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Modern Romans
Are we becoming the modern day equivalent to the Roman Empire? That is the question that appears to hold some relevance. As I write this, Pearl Harbor has just cleaned up at the box office, and it appears to be preparing to do so again in its second weekend of release.
The insanity of it all is that Pearl Harbor holds absolutely no redeeming value. It's nothing but gaudy, garish spectacle strung together with a soap-opera quality love triangle. Watching this only makes me feel like saying, "you know, Armageddon wasn't so bad after all." So how does this make us into the latter day Roman Empire?
Ancient Rome as a society was one obsessed with the blood sport. Perhaps "obsessed" is a strong word, but the idea rings true. There was magnificent gladiatorial combat, fights with exotic wildlife, and so forth. Blood, carnage, and death were commonplace in the mighty arenas. However, with the rise of Christianity and the fall of the Empire, such obvious glee over death became something we as a society pushed under the carpet. It didn't rise again until theatre became common, and even then works such as "Titus Andronicus" were bloody and horrific with some magnificent poetry thrown in.
But our Judeo-Christian sensibilities always ring true, and up to the present we've always been quick to push these things aside. We claim we have modesty, love of life, etc. Therein lies the hypocrisy of it all; we live in a society where sex can be purchased cheaply, full frontal nudity and vulgar profanity is expected in every movie, and nothing is complete without a really big explosion. Yet at the same time, we pretend to hide our eyes, saying that these things aren't right and we aren't this way. This is our only discrepency with the Romans; we're pretending we dislike the very thing that draws such big numbers. The giant spectacle of death is what we all yearn for, but we pretend to avoid it like the plague.
Pick a goddamn path, people! We're acting like we have a bowl of chocolate ice cream and a bowl of vanilla, and we don't want to decide which one we want so we constantly dip our spoons into both. I don't claim to dislike violence, profanity, and nudity in films. Sometimes I rent a movie or go to the theatre simply to see these things. But I don't make any bones about it, I like what I like. There is this constant hypocrisy in our culture that we have to follow line and note every word that the Bible teaches us, yet at the same time we know that occasionally we like to see this constant violence. Films like Bridget Jones' Diary and You can Count on Me are thrown by the wayside in favor of The Mummy Returns and Pearl Harbor.
Again, I state that I do enjoy these things. But we've learned that great stories and interesting characters can accompany this violence we apparently lust for so much. I hate the fact that we are so eager to watch the mindless popcorn film to sacrifice our minds and creative energy while the smaller stories are thrown away like yesterday's garbage. How are movies like Pearl Harbor even made? In a world equipped with good taste, it never would have been made. I don't argue against solely visual films; one of my favorite films is 2001, a film almost totally devoid of dialogue in favor of spectacular visuals. But the idea is to find a middle ground in here and dismiss those movies with absolutely nothing of interest to them. Come on, there is no way any intelligent person could, in all seriousness, tell me that the visuals in Pearl Harbor are at all extraordinary. Sure, it may look cool in that 30-minute sequence, but it's nothing we'll never see in another movie later on. Instead of good taste, we find ourselves looking for the next cheap thrill, the next fix. We want our sex and violence, and we want it now. Nothing makes a summer blockbuster quite like a light action extravaganza, and if you want anything with decent writing you better wait until November.
Let's just overlook the fact that our society was founded on violence; we flourish from its very presence. Everything from the hushed up Salem Witch Trials to the American Revolution, we are a people who have grown strong from the very notion of shooting first and asking questions later. But no, that's not what we want for our children. Oh dear, let's not let the children see this. I'm not particularly happy with the fact that we're trying to protect our bastard offspring from seeing this stuff, as you all well know by now. I'm even less pleased by the fact that Gladiator could win Best Picture and I nearly fell asleep the first time I saw it. These movies have a story, but they're usually nothing you can see through the convoluted mess of gunplay and big explosions. Just admit it, you have a desire to see it just as much as me. The problem is, so many people want to see this instead of a good story. At least the Hollywood of yesteryear knew how to make a movie with a decent script usually.
So here we are, a society that's becoming a conundrum. We love blood, we love death, and we love sex. But we don't want to admit it. What a bunch of hypocrites.
Next thing you know we're going to have vomitoriums.