WHERE IS THE VISION?

Those Canadians who do not subscribe to conservative values can now breathe a sigh of relief after the general election is over. The Conservative Party lost, and the Liberals won a minority government. Much was obviously spent on advertising and public relations by the Conservatives, trying to portray Stephen Harper as the calm face of middle-of-the-road, moral high ground politics.

I almost bought it myself, until I reminded myself of their platform. These are the guys who would have Canada fighting alongside the U.S. in a completely unjustified war in Iraq; who would commit Canada and Canadian taxpayers' dollars to a silly-ass American "missile defence shield"; who would allow the incursion of privatized health care; who would likely try to make obtaining an abortion illegal; and who would push the same old tired policy of tax cuts coupled with reinvestment in certain areas (how we can reinvest with a decreased government revenue just doesn't add up, plus don't these guys realize that "trickle down" economics have been tried and didn't work--the only things that trickle down are poverty and bullshit). The Liberals aren't exactly an inspiring bunch, but at least they have a better idea of what Canada should be.

However, the lack of singular vision among our so-called leaders is quite depressing. And I mean this globally, not just in Canada. Where are the speeches and policies that get the blood pumping, that look ahead to see what the world should genuinely be like in 10, 20, heck, 50 years from now? In about 50 years time, maybe sooner, oil reserves will run out. They'll be gone forever. Yet here we are, still stuck in our fucked-up, oil-based economy like junkies who can't think beyond the next needle jacked into our wasted veins. And all the while our dependence on oil creates so much misery--pollution, exploitation of peoples in oil-rich nations, emissions that pump greenhouse gases in the atmosphere setting the planet up for potentially catastrophic climate change.

Where is the vision to say "fuck off" to all the major oil companies keeping us hooked on mainlined crude? Where is the vision to create an economy and a world based on clean, efficient, renewable energy? Where is the courage to wish for a more just world where the rich and powerful are not allowed to flaunt honesty and decency so they can add more bucks to their bloated bank accounts?

Where is the vision?

We need it now, more than any time in history.

Moore and "Fahrenheit 9/11"

I'm ecstatic that Michael Moore's new film Fahrenheit 9/11 has won the Palme D'Or at the Cannes Film Festival. After Disney apparently reneged on the distribution deal, it seemed as if the forces of our free in name only media would conspire to suppress the film. As in many previous cases, the attempt to suppress has backfired, and has attracted reams of free publicity for the film. When it finally gets released in North America, it will be widely seen. And that is a good thing.

Moore is someone we need--willing to dig beneath the bullshit and pose questions about what is going on behind the curtain. His passionate, courageous patriotism--and he is a patriot, no matter what his detractors may say--and willingness to speak out is rare in mainstream media. And even if you don't agree with what he is saying, if you value democracy you should give thanks for people like him. For his greatest strength is posing challenging questions and getting ordinary people to think about politics.

I only hope that voters in the U.S. will do the right thing and get the Bush administration out of office in November. It is a moral imperative, not only for America, but for the safety of the World and the development of policies based on compassion and sanity.

This is my first time.

On a whim I created this blog. I don't know how often I will post, or if this is even worth starting up, but I'll give it a shot. It's always a challenge, staring at a blank page. Exciting--imagine the possiblities! And scary--what the hell do I write?

Ok, I'll tell you this. I recently bought a DVD box set of five old Hitchcock movies. I've watched four of the films so far: Notorious, Spellbound, The 39 Steps, and The Lady Vanishes. I've learned this: Hitchcock was a great director, even from the very beginning. "The Lady Vanishes" opens with a shot where the camera moves over to a mountain village, then travels over and then into the village, finally going to a closeup on a window in a hotel. A great shot. It was obviously done with a model of the village and surrounding landscape, but that doesn't detract from its creativity. Films today use similar effects, albeit with computerized effects work, but here's Hitchcock doing it in the '30s. Amazing.

And don't get me started on Notorious. I knew of this film by reputation. Ebert included it in his The Great Movies book, and it sounded intriguing. But how genuinely suspenseful and interesting could it be? The answer is, extremely. What a terrific film. The characters are constantly operating on several levels. We note what they do, but also have an understanding of what's going on inside them (or we think we do). And the sheer suspense of the set pieces still hold up. There's a scene where Cary Grant and Ingrid Bergman are snooping in a wine cellar using a stolen key. Bergman's husband is upstairs at a party. He will go down to the wine cellar when the champagne runs out. As Bergman and Grant are rummaging around the cellar, there are shots of the case of champagne, with the number of bottles slowly diminishing. How simple editing generates tremendous suspense! The final scene on the stairs I will leave you to discover for yourself. All I can say is that this film is a treasure. If the story seems somewhat familiar, it was ripped off in Mission Impossible 2.

All these Hitchcock DVDs are put out by Criterion, a company that consistently develops superb discs that include the best version of a particular film. These early Hitchcock flicks have all been restored and the picture and sound quality is excellent. Several of these films are going out of print in their Criterion incarnations, so pick them up while you can, before they show up on EBay for absurd amounts of cash. Subsequent editions are unlikely to be as good as the Criterion versions.

(I am a film buff, as you will no doubt guess by now.)

Later.