Seething on the Third Rock

2007-07-02 Sicko

icko was an excellent film. This should be required viewing for all Americans. The Gitmo and Cuban junckets were a bit too much however and distracted from the broader themes. While America spends more on healthcare, we have higher child mortality rates and lower average life expectancy than virtually all industrialized countries [1]. I think the other resonating point for me was how such a rich country could treat its poor and working class so badly when it comes to healthcare and education. Michael offers no solutions but he does present some very serious questions to all those who continue to advocate the status quo. I can honestly say that I am relieved not to live in the US any longer--life is far to short as is!

2006-07-05 An Inconvenient Truth

"The era of procrastination, of half-measures, of soothing and baffling expedients, of delays, is coming to a close. In its place, we are entering a period of consequences."

                          - Winston Churchill, 1930

Yesterday I went to see An Inconvenient Truth, Al Gore's documentary on global warming.  Gore states that among other things, global sea levels could rise by more than 20 feet in our lifetimes due to the loss of shelf ice in Greenland and Antarctica, devastating coastal areas worldwide. 

But it's not all bad news.  Gore reminds us that there are alternatives (other than merely denial or despair).  In fact, the world has solved global environmental challenges before.  Remember spray-on deodorant propelled with chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs)?  (Do you miss it?  I prefer roll-on myself anyway.)  In 1987, the Montreal Protocol, an international treaty called for reducing CFC use by 50% by 2000 to reduce ozone depletion and eliminate the then famous ozone hole over Antarctica.  In 1992, an amendment to that treaty called for the end of CFC production in industrialized countries all together, and by 1993 CFC emissions had dropped dramatically. 

An Inconvenient Truth is riveting, both intellectually and emotionally and I strongly encourage anyone who has not seen it yet to do so.  This is a moral issue.

2006-05-17 United 93

I have just seen United 93.  It was without doubt the most disturbing film I have seen in a very long time.  I think I cried for the last hour of the movie.  It stirred an astonishing array of emotions from deep sorrow for the people facing their own imminent deaths to pride in the courage shown by those same average Americans to overcome unimaginable adversity to utter and total revulsion that this Administration has not resigned in disgrace for its incompetence.   At one point I was so enraged I felt that if there were any justice at all, Dubya would have been dragged out of that kindergarten in Florida and strung up from the nearest tree for his incompetence.  I encourage everyone and certainly every American to see this movie regardless of your political views.  It may not be a pleasant topic but it is a riveting and factually correct tale of probably the most significant event in our lifetimes.

2005-12-27 Brokeback Mountain

Last night Jinny and I went to see Brokeback Mountain at our local cinema.   Directed by Ang Lee starring Heath Ledger and Jake Gyllenhaal, the movie is a fateful tale of two cowboys who meet and fall into forbidden love.  The story is really not a gay story at all--this could just as easily have been Romeo and Juliet and what little sexual content there is is very tastefully done. 

The real story of course is the one taking place off the screen where hypocritical defenders of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness [for the unborn or otherwise rich, white, male and straight at least] have chosen this movie as yet another front-line in America's unending culture wars.  While critically acclaimed [1], the film has been roundly bashed by Bill O'Reilly and the usual crew of intolerant hate mongers on Fox "News". 

The real message of this movie is that life is short and we should live it as we can, if we can, while we can.  It is also a study of how hate and intolerance ruin people's lives everyday especially as we internalize these forces into our own flawed decision making. 

For me the film induces you to associate people you know, probably in your own family, with each of the characters and that is what brings it so close to home and draws forth such a strong emotional response.  It is also an insightful foray into the complexities of life in rural, lower-middle income America--especially for a foreign-born director.

If you have the time and proclivity, I would highly recommend Brokeback Mountain.  See the trailer --> here.