Annamaria on
Monday
All Hail, my
fellow ostriches.
Many of my
friends—here and elsewhere have decided to stick their heads in the sand. I gave up TV news during the Vietnam
War. I could not watch that travesty. Now, not even the radio news is a possibility
for me. I cannot allow myself
to consume very much news regardless of the source. I am afraid that what the reporters are
writing and talking about will begin to seem normal to me. I cannot allow that. Four minutes of radio two or three times a
day is about my limit.
On the other
hand, I do not want to turn my mind completely away from the dangers our
society faces and the diligence it takes to combat the forces recently unleashed
in the world. For complete escape, I go
back in time to my own characters. Or I
read other people’s historical fiction.
Right now I am immersed for part of every day in our own Sujata Massey’s riveting The Sleeping Dictionary.
For my
watching pleasure, I have been choosing dramas and comedies with themes
relevant the current events. Here are
few sterling suggestions for those who want to focus on the trouble without
having to hear the voices of the troublemakers.
These are films about things we all need to be contemplating right now.
Crash
This 2005
film, the most contemporary of my selections, takes place in LA shortly after
9/11 and deals with the tensions of a multicultural society, especially one
where the authority figures (police and the DA in this case) are terribly flawed. The film doesn’t have a typical plot; it is
more a series of vignettes wherein the lives of a housewife, two carjackers, an Iranian shopkeeper, and a
Korean hit-and-run victim crash (literally and figuratively) into one
another. In sum, a brilliant, telling
portrait of the pitfalls and opportunities when different classes and cultures
collide.
House
of Cards
I am talking
about the 1990 BBC trilogy, not the more recent American series. As soon as I first laid eyes on the visage
of Mike Pence (during the VP debate), I thought of Ian Richardson’s
beyond-brilliant portrayal of British politician Francis Urquhart. (One of the
series characters consistently addresses him by his initials for some sorely
needed comic relief!) As the cold, heartless FU rises in
power, he addresses the camera, and tells us directly why the nation needs him
and his diabolical deeds, all done out of patriotism. The three seasons are completely riveting and
chilling to the marrow of your bones.
To
Be or Not to Be
Here is a
wonderful dose of satire to relieve the gloom of these other choices. I watched the Mel Brooks-Ann Bancroft
version. The story is of a troop of
Polish players who are trying to survive the Nazi occupation. The script beautifully treads the line
between drama and farce, never letting us forget the horror of hatred, but
holding up the self important to the ridicule they so richly deserve. There is an earlier version starring Jack
Benny coming to me soon from Netflix. I
await it with glee.
Judgment
at Nuremberg
Stanley
Kramer’s 1961 Academy Award-winning film tells of the post-war trial of five
Nazi judges for crimes against humanity.
What is really on trial is the self-deception of “patriots” who
sacrifice their own moral compass in favor of “the good of the nation.” The acting is superb. Maximilian Schell garnered a well-deserved
Oscar for his part paying the defense counsel.
And wait until you see Judy Garland convince you that she is a timid
German housewife determined to tell the truth on the witness stand. To say nothing of the greats: Spencer Tracy
and Burt Lancaster. Here are two scenes
that will tell you exactly how relevant the ideas discussed then relate to the
world today.
In the second clip, be sure to listen until minute
five. I think the following minute
should be playing on a continuous loop wherever the incoming administration
comes and goes.
You can watch the entire film on YouTube.
What suggestions do you have for films that can entertain
us, but also tell us something about the times we are living through?
