I just finished watching Vanishing Point. A strange, but strangely compelling movie. And very, very typical of the flower power time. I can usually spot the time of a movie to plus/minus two years, and this one just reeked to high heaven of 1971/72. The love and pot, mired in nihilism and tragedy. Deeply black.
Also typical: the hero is somebody up against the authorities. If you think about it, it's a bit odd: aren't the authorities representative of most of us? If they aren't, why don't we elect some who are? Why do we always see heroes in outlaws, when outlaws by definition are against the rules that we have collectively chosen?
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The authorities are the ones who harass us, censor us, take our money, lie to us, insult our intelligence, treat us like children, try to tell us how to think and live, throw us in jail, and send us to war, among other things. Sure, if I felt there was a candidate who really represented me, I'd elect him in a heartbeat. But since Iggy Pop isn't running for president, there's not much I can do about that.
Even if the authorities start out representing us, they have a penchant for becoming power-hungry and corrupting the system to ensure that they maintain their foothold.
Example: the Republicans and the Democrats. They're corporate owned parties given coverage by a corporate owned media. Ron Paul was one of the most popular candidates among those who heard his message but he didn't get one tenth of the coverage that the other major candidates did, practically ensuring he had no shot at the Republican nomination. Furthermore, the party itself went to certain lengths to hinder his efforts. That's not even getting into how they do everything in their power to prevent a viable third party from ever showing up on the ballot.
When the powers that be won't even give me an option to vote for someone I actually support, I'm not going to acknowledge their authority as legitimate. No authority is legitimate simply because it claims authority, despite how we're told time and time again that it's bad to go against the grain and question things. If I wanted to be treated like a child my whole life I'd have given myself permanent brain damage.
I think even if authority doesn't become corrupt rebels are still necessary. Without anyone to shake things up society stagnates. That'd be pretty boring. I mean sometimes you've just gotta burn some shit down. (I'm talking about metaphorical shit mostly. Fire, while invigorating, can get a little messy.)
I love that move! Haven't seen it for years now, but can remember it well. I love the irony of him using his turn signal to signal a lane change on the freeway after driving like a madman on both sides of the road. And the forshadowing of the opening sequence leading, ultimately, to the closing sequence. The dj calls him "the last American hero." I like to think of it as an homage to all the other rebels in American cinema- James Dean, Brando, McQueen.
If the elections are free and fair, then the authorities represent us. However in my country it is difficult to vote against companies like Chevron or AT&T. These companies can, and do, donate money to whoever wins the election.
There is some truth to the saying, "An honest politician is one who, when he is bought, will stay bought."
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