I went to see The Crazies last night. Horror’s not really my preferred genre, but some friends were going and it seemed like a good night for a good/bad movie. Sadly, I found myself unable to leave politics behind during the movie. I was very disturbed, but not for the reasons the movie intended.
I recognize that looking for meaning or worrying about impact is giving the movie more credit than it seeks or deserves. I also recognize that being socially responsible isn’t really Hollywood’s job. That said, I don’t think that a time when the election of our first black president has driven right-wing, anti-government hysteria to a point that is leading to violent acts is the best time to make and release a movie about shadowy government figures terrorizing a small town of simple white farmers. The movie includes tropes of the lunatic fringe such as black helicopters and a poisoned water supply. There’s even a shot of a pregnant woman being gassed.
A brief scan of reviews of the movie makes it seem that I’m alone in my concern, but I couldn’t shake a strong feeling of unease through the entire movie. I’ve never been more tempted to walk out on a movie, but I stayed in hopes that there would be some twist, an alternate explanation that it wasn’t the U.S. government torching innocent farmers. Alas, the movie just gets worse as it goes on.
-AR
I don’t get it… I would think that an administration run by a Dick Cheney, John McCain, or Sarah Palin would be more willing to nuke an entire shithole farm town before Obama would. (It’s the whole shoot first, ask questions later policy developed by W.) Plus, I wouldn’t put it past a right-winger to nuke a large city on home soil, especially if they think the ratio of hippies-to-farmers was in their favor. Bottom line, a hawk administration would be quicker to incinerate its most supportive constituents without batting an eye.