In our final episode of this season of 'The Revisit', playwright and actor Emmet Kirwan goes back to the future of the '80s with Paul Verhoeven's sci-fi action classic, 'Robocop'.
The writer and star of 'Dublin Oldschool', both the theatre and movie version, may seem like an odd choice - but for Kirwan, it speaks to so much more. In fact, the conversation about 'Robocop' veered from 19th century Darwinism and Reaganism, the plays of David Mamet, and having a TV in your bedroom as a child.
This might seem like it's stretching a lot of things, but the truth is 'Robocop' is layered with satirical views on the US, and all of it done with an outsider's perspective. Paul Verhoeven, its director, came to the US at the height of Reagan's popularity and crafted 'Robocop' as a satirical take on bloody cop movies that littered multiplexes.
Verhoeven famously threw the script by Edward Neumeier and Michael Miner away and declared it to be "a piece of shit", but was urged to examine it again by his wife. Indeed, many of the actors involved in the movie - Nancy Allen, Miguel Ferrer, Kurtwood Smith, and so on - were skeptical of the movie, and saw it merely as a B-movie with some potential for success.
Some 34 years after its release, 'Robocop' still speaks to the emptiness of consumerism, police brutality, and corporate power through a satiric lens.
Here's this week's episode.
Last week's episode saw 2FM presenter Ciara King examine Kiwi comedy 'The Hunt For The Wilderpeople', while the week prior saw Virgin Media News correspondent surf for '90s action in 'Point Break'. You can listen back to all six episodes of this season of 'The Revisit', and the prior season, right here.
