British film critic, historian and author David Thomson has published a new book, A Sudden Flicker of Light: A Revisionist History of Movies, released by Simon & Schuster and an instant Amazon bestseller. In it, the 85-year-old argues provocatively that a century of screen antiheroes — from Citizen Kane's Charles Foster Kane to the Corleones, Tony Soprano and Walter White — helped pave the way for Donald Trump's presidency and other global problems. The claim matters because Thomson is widely regarded as among the greatest living film writers, lending weight to a cultural critique of how cinema shapes its audiences.

Thomson, best known for The New Biographical Dictionary of Film (first published in 1975 and updated five times, most recently in 2014), spoke on The Hollywood Reporter's Awards Chatter podcast from his San Francisco home. He reflected on how a distressing childhood stammer drove his love of language and writing, how he was unexpectedly asked to write his first book, 1967's Movie Man, and how his work has increasingly focused on cinema's impact on viewers. The article also flags that his Dictionary will not be updated further and that his next book subject is Mickey Mouse.