Falling Down is the American Dream turned nightmare.

I’d submit that — in 1993 — the one that struck me as being the most similar was Demolition Man. Not the Sly Stallone character in comparison, tho. The Dennis Leary character was more a 1 to 1 analogue of the non-conformist pushing back on a system that deems him “not economically viable.”

Later, 1998, I’d say that The Way of the Gun (wri/dir Christopher McQuarrie) does this well. I know, I know, low scores on RT and iMDB, but this movie still works for me. Even the opening scene, which sets up a world of reprehensible characters perfectly. It’s a rock-solid neo-noir western helmed by a the writer of the Usual Suspects (and a long string of Tom Cruise projects including M:I 5,6,7&8.)

I’d also toss in Ghost Dog: Way of the Samurai. A man, who has a code, undertakes to address that which he sees as unjust while moving through a world that wants to exploit him. And, American Beauty (1999) (tw: Spacey)

By the late aughts and early '10s, in the wake of the total meltdown of the global economy, Margin Call (2010, only economic violence) and Killing Them Softly (2012). “Now fucking pay me.”

From TV: The Wire and Breaking Bad fit the bill.

• Genetic-level diagnoses and treatments.

• Inexpensive, rapid genome sequencing.

• Commonplace genetic counselling for more than just pregnancy.

• Laws in place to govern the collection, use, ownership, and patenting of human genes and genetic information.

• Cloned tissues (i.e. blood, skin), organs (i.e. heart, lungs, kidneys) for transplant or repair.

I graduated university the same year the Human Genome Project first published completion. Certainly, that project uncovered more questions than answers.

Also, we’ve done an absolutely garbage job of becoming appropriate stewards of this technology. Primarily, today, it would be used to identify, segregate, subjugate, and eventually kill a portion of the population.