The new
Atlantic has a sharp essay by senior editor Ross Douthat about the return of the 70s "paranoid style" in movies made since the Iraq war began. Not only does it connect espionage thrillers like
Syriana (pictured),
The Good Shepherd, and
The Bourne Ultimatum to their Watergate-era counterparts
The Conversation (1974),
The Parallax View (1974), and
Three Days of the Condor (1975), but it astutely notes the new boom in slasher and vigilante movies, both staples of the 70s crisis of confidence. Douthat closes with the debatable but still interesting argument that the new movies are more of a retro party than a profound expression of the national psyche. A great read—check it out.
