Movies That Define Today's Milieu
Today's socio-political climate in America is, in my opinion, best represented by several films. These films, when put together, provide a broad view of what can be seen in today's politics and culture from the genres of science fiction and satire. These are of course only allegories or types, but there are accurate elements that practically scream in one's face the dire state of affairs we are presently in.
The first film I want to consider is 2006's Idiocracy, which is a satirical science fiction tale of a very average couple of modern people who are cryogenically preserved for revival in the future. The man and woman were chosen because they were expendable and therefore ideal for the trial of the technology. Yet, when the couple awakens in the future, culture has degraded and people have become idiots. The future is overshadowed by extreme commercialism, consumerism, un-originality, simplicity, and crudeness. This is a reality-TV sort of absurd world. I believe this film captures the absurdity of our present consumer and media driven culture too. Here's a link to a clip:
The second film is really a trilogy -- Star Wars Episodes One through Three. Star Wars really needs no explanation in many ways, but the second trilogy in the series of trilogies and other franchise spinoffs -- the prequels -- paints a very accurate political picture of how things have been going within our political framework. These movies portray how economic and nationalist security, coupled with failing democratic bureaucracy, can lead to long term tyranny guised as temporary measures to ensure safety and security. In the end run, what was temporary replaces democracy with autocracy and fascism. These films present a populist leader whose rhetoric steers civic opinion and reshapes government. It reminds me of Trumpism, but unlike Donald Trump's aggrandizing and overt presentation, Emperor Palpatine is more cunning. He cloaks his will for power beneath a facade of altruism and humility. Here's a clip:
The next film(s) is the 1980s TV mini-series V, which also shows a political shift from liberty and democracy to fascism. Kenneth Johnson's production follows what are essentially Nazi space-lizards who convince earth societies of their altruism, when in fact they create a fascist world out of the earth while simultaneously robbing the planet of its resources -- namely people [for food] and water.
Johnson loosely based his story off of the 1935 book It Can't Happen Here by Sinclair Lewis, which paints a picture of America's falling to fascism like what was occurring in Germany in the 30s. Like a frog in a pot, the water reaches its boiling point while people are unaware of how far they've come in losing their agency or their liberty and democracy. These tendencies also remind me of Trump era attacks on liberty for the sake of safety and security.
Here's a clip:
The last film is one I watched yesterday on Netflix called Don't Look Up, which is a science fiction satire/comedy that incorporates near full-frontal Trumpism as its political trope. The movie stars Leonardo DiCaprio and Jennifer Lawrence as two scientists who discover a comet coming toward the earth with near 100% chance of impact. They warn the President of the United States, played by Meryl Streep, who along with her cabinet, society, and the media largely dismiss the threat because it interferes with political posturing and terrestrial concerns, much like many today dismiss climate change and other existential threats. The film is replete with obvious allusions to Trumpian politics. Just like Trump's dismissiveness of climate science and the severity of covid-19, expertise is dismissed for populist punditry. Here's a clip:
All of these films showcase how movies can be a powerful medium for social commentary and political redress. However, like Idiocracy, I fear that people are more consumed with commercialism, personal comforts and interests, and political blindness to appreciate the value of messages. Star Wars will simply remain space pew-pew. V will just be outdated sci fi. Idiocracy will just be a b-rated sci fi comedy. And Don't Look Up will just be a funnier version of a disaster movie. Is society not sophisticated enough to care about what it even tells itself?
Comments
Post a Comment