Film in the Time of Revolution

It is an interesting curiosity that only in the last 100 years has the concept of film as a story telling medium been popularized. It was used extensively to mobilize movements around the world, from the Nazi's to the American gear up for the war against them. Film has come to play an important role in our mind set, our lives contain little analogues within the films we watch and these similarities pull from us emotional responses. A couple of my favorite films in the last decade have been The Matrix (mostly the first one but the rest were all right) and V for Vendetta (the film from which the money bomb spawned). As is evident to anyone who has seen these films, the abundance revolutionary subject in them is less than coincidental. They also contain in them each a certain villainy in the role of authority.

Here in the modern time, we are split, by our experiences. So while you may not see corruption in government as a very bad thing, I might, but likely only because of my own experiences or because of my association with the subject matter (via things like film). The point is, not everyone thinks the government is evil, or that there are shady organizations manipulating us into financial crisis and war. Many of my own family and friends consider the current economic difficulty a "result of media trumpeting", and no amount of logic or explanation will turn them from that belief. Everyone has a trigger, everyone has an issue they believe is not being addressed properly. For my Mom and Sister it was the Health Freedom Act and Dr. Paul's belief that we should have freedom in choosing our health care methods. Of course, they are both massage therapists and healers by trade, my mother a 30 + year veteran in reflexology and my sister a budding prodigy in a similar field.

So for anyone who says "I disagree with Ron Paul because of..." remember that there is likely some policy that he believes in that they believe in to. Knowing the issues page on his website has done wonders for me, not just in telling others but for reaffirming in myself the ideals and philosophies that I intend to fight for as my life continues. But now I am terribly off topic, this is about film, and while the above stated films caught me up in the mentality of oppression and the need for revolution (at any cost), there were also films that allowed me to actually see revolution for what it really is.

What the Bleep Do We Know!? is a tremendously powerful film that really sets the stage for personal revolution, and to have that revolution expand ever faster to the world around you. It espouses ideals that Dr. Paul is familiar with, the Golden Rule, and to Teach by Action. These are personal philosophies that when embraced dramatically enhance the quality of life. If they were applied internationally they would undoubtedly do the same for our country. Waking Life is another great film, it is more abstract but touches on the idea that we are an organism together, and we need to take responsibility for our actions and for our place in the world, as individuals and as a species. A Scanner Darkly is a shady cop tale but has elements of questioning authority and self, it also has a lot of that creepy big brother stuff in it but I thought it was well done.

How lucky were we to see the Motorcycle Diaries made into a film in our lifetimes. The story of Dr. Guevara is an incredible one, he lived a life more complete and varied then most men will ever even hear of. If you saw this movie and liked it, read more about Che, there is a lot out there but to see what this one man was able to accomplish in his short life is truly an inspiration to anyone who aspires to make a difference. Lately the trend for film has been documentaries, whether it is Micheal Moore's Sicko, or Aaron Russo's America: Freedom to Fascism the content of films being made about the ineffectiveness of government are everywhere. It is only too bad that most people will not watch them, or if they did will think "those sure are some crazy conspiracy people".


In closing, while the last century has been dominated by film, not all of that has gone to waste. Much of it is the very cause of our desire to take back our country, many of these films are the catalyst from which people will become revolutionaries. If there is a movie I want to see when I am growing old, it is the film about the second American Revolution, when we the people took our nation back.