Mission: Impossible - Exploring how the Tom Cruise series tackles 30 years of History (Video Essay)

Описание: Mission: Impossible has been with us for almost 60 years. The series got its start back in 1966 and ran on CBS for several years until getting canceled in the 70s. It then returned for a few more years in the 80s before coming to its second end, which was then followed up by a third incarnation of the series. The version you're thinking of. The Tom Cruise one.

Following that Wagner/Cruise produced revival in 1996, we've had a Mission: Impossible every couple of years, with the series seemingly coming to an end or reaching the end of it's current incarnation this summer in May 2025's Mission: Impossible - The Final Reckoning.

This means something, doesn't it? We've had this franchise in our lives for almost 60 years! That's almost a fourth of the existence of the United States! No, really! I did the math!

Well, yes. It does mean something! You see, film (and art in general) has always represented the moment they created in. Knowing what to look for in a movie can help you gain precious insights into cultural norms from when they were made; you can come to see and understand what people were afraid of, or what life was like (or at least what we thought life was like) at that moment in history. And because Mission: Impossible has been around for an exceedingly long time, that means that we can physically chart the ways that life has changed over the years by watching these films.

Which is exactly what this video is about. So yeah, that's that.

Chapters:
00:00 - Intro
01:16 - Film As History
07:34 - So why Mission: Impossible?
12:30 - Question of the Day
12:57 - Mission: Impossible
19:43 - Mission: Impossible 2
27:46 - Mission: Impossible 3
36:03 - Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol
46:07 - Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation
52:50 - Mission: Impossible - Fallout
58:27 - Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning
01:10:31 - Re: Film As History
01:19:05 - Sign Off and Credits


#filmhistory #videoessay #filmanalysis

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