, free speech, and many other overused and misunderstood terms.  topics include: Themes & Memes continues, Alex Jones deplatformed on social media, censorship, fake news, Sandy Hook, lawsuits against Jones, election of Donald Trump, mainstream media, conspiracy ideas going mainstream, more extreme rhetoric...

Adam and Aaron review the recent Steven Spielberg film, Ready Player One. The past, present and future of virtual worlds are explored in depth in this book adaptation. What current, real world realities are present in this work of fiction? What occult "Easter eggs" have the filmmakers left for us to uncover?  topics include: Steven Spielberg director, book adaptation, rights, licensing, special ef...

Adam and Aaron record their first live show on Ochelli.com. They take the occasion to review season 3 of the Netflix series Black Mirror.  topics include: live radio, Netflix, new distribution for entertainment, short films, media, technology, futurism, happy endings vs dark endings, Nosedive, social media, polite society, repressed emotions, sexual frustration, superficiality, social status, pass...

Adam and Aaron weigh in on Jim Carrey's recent interviews which have baffled his fans the world over. Apparently there is no such thing as Jim Carrey at all. What might this mean? Has JC lost his mind, or is he onto something? topics include: identity, psychology, persona, Eastern religion, metaphysics, philosophy, Norm MacDonald, sexual alchemy, occult, Gnosticism, conspiracies, alternative resea...

On this episode we return for a casual discussion on the Hollywood Sex Scandal, looking at the prominent narratives and what they could mean for the future of Hollywood and Pop Culture.  We look at the issue from a number of different angles, highlighting the numerous ways in which this scandal is stoking outrage over questions of patriarchy, social justice and corruption, and the potential that e...

We return with a highly esoteric discussion on Blade Runner 2049 , the 2017 sequel to Ridley Scott's cult-classic from 1982. Despite not doing well at the Box Office, this film succeeds in artfully suggesting a number of stories within one, and like the first film, leaves the audience feeling they have witnessed something profound.  Set in the titular year in dystopian Los Angeles, the film follow...

The very first Bonus Podcast episode of Themes & Memes is a review of Captain America Civil War. The review strays from the movie as Adam and Aaron talk at length about media, current antagonist politics, and The Age of Transitions.  topics include: Captain America Civil War, bad movie year, shift in entertainment industry, Marvel, cinematic universe, TV and films converging, Disney, franchise fil...

While widely panned, The Circle is a film that does a good job at presenting some very important ideas. Adam and Aaron talk about its commentary on corporate life, cults, sousveillance, and real life Silicon Valley tech giants.  topics include: extra unpublished podcast episode, The Circle, Tom Hanks, Emma Watson, novel, popular fiction, Silicon Valley, work life balance, young urban professional,...

After an extended hiatus, we return to give an update on the podcast; talking about what has been going on behind the scenes, and giving listeners a glimpse of what to expect from future shows.  We start out by discussing changes and distractions in our personal lives, before mentioning some of the films and TV shows that have caught our attention recently, including the 2006 B-Movie Southland Tal...

On this episode, we return to the 'conspiracy classic' genre in looking at the 1989 Sci-Fi B-movie 'They Live' by John Carpenter.  The film introduces 'John Nada', a drifter working manual labour in LA, as he stumbles across a special pair of sunglasses which allow him to see a very different version of reality than the 'American Dream' he is accustomed to. As it is ultimately revealed that humani...

Another conspiracy classic movie review comes to the Themes and Memes podcast. Network has been quoted endlessly throughout conspiracy culture, and with good reason. This review fits right into the past few podcast episodes which have focussed on television news, and mass media in general. Topics discussed include:  antiestablishment film, conspiracy, nightly news, Howard Beale, sensationalism, ex...

On this episode, we return to the film Nightcrawler ; looking at how social tensions are fostered by false or misleading media narratives, and how alternative media networks are now playing the mainstream outrage game to their own ends.  In the film, the fictional KWLA-6 news station actively targets white, upper-middle class audiences by selectively running stories about affluent demographics bei...

On this episode, we review the 2014 thriller Nightcrawler, Directed by Dan Gilroy and starring Jake Gyllenhaal.  The film follows enterprising psychopath Lou as he scouts the nocturnal underbelly of Los Angeles looking for opportunity. After being inspired to become a 'Stringer'; filming urban drama for local news stations, Lou's talent for exploiting tragedy garners him fame and fortune on the LA...

We continue discussing the 2016 US Presidential Election, reviewing the landslide victory by Donald Trump and what this astonishing development means for both mainstream and alternative culture.  We start by looking at the question of how this happened. From the FBI to Wikileaks to a bizarre revelation about occult rituals at the 11th hour; Clinton's campaign was dogged by scandal and controversy...

On this special episode, we deconstruct the 2016 US Presidential Race between Hilary Clinton and Donald Trump, focusing on the social phenomenon of broad-based Trump support within alternative and conservative demographics.  Rather than a partisan assessment of the candidates themselves, we look at Pro-Trump sentiment in the Alt-Media as a result of social disintegration in the wider 'Truth Moveme...

On this instalment, we welcome artist and author Thomas Sheridan from thomassheridanarts.com to discuss the 1973 classic-horror film The Exorcist .  The film introduces Washington D.C Actress 'Chris MacNeil' as her 12 year old daughter 'Regan' begins to exhibit increasingly disturbed behaviour. Despite a number of tests and treatments, Regan's condition continues to deteriorate amidst a series of...

On this installment, we return to one of our very first reviews by looking at its 2016 sequel Now You See Me 2 , directed by John M. Chu.  The film picks up a year after the Four Horsemen's introduction to the world, where they lay in hiding and await further instruction from 'The Eye'; the mysterious secret society they had previously been inducted into. After finally being prompted to orchestrat...

On this episode, we look at the 2013 Indie Spy Drama, The East  Directed by Zal Batmanglij. The film follows corporate intelligence operative 'Jane' (played by co-writer Brit Marling) as she is tasked with infiltrating a radical anarchist cell who have been attacking high profile industrialists in retaliation for their corporate crimes. Calling themselves 'The East' , the group operates on an 'eye...