Jim Groom and Michael Branson Smith look at Reality Bites and the Gen-X faith that the right music, references, jokes, and attitude might be enough to keep you from becoming your parents.

Jim Groom and Michael Branson Smith consider Bill and Ted’s stubborn faith in finding their own way, and the guidance they still need to turn independence into something resembling self-awareness.

Jim Groom and Michael Branson Smith discuss Threads, nuclear war, and what happens when the systems that hold family life together disappear.

Jim Groom and Michael Branson Smith return to the nuclear fears of the 1980s with The Day After, where the end of the world arrives in the middle of ordinary family life.

Jim Groom and Michael Branson Smith discuss The Terminator, where the nuclear family becomes humanity’s answer to nuclear annihilation.

Jim Groom and Michael Branson Smith discuss WarGames and the generation gap between computer-literate kids and the adults trying to keep control of the machines.

Jim Groom and Michael Branson Smith talk Red Dawn, boyhood war games, frontier fathers, and what happens when children are taught to turn grief into violence.

Jim Groom and Michael Branson Smith follow Rosetta and Luciano across Italy as institutions reject them and a reluctant escort begins to take responsibility for their lives.