Are the tides changing?
For more than a decade, I've been keenly aware of pressures on 'the middle class'. For almost a decade, I've been amazed at how much wealth is flowing upward. The occupy movement has shown that the youth are the most perceptive of these issues.
For years now, I've resigned myself to the idea that no matter how great the injustice, society will just adjust and accept it as long as it's introduced slowly enough - incrementally. Tonight, for the first time in years, I got the idea that maybe the world really is waking up.
Oddly my 'epiphany' came from watching the second of two comedy movies in as many days. Last night I watched 'The Other Guys' - a comedy that actually made some rather piercing statements about Wall Street and the SEC; going so far as to run some 'Occupy'-type stats in the credits. Tonight I watched 'The Campaign' - a comedy that showed how the 'Motch' brothers might buy a single congressional candidate to do their bidding.
The appearance of these themes in mainstream film makes me wonder if there are actually people in Hollywood taking concern over what's been happening in the world economy. Could these silly movies actually be a signal that more people are waking up? Are they just using their themes to market their movies - or are they actually trying to spread a message to a politically apathetic audience?
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Robert Karp on -
I would like to think that people are waking up but I don't think that's the case. I think that those who are putting out these movies now have their own resources to bypass pig production companies and put out films with messages that matter to them. I loved the Campaign. I would hope that these movies would influence the sheep in some respect but I think the majority wouldn't even equate the Moch bros to the Kock bros.
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Permalink Reply by Heather Spoonheim on -
But these movies didn't bypass big production companies - The Campaign was shot on Universal properties, and distributed by Universal and Warner Bros. The Other Guys was put out by Columbia, Sony, and even Disney got into distribution.
I realize the target audience of these movies might not be able to equate Motch with Koch, but I do like the fact that if I run into the sort of young fellow who enjoys these comedies I can tell him that the Motch brothers are real and tell him to look out for the Koch logos if he ever watches a PBS documentary while hungover on Saturday morning. Essentially these films prime such people with the basic characters and details, making it easier to simply give them the real names and how it relates to reality rather than trying to get them to listen to the whole real story.
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Permalink Reply by Jimmy Russell on -
I think some are waking up and some are more concerned that Jersey Shore is no longer show new episodes. Seems no one cares unless it affects them directly. I think like most things, it will have to get to such a breaking point as to simulate being smacked in the face with an anvil to wake up.
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Permalink Reply by Heather Spoonheim on
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Well one thing that is starting to effect people directly are the foreign workers now being imported by Canadian companies to bypass most labour codes. This is alluded to in The Campaign. Helping people understand that the "1%" slogan is not just come conspiracy theory, but a very tangible trail of cash flow, will, I hope, make it easier to get them off the sofa, or perhaps at least easier to get them to vote outside the partisan model.
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Permalink Reply by Heather Spoonheim on
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I agree Ed - very apathetic. Seeing this sort of distribution of this message, however, actually gives me just a twinge of hope.
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Permalink Reply by Ray R. on -
I completely agree that incrementalism is the other opiate of the masses .
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Permalink Reply by M.M. on -
Now I have two films I have to watch, thanks for the heads up!
It is laudable to see a populist message in mass entertainment.
Something is needed to balance out the misrepresentation and vilification of socialism.
But I think things will have to reach a point of no return before we the people are awakened from our coma like stupor.
Just look at how well received climate change was.
And along come the super storms!
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Permalink Reply by Heather Spoonheim on
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I should make it clear that the political-sub message is very much a sub-message in both films. The Campaign obviously gets into the absurdity of modern politics, but both movies are very much comedies first with a little interesting content tossed in that most likely won't really notice.
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Permalink Reply by M.M. on
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Noted!
But as long as they are better than The Dark Knight Rises I'll be happy.
That movie was disappointing.
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Permalink Reply by Gregg R Thomas on -
I walked out before the end...I'm old...I got less time to waste.
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