Obama's Third Term on DVD
July 28, 2009 6:34 PM
In 1868, John Stuart Mill, promoter of liberty and the free market, told the British Parliament, "What is commonly called Utopian is something too good to be practicable; but what they appear to favour is too bad to be practicable." In one sentence Mill summarized the entire current agenda of Obama and the Congressional Progressive Caucus. In the early 20th century a literary form emerged called the dystopian novel, a kind of science fiction depicting utopian schemes gone bad, as Mill had predicted they would. Dystopian novels had gone somewhat out of style during the upbeat post-Reagan era, but now that Obama and allies are running the USA, I predict a huge comeback. Fortunately some of the best dystopian novels had been made into spectacular and memorable movies, which are easily available today. Here are five that I recommend:
1. Brazil. (Trailer | IMDB ) A great introduction to what life might be like during Obama's Third Term, demonstrating the deterioration of a total bureacracy where energy is unaffordable, everything is falling apart, individual rights are a thing of the past, retro technology and 1930's style dominate, and people are generally miserable and without hope. There are even tiny energy-efficient cars! So far out it's funny, provided, of course, that we are able to prevent it from happening.
2. Soylent Green. (Trailer | IMDB) Since health care is about to be discussed, this dismal, yet entertaining film is very topical, as it depicts graphically what might happen to people who are useless to the government because they are too old and remember too much. The main theme is world hunger where government intervention has made food a scarcity, and the innovative solution that bureaucrats have found for the hunger problem. I especially love that the word "green" is in the title, because Soylent Green predicts the ultimate "green job" of the future. Charlton Heston stars!
3. Escape from New York. (Trailer | IMDB) More of an action film than cerebral speculative fiction, this movie nevertheless is quite thought-provoking, depicting a Manhattan that has lost its tax base and law enforcement, and has been taken over by thugs and freeloaders. Made before the Muslims blew up the WTC. Implausible? Don't count on it.
4. Fahrenheit 451. (Trailer | IMDB) Based a Ray Bradbury novel, this film depicts a society where the job of a fireman is not to put out fires but to burn books. Bradbury said his novel was about how television destroys interest in reading literature, which leads to a perception of knowledge as being composed of "factoids", partial information devoid of context. Bradbury, who is still living as I write this, was named a Prometheus Award winner in 1984 for this novel by the Libertarian Futurist Society.
5. 1984. (Trailer | IMDB) The granddaddy of all dystopian novels, "1984" was written by British socialist George Orwell, who has written some of the best novels of all time about socialism gone bad. The hero of "1984," Winston Smith, just wants to do his thing, collect cheap antiques, and get it on with his young, sexually adventurous girlfriend. At considerable expense, the socialist one-world government sees to it that even this miniscule amount of liberty is stamped out in the cruelest manner possible. They will not be satisfied until Smith believes that 2+2=5, when they say 2+2=5. A memorable (pun intended) part of this movie is Smith's job, which is to make inconvenient news items and historical facts disappear down the so-called "memory hole."
Go watch these movies. You will be entertained, and only moderately horrified, since if you are reading "Impeach Them All," you have already figured out what the consequences will be of keeping Barack Hussein Obama and his henchwomen and henchmen in power too long. As for me, I have a message for Mr. Obama:
2+2=4