The Inland Imperialist

If GRINDHOUSE has any message at all it's a not very subtly politically correct, deadeningly familiar one about death-mad white-male culture (i.e., traditional western civilization in a supremely decadent phase) relying on the cultural other (symbolized here by women, in particular by non-white or monstrously phallicized women) for redemption or rescue.  Ever since 9/11 and the initial reaction to it, our culture generally and young moviegoers specifically have been subjected to an increasingly high-volume message that everything we do is wrong, that our civilization, rather than being worth fighting for, is in effect the source of horrendous violence.  In that way, GRINDHOUSE is just a fantasized version of the mainstream media, bringing the old news that the world is full of meaningless horror, and if it's anyone's fault, it's ours.  You may even believe that to be true, but you shouldn't be surprised if it doesn't sell very well, and doesn't strike audiences as particularly novel.  In addition to paying homage to '60s-'70s culture, GRINDHOUSE also seems to carry the period's ideological freight.  The point of view which once seemed novel, part and parcel of the '60s youth revolution, is now mainstream, in effect reactionary.  For young people trying to find their way in the world, young males in particular, GRINDHOUSE presents more of the same abuse and alienation they get from the evening news, college civics classes, and the Democratic Party:  It tells them that they're useless, that being male and aggressive (and white or white-oriented or white-aligned) is virtually synonymous with being psychotic and evil.  300, by contrast, compliments them on their heritage, and rather unambiguously affirms them for what they are and might dream of being. 

Posted by: CKMacLeod at 10:10:57 | No Comments | Add Comment
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