Anybody remember Stephen King's book, Dead Zone

[wnylib]

and the movie made from it? Not the TV show, which did not seem to folllow the plot line of the book.

I am NOT suggesting that ANYBODY should follow the decision made by the main character, Johnny Smith. There are other ways to deal with the situation than the one that he chose. I am only thinking of the similarities in character (or lack of it) and political career of the antagonist, Greg Stillson.

Stillson reminds me of Trump, or, vice versa. Anyone familiar with the book or movie will understand the comparison.

[FalloutShelter]

1. Have thought of it often.

Both the book, and the terrific movie with Christopher Walken.

[BigMin28]

2. Martin Sheen

Was excellent in that movie also.

[wnylib]

4. I just re-read it about a month ago. Until recently

Stillson seemed like an impossible caricature that would never exist in real life.

Stillson even sold Bibles as did the current madman in office.

[Goonch]

3. ;-{).....

[Tesha]

5. We remembered it, watched it recently and...

saw a dream of us have here…

He didn’t have to kill him, just make him appear to be incredibly selfish - using a child.


Maybe trump’s using children in his past, finally being exposed, will do the same thing???

[sheshe2]

6. Love Stephen Kings books.

This is the scene that was terrifying "The missiles are flying". Frightening and sadly it is where we are today, an insane man with his finger on the button.

Chilling.

[wnylib]

7. Who knew? It was supposed to be fiction.

:

[sheshe2]

8. Many of his books warned us of the future we are now facing.

His book, The Stand he wrote it in 1975 and it was about a pandemic/super flu and it reminded me of COVID.

Remember when tsf and Jared bartered and sold our first responders PPE? My niece worked in ICU at the time and was working 18-hour shifts with one mask and a yellow rainslicker because they had nothing else. No protective equipment, nothing and had to improvise.

I can't even. I just can't.

[wnylib]

9. I remember The Stand.

An eye for trends and some imagination to project where the trends could lead can create some novels that become interestingly accurate later.

When The Stand was published, I took the pandemic to be symbolic of a social and cultural "illness" in the country and how it could lead to a showdown of opposing sides.

Decades later, when we had an actual biological pandemic, we also had the social and cultural polarization, too.

Showdown was partially achieved with the election of Biden. It was a rest period in which a full showdown was postponed. The struggle continues, more intense now.