Films/DVD Asylum

Posted by jamesgarvin (A) on April 28, 2006 at 07:54:18

In Reply to: Funny you look down so condescendingly on a group posted by tinear on April 27, 2006 at 14:31:52:

I do not look down on them. I admire their sacrifice. However, I think that their idealism and agenda polluted their rational thought process. Thinking that bombing some buildings will lead to the violent overthrow of the United States Government is, at best, naive, at worst, stupid. And these are clearly not stupid kids. Which leaves us with them being naive. Being naive often, though not always, results from a lack of experience. Being places. Doing and seeing things. One of the critisms of Bush before the first election was that his foreing policy would not be very informed because he had never spent any appreciable time outside the United States, experiencing other countries. I think that the same applies to these kids. They call themselves revolutionaries, though I doubt they knew what a true revolutionary was, and some apparently still do not. At least one seems confused as to what is a political prisoner.

I used the work arrogant because they labeled themselves things that others who were, would not. Consider the scene in the film in which some of the Weathermen discuss the importance of racial equality, which, I assume, everyone would agree with. They then provide the remedy. The next scene shows a Black Panther leader dressing the down the group, basically telling them they are too lilly white, from white neighborhoods, wealthy, privileged, and that they can stay out of the way, thank you very much. Would Che call these kids revolutionaries? Or Castro? I think not. Would Mandela call the Weatherman spending his life in prison for a murder a political prisoner? Hardly.

I do not think that Che, Castro, Mandela, or Malcolm X, were spoiled kids. As an aside, there is a scene in the film in which one of the Weatherman is talking of Malcolm X, suggesting that his "any means necessary" was a support for their movement. Ironic, that by the time the Weatherman made the statement Malcolm X had abandoned that philosophy, and believed in inclusion, and supported peaceful resistance. I think that bespeaks to their being uninformed.

In the end, I think they enjoyed the labels. Most have now assimilated into society. Is that what a true revolutionary does? But they did not earn the titles which they bestowed upon themselves. In some ways they are no different than the priveleged they criticized - both had something not earned.

I did enjoy the film, and would recommend it to anyone with more than passing interest in American counter-culture of the 60's, and anyone who probably should know more about American politics, which includes most of us. To that end, I think that the film is very valuable.