By Peanut
It's T-minus 523 days until the 2008 Presidential Election, and I guess that means we've officially entered "campaign season." Though I hardly ever watch pre-primary political debates, I couldn't avoid the video snippets replayed on every television news outlet this month. By and large, American political discourse has devolved into a bunch of old white guys (my apologies to Hillary and Obama) making empty promises and trying to scare the bejesus out of the American people. But before you run and hide under your bed to avoid those seemingly insurmountable problems looming on the horizon -- the Iraq War, al Qaeda's resurgence, the immigration crisis, and Paris Hilton's imprisonment -- let me assure you that there is a much more constructive way to engage with these issues: BY WATCHING MOVIES.
From Fail-Safe (1964), the Cold War-era cautionary tale of "mutually-assured destruction," to Children of Men (2006), a futuristic depiction of human civilization's collapse, politically-themed movies have illuminated the fault lines in our society as no other medium can. While politicians and the media often couch distortions in the guise of truth, movie directors -- the best ones, anyway -- instill truths in works of fiction. So just think: by vegging on the couch with the DVD remote in hand, we are fulfilling our patriotic duty to become informed members of the American electorate!
In upcoming installments, we'll discuss films that aim to provoke discussion, from Alfonso Cuaron's Children of Men to Eli Roth's Hostel Part II. (Well, maybe Hostel II didn't aim to provoke political discussion, per se, but I've got some ideas to bounce off you.) As President George W. Bush would say, "Bring 'em on."
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