There have been an interesting spate of films about morally ambiguous anti-heroes recently. Maybe it's a reaction against the suffocating extremes of political correctness, or maybe it's just the next predictable twist in the po-mo perspective. Whatever the motivation, recent offerings like Lord of War and Thank You for Smoking have displayed clever film making about disturbing topics...
I really enjoyed both films, quite different in emphasis (one focusing on the arms trade the latter on the tobacco industry) but both focusing on the skill and motivation of men who pedal death in it's many forms.
As films I thought they were both excellent; well paced, great performances, intelligent, provocative explorations of the subject matter and strong visual styles. What I've been left mulling through though are two theme's both movies dabbled in, personal responsibility and our ability to blind ourselves to the consequences of our actions.
Both characters, when endlessly questioned about their motivation, admit they essentially pedal death because they can. They thrive on the challenge, they're good at it; why shouldn't you do something that fulfills you, makes you stinking rich and gives you enough of a challenge to feel excited about going to work.
PLOT SPOILER - LORD OF WAR
At the end of Lord of War as Nicolas cage turns to the camera, surrounded by the shells he's peddled to the latest African War Lord, he smiles and says something along the lines of...
"You probably think I'm the devil, but the arms I sell in a year are nothing compared to what the worlds largest arms dealers sell in a day. Who are these people? The US, the UK, France, China and Russia, the five permanent members of the security council."
Now don't get me wrong, he's got a great point, but what I really disliked about this ending was the lack of emphasis on personal responsibility. "Hey I'm not the first, I'm not even the worst, so what's so bad about me making my way in the world. I'm not pulling the trigger."
PLOT SPOILER OVER
PLOT SPOILER - THANK YOU FOR SMOKING
Similarly the climactic speach delivered by Nick Naylor to the gathering of Senators proclaims,
"If my son turns 18 and wants to smoke, I'll buy him his first pack."
A victory for freedom of choice? Or a dangerous message to his 12 year old son sitting three rows behind him. It was Paul who said, "Everything is permissable, but not everything is good for me. Everything is permissable, but I'll let nothing be my master."
PLOT SPOILER OVER
What right do we have to do something just because we can? How much has the pluralism of Post modernity validated dangerous behavior? Why are we so keen to pursue our individuality in everything but responsibility? These films touch on two, quite extreme, examples of moral ambiguity. I would recommend them, they're well made and thought provoking. I've found them very interesting to watch whilst in the middle of auditing areas of my life for their social and economic ethics. But that's a blog for another day... xc