Children of the Devolution

I have been prompted to write a short blurb about politics as it relates to my field of study. I study movies. And movies are dreams. Dreams dreamt loud.

The wedding ground of all the other arts. The screen is the stage where photographers dance to the poets song, and actors, painted and polished, play pretend before a crowd of phantoms. For me, the beauty of a film is in the steadfast resolve which shields it from the wither of time. Burned to its reel, a film is destined to outlast its creators. The creation of something

I hate to get serious for a minute, but other than the filibuster, nothing I have witnessed in our political system comes anywhere close to inspiring words humorous.

All this prose and nothing has been said. My question is: where is the revolution? Where are the people willing to stand up to a broken system? Where is our Easy Rider? Mr. Smith Goes To Washington? Remakes like Guess Who pervert the controversy of the original. Laughing at racism is easier than talking about it just as watching Transformers explore is more fun than being in a car wreck.

I think of the 60’s, Flower Power and all that, and I don’t know whether it is more trite to admire them or to deem them over-sentimentalized. Romanticized. I do know that art was bold. Bold as love. Bolder than today. Poets were confrontational, not tepid and simple troubadors inspired great masses.

I wonder what the masses are being inspired by today. Of this week’s Billboard top 10 albums, 2 are from Miley Cyrus, the nation’s favorite skizophrenic tweenager, numbers 10 and 6.

“Girl’s you can be famous, twice! (If your dad kinda was).”

Number 2 is Now 27! compiled by Sony BMG Strategic Marketing Group (too honest) And let’s not forget number 1 P. Diddy/MTV’s hyper-packaged Danity Kane, whose single begs a new boyfriend to fix the “damages” left by the previous.

The closest the top 10 comes to social awareness is Jack Johnson’s solar panels. It seems the only artists that have earned permission to attempt to inspire positive change are in their 40’s. (R.E.M. has a new record out, which I think will be awesome.)

Apparently I just want “Blowin’ In The Wind”. Any version. Joni Mitchell. Bob Dylan. Dolly Parton. Bobby Darin. Neil Young. Stevie Wonder. Give me covers of “What’s Goin’ On?” without cramming 50 singers in there. If they believe in the message so much, let them each record it. That would be a loud sound. Copyrights, though.

I hear a lot of guff about protests and protesters. The argument is that protesters are only pissing people off, not changing any minds. Troubling to me is that I hear this resentment too often. What are we supposed to do? Just sit back and let them fuck us? Everyone is mad. The polls are low. But no one is listening.

In France, they burn cars and things change.

Just saying.

In my 3 years at college I’ve seen only three protests on campus, all done by SCALE. According to them our school uses sweat shops and they think this is wrong. The administration says “Go away. Oh, by the way, keep arguing and you’ll be homeless tomorrow.”

(That is not a direct quote)

1,000,000 men marched on Washington in 1995, 130 years after slavery ended.

Just saying.

What are we going to be remembered for? Who is going to make this change? We stand on the edge of a very steep cliff. Violins are being ripped from the hands of 3rd graders. Our history, and national identity, lies buried deep beneath a pile of stuff growing monumentally. Exponentially.

So while I think that the upcomming election has nothing to do with film, it has everything to do with it, if the country is waiting on a leader to change its attitude.

It all comes down to money. Look what films make the most money. Look which cost the most money. I go by the numbers and the numbers tell me that in 61 days of release $38 million worth of people saw Meet The Spartans, one of Hollywood’s most transparent fundraisers.

This film = a bunch of other films you’ve already seen, with worse actors everything + boobs and “jokes”.

Franchise. Franchise. Franchise. Franchise. Franchise. Fuck!

We long to escape from the overwhelming reality that is real life so we dip our spoons into the same jar again and again expecting something different. This, I am informed, is the definition of insanity.

Or maybe, we just looooooooooove the Christmasy taste of Nicholas Cage being a chump explorer in an irrational sequel to an irrational original.

Well, what is it? Supply or demand? Have we found our favorite taste? Do we enjoy all this slash and rehash? Or are we victims to mass media? Vegetarians are told, “Just because you don’t eat meat doesn’t mean the cows don’t die.” Neither will the sequel machine simply crumble at our feet for not seeing Rush Hour 3.

Supply. Supply. Supply. Supply. Supply the sequel. Supply the toy. Supply the soundtrack. Supply the most. “If you build it, they will buy.”

Hollywood is our mistress, and we are enjoying the beating.

Look at me, naive and idealistic, with a laundry list of complaints and no solutions. Things suck, blah blah. I’m not even sure any of this makes sense.

Perhaps this drama is overplayed. Maybe I’m not jaded enough yet. Or. Maybe nobody is jaded and I’m only being contrary, lashing out against the popular kid.

Either way I wonder why it feels like it’s up to us? I guess part of the reason is that I don’t trust the instigators of disco, hair metal, and the pop revolution with my future (they’ve done a fine enough job mucking up my past). Apparently the people at NASA who actually know how to do things are all dying and there isn’t anyone smart enough to replace them. Maybe this is what happened in film. And furthermore, the political arena.

Surely those long in the lash no longer marvel at the slight-of-hand swiping billions from the youth. So long has it been since Eve melted under the silver tongue. So far forgotten is Adam’s shame. As a crown tarnishes so too does a man’s regard for his government. After all, any stomach would harden to years of spoiled milk.

I only want to see the ball rolling.

Demand. Demand. Demand. Demand. Demand. Demand. Demand.

Neil Young says that the time for music to make change is done and now it is time for science.

CNN.com reports that 90% of those polled say that you don’t need talent to be famous in Hollywood.

Nationally, only 70% of high schoolers are graduating.