After his hyper-sus digression of Talk Radio (1988), we return to the thematic focus that defined this era of Olive Stone’s career. He continues to explore the ghosts of the 1960s with Born on the Fourth of July, his 1989 anti-war drama starring Tom Cruise. We keep analyzing Stone’s treatments of religion, sexuality, war, and masculinity, go over some sus production credits, and talk about how this film sets the stage for his even more extensive interaction with the counterculture psyop in 1991’s The Doors.

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