film

Attention to all people who are engaged in resisting the US’ drive to war with Iran: there is an excellent film that has recently been released, titled “IRAN (Is Not The Problem)”. I have watched it twice, and am deeply impressed with how much crucial historical context it provides in an engaging and accessible manner, combining archival footage with incisive analysis from interviews by US-based activists and scholars. Different perspectives are presented, and yet all are united in coming from a committed anti-war stance.

Here's the trailer: 

As the typical Gen X gal that I am, I have a big appreciation for the actor John Cusack. I grew up with him through the geeking out in 16 Candles, the teenage angst of Better Off Dead, the first love of Say Anything, the jaded alienation of Grosse Point Blank, and the 30-something disaffection of High Fidelity. (I can't say I've ever experienced the insanity of Being John Malkovich, but there's still time.)

So you can imagine I am quite pleased to see that Cusack is also an advocate for many causes that I support. At the National Conference for Media Reform last month, Cusack greeted the crowd by video saying how much he appreciates the work of the activists and journalists that are working to keep the media and our government honest.

Cusack recently wrote, produced, and starred in the film War, Inc. It's a fictional satire inspired by the all-too-real American imperialism of the past decade. In fact, it was partially inspired by "Bagdad Year Zero," a seminal article by Naomi Klein about the economics of the US invasion. I can tell from Wikipedia's description that it is right up my alley:

War Inc. is set in the future, when the fictional desert country of Turaqistan is torn by a riot after a private corporation, Tamerlane, owned by the former Vice President of the United States, has taken over the whole state. Brand Hauser, a hit man who suppresses his emotions by gobbling down hot sauce, is hired by the corporation's head to kill the CEO of their competitors. To do this, he has to have a cover-up which is in the form of a gala wedding by the outrageous Central Asian Superstar Yonica Babyyeah.

In honor of the Academy Awards this weekend, I want to present my own award for the Best Film With a Conscience of 2007. Amazingly, this Hollywood flick had big stars, TV promotion, an amazing story based on real events, and beautiful cinematography - and yet it did not receive a single Oscar nomination!

I'm speaking of The Great Debaters. Perhaps because of its association with Oprah Winfrey's production company, or maybe because of the sappy trailer depicting what seemed to be a heartwarming tale of overcoming simple adversity, most people never heard that this film actually tells several powerful and important stories about the challenges of addressing violence, racism, and classism in the Jim Crow era and today. Especially of interest to FOR supporters is the depiction of CORE co-founder James Farmer who was on the Wiley College Debate team led by poet, teacher, and community organizer Melvin Tolson (played by Denzel Washington).