The Manchurian President
"In 2020, it all seems like it’s happening in front of us. No one’s hiding anything"
Monte Williams, our mad scientist, is back with a look at how 2020 has pummeled the political thriller genre — with one notable, and chilling, exception: The Manchurian Candidate.
by Monte Williams
Movies can feel obsolete because of technical advances in filmmaking, or because society has moved in a different direction, or because they focus on finite predictions, “use or freeze by” movies like 2012 which didn’t come true (of course I don’t include 1984 in that category.)
The political thriller/satire has certainly suffered as a genre during 2020. Nuanced films like The Best Man have been rendered quaint, the wild and crazy-ass Bulworth now comes off as under-imagined. Isn’t Being There’s character Chance the Gardener simply QAnon, every driveling utterance given a revealed meaning? Seven Days in May examines an ominous U.S. military cabal, but we have watched the real-life Col. Vindman and his dedication to duty. Now, if President Jordan Lyman was the corrupt character and Gen. James Matoon Scott was trying to salvage our democracy, then Seven Days in May would be inching closer to 2020.
The political thriller/satire has certainly suffered in 2020
But wait--the Russians! Russian interference! Not just the far-left Russians, but this country’s far-right wing fealty to the strong-arm enemy-poisoning far-left Russians. Time to dive back into the greatest political thriller of them all in my opinion, the one that still holds relevance in these astonishing times: The Manchurian Candidate.
There are two versions, each reflecting the politics of the day. The source is Richard Condon’s novel, published in 1959. John Frankenheimer’s original 1962 film adaptation has famously been associated with, and for a while absurdly received blame for, the assassination of JFK one year later. 2020’s harsh truth was predicted in that first film, namely that on the political extremes, the existence of one requires the existence of the other. They have common goals--to burn down and subsequently build anew. The intent is to describe the political spectrum as a kind of circle, and The Manchurian Candidate is where the ends connect. I am not peddling false equivalency. Our actual situation in this country right now is not precisely mirrored by The Manchurian Candidate. A majority of the mayhem has been perpetrated by far right wing networks. The FBI has said as much. But the idea that operatives on the crazy left are symbiotic with operatives on the crazy right rings true.
The Manchurian Candidate also celebrates words as triggers. Why don’t you pass the time by playing a little solitaire… Utter those words and all hell breaks loose. In 1962, the character became activated. Today, words can still break loose hell, but we don’t call it activated, we call it woke. Karen is the kindest, warmest, most wonderful...
The excellent remake by the late Jonathan Demme, one of the best directors of the last 50 years, reflects not political extremism but corporate profits. And why not, when 2004 was offering the storylines of oil, Halliburton, Blackwater, Cheney and so on.
In either case, the hoped-for result on the part of the villains is the same: absolute power, be it geo-political or economic. Which brings us to the Trump administration. Are these people waging a corrupt war for ideology, or on behalf of a money-grabbing corporation? We are left contemplating both Manchurian Candidates, a cinematic version of quantum entanglement, Schrödinger's Cat, both alive and dead until we open the box. But in this case opening the box requires defeating Trump so actual investigations can begin, free of the sycophantic Senate/Cabinet cabal which has served as Trump’s shameful fatty suit of armor since 2016. When the investigations truly begin is when we learn the particle’s valence, the plus or minus, the level of the political demagoguery, the dollar amount of the grift.
One final slap in the face to the genre of political thrillers: typically the plot machinations occur in the shadows
One final slap in the face to the genre of political thrillers: typically the plot machinations occur in the shadows, the characters all take great pains to hide the monstrous actions of the coup-plotters (a wistful if historic term.) In 2020, it all seems like it’s happening in front of us. No one’s hiding anything--except taxes, grade points, DNA, BMI, etc. President Lyman in Seven Days In May keeps requiring secrecy from those who are investigating the intent and tactics of Lyman’s enemies, regardless of whether they’re in the military, the Congress, or the media. The President does this to protect the sanctity of our democracy.
In 2020 we have Trump and FOX and OANN and the rise of the cult, wherein it’s essential not to hide but to reveal and exalt. Thank God the internet wasn’t around when the McCarthy hearings were going on. Can you imagine how empowered Tail Gunner Joe would have felt upon learning that 40% of registered voters, without evidence, shared his *belief* that there were Communists in the Defense Department?
Also notice I have not referenced the novel It Can’t Happen Here. My screenwriting partner and I pitched that several times as a feature film or limited series, and we were laughed out of the room. To say who’s laughing now seems both inappropriate and depressing.
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