In 1982, John Carpenter released The Thing — a film about paranoia in isolation.

But beneath the alien horror is a quieter question:

Why does crisis always seem to produce the same kind of leader?

From Snake Plissken to MacReady to Jack Burton, Carpenter’s collaborations with Kurt Russell trace the erosion of the American hero myth.

When the Berlin Wall fell, the external enemy collapsed. The crisis logic didn’t.

It moved inward.

This episode explores suspicion, authority, neoliberal shock, and why marginalized spaces are often testing grounds for what eventually reaches the centre.

Childs wasn’t the threat.

He was the warning.

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Park Bench Ontology is a series examining culture, identity, and the systems that shape perception.

🎙 Park Bench Ontology — existential comedy for the end of the world.

🔗 Follow & Support:

🌐 Website: http://gavinstephens.ca

🎧 Podcast: https://pod.link/uncolonized

📷 Instagram: @countgavin

🐦 Bluesky: gavinstephens.substack.com

🎵 TikTok: @ParkBenchOntology

📼 YouTube: http://youtube.com/@parkbenchontology

Also, Check out the Substack: Dispatch From The Simulation

Subscribe and leave a review!

🎙 Park Bench Ontology — existential comedy for the end of the world.

🔗 Follow & Support:

🌐 Website: http://gavinstephens.ca

🎧 Podcast: https://pod.link/uncolonized

📷 Instagram: @countgavin

🐦 Bluesky: gavinstephens.substack.com

🎵 TikTok: @ParkBenchOntology

📼 YouTube: http://youtube.com/@parkbenchontology

Also, Check out the Substack: Dispatch From The Simulation

Subscribe and leave a review!

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Gavin Stephens

PARKBENCHONTOLOGY

Welcome to the Collapse