Jeff Lechtanski’s Weblog » Movies I’d Forgotten About

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03-28-2008

Recently, I have really started loving political thrillers from the 60s and 70s. I’m talking about those Redford, Hoffman and Beatty movies like the Parallax View, Marathon Man, Three Days of the Condor and, of course, All the President’s Men.

These are movies born from an era of an intense suspicion of the government. I’m a little young to remember it all (born in ’72), so I make a few suppositions: Vietnam, Nixon, the Kent State killings, MLK, JFK, RFK, Malcolm X, the Chicago Seven, theories that the US was behind a spat of coups around the world. The secrecy brought to light within the government, essentially confirmed people’s suspicions about other possible wrong doings by people in power. That in due time their other evil ways will be known.

The country was being run by this white male corporate/industrial/military power structure, and a class of younger white men made these great grainy movies. Everyone in the government is bad. The CIA, FBI, NSA, Congress, Wall Street… bad, bad, bad. The movies were mostly rated PG, but had a tiny bit of skin and swearing (there was no PG-13 rating, yet).

There’s a saying that historical movies aren’t about history, they’re about today. Conversely, these movies remind me of the ridiculous, secretive and bizarro-conservative administration we’re facing right now. They’re a sure reminder of the cyclical nature of government, culture and entertainment.

The modern equivalents would be Conspiracy Theory, Enemy of the State or, maybe, Michael Clayton. The government is an easy target. It’s hard to prove you aren’t hiding something.

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