The Partially Examined Life Philosophy Podcast

PEL Presents (SUB)TEXT: Attachments "Die Hard" at Nakatomi Tower

The Partially Examined Life Philosophy Podcast

It’s a Christmas movie, some say, and in the end the holiday classic “Let it Snow” plays over the credits. But what counts as snow in the final scenes is a confetti of smoke, debris, and millions of dollars of bearer bonds, not to mention the Euro-villain who tried to steal them. These descend from the blasted-out upper floor of a skyscraper onto a scene of total destruction. Worse, it all happens in Los Angeles. Is Die Hard actually a Christmas movie? And what is a Christmas movie, anyway? Wes & Erin try to figure out if there’s anything like a yuletide miracle in this story about the violent defense of marriage and family against materialism, globalism, status, and other forces of social dissolution.

Thanks to our sponsor for this episode, NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts. Aspiring filmmakers and screenwriters can learn more about their online courses at tischpro.smashcut.com/subtext.

Subscribe: (sub)Text won’t always be in the PEL feed, so please subscribe to us directly: Apple | Spotify | Android | RSS

Bonus content: The conversation continues on our after-show (post)script. Get this and other bonus content at by subscribing at Patreon.

Follow (sub)Text: Twitter | Facebook | Website

Thanks to Nick Ketter for the audio editing on this episode.

Next Episodes