Robert Stark interviews Charles Lincoln about True Stories which is a 1986 American film that spans the genres of musical, art, and comedy, directed by and starring David Byrne of the band Talking Heads. It co-stars John Goodman, Swoosie Kurtz, and Spalding Gray. Byrne has described the film as, “A project with songs based on true stories from tabloid newspapers. It’s like 60 Minutes on acid.” Robert Lindsay also joins in on the conversation

Topics include:

The setting of the film, a small fictional town on the outskirts of Dallas, Texas that is undergoing change
How the town in the film is celebrating the 150th anniversary of Texan independence
Charles Lincoln’s personal connection to Dallas
How the film shows both the old America and the New and how that is symbolic of America in the 1980’s
The depiction of diversity in the film
The Conspiracy Theorist Preacher in the film
The depiction of crass materialism and how the culture of the 80’s was more upfront than today’s  hybrid of materialism and social justice
The marginalization of highbrow culture(ex. scene in the film depicting a janitor singing opera
Emile Durkheim’s theory on anomie,  which is the breakdown of social bonds between an individual and the community
The music in the film by the Talking Heads
Ronald Reagan and how Charles Lincoln opposes Reagan from a traditionalist standpoint and Robert Lindsay from an Alternative Left standpoint
How Reagan’s credit policy encouraged suburban sprawl, which is depicted in the film

Click Here to download!