I rarely watch movies - I despise the phony leftists that dominate hollywood and try not to support them
However, the FIREFLY series and movie are awesome !! shows the struggle against a powerful state, characters are honorable and making money is not a crime. oh yeah the women are pretty hot and it is witty to boot. check it ooouuttt.
I want to recommend the movie “Brazil.” It’s listed on the OP. It is funny, intelligent, and very critical of bureaucracy and central planning. Here’s the summary from IMDB:
“In an Orwellian vision of the future, the populace are completely controlled by the state, but technology remains almost as it was in the 1970’s. Sam Lowry is a civil servant who one day spots a mistake in one of the pieces of paperwork passing through his office. The mistake leads to the arrest of an entirely innocent man, and although Lowry attempts to correct the error, it just gets bigger and bigger, sucking him in with it.”
I would definitely recommend The Death of Mister Lazarescu.
Also,
Burn After Reading
Four Lions
The Holy Mountain
Catch 22
Fitzcarraldo
I currently watch the TV show Bored to death, it’s about a writer turned sleuth (out of boredom ). It’s mostly about smoking pot and drinking wine rather than private law but it’s pretty entertaining.
I watched a documentary recently called “Why We Fight” which was pretty good. It discussed the military-industrial complex and its relation to the Iraq War. Only problem is at the end one of the analysts they used throughout the film said, “in America, there has always been a constant struggle between capitalism and democracy and right now, capitalism seems to be winning.” Right, remind me again where the MIC gets this money to fund their war efforts?
And I’m not religous at all, but the Obsolete Man from the Twilight Zone had a great theme going for it. That’s got to be my favorite Twilight Zone episode. My apologies if these have already been mentioned, but the thread is 5 pages long…!
My apologies if these have already been mentioned, but the thread is 5 pages long…!
Yeah I know, I am unable to edit the first page to keep it up to date… which has essentially killed this thread. One of the updated pages is around pg 3.
Anyway:
Children of Men is already on the list, but it deserves more recognition. The main character is the perfect personification of the non-agression principle.
I really love how the “enlighted” opposition to the totalitarian goverment is revealed to be hungry for power, not hesitating to murder so they can be the one to save the day, while Clive Owen’s character just wants himself and the pregnant girl to survive.
@Popyech
WALL-E is not anti-capitalist. It’s anti-plutocracy.
Hang 'Em High with Clint Eastwood. From reading what the movie was about on the back of the dvd I was figuring it would be a bit more rough like High Plains Drifter or The Dollars Trilogy, but it’s not.
About a guy who was wrongfully accused of murder and theft by the local lawmen, but he’s not given a trial, and the men hang him on the spot. The problem (for them) is they didn’t kill him. Marshall finds him alive, and takes him to jail for a trial, and before that his story checks out that he’s innocent. After a talk with the judge they discuss his past job as a lawman, and he decides to take it up again (to use it towards his advantage). The plot goes with him trying to get justice on all those involved, and through the process tries to do it the right way, but finds out the courts, judges, and other lawmen are all corrupt.
I see a similiar theme with this and Dirty Harry involving the justice system (which I believe came out a year or two earlier before Hang 'Em High).
The Corporation
and
The People Speak
and
Manufacturing Consent
Just watched Porco Rosso. Beautiful animation, great plot that doesn’t try too hard and it’s organically libertarian.
Stargate SG1- I find a lot of connotations between the Go’uld and the state. The blind faith in false gods. A being of parasites that steal technology.
Stargate Universe- Even though they have a loose connection back on earth, It is basically a group of flawed people trying to survive on their own in the “wild” of space.
Law Abiding Citizen- I can’t point anything out specifically. But the TSA can’t stop a man with a T-bone.
Looks more like the ultimate bachelor’s DVD shelf. I recommend A Bug’s Life. The whole thing is a metaphor of thugs (grasshoppers) exploiting the masses (ants) and using intimidation to keep them productive and in line. At the end of the movie, the ant Princess stands up to the head thug grasshopper and tells him “Nature has an order. The ants pick the food, the keep the food, and the grasshoppers leave.” The ants are emboldened by the simple realization that they outnumber the grasshoppers 100 to 1. After hearing the ant Princess’s speech, the ants realize they are being exploited, link arms and begin marching towards the grasshoppers.
Clayton -
Wow, this thread grew huge since I last saw it… apologies if any of this has already been mentioned, but I’ve recently been watching randomly selected documentaries from Netflix’s streaming service and every other one seemed to offer something of interest to the libertarian. I’m gonna make this post quick as this is my third attempt after a tab refresh and a browser crash but the ones I can remember off the top of my head:
Frontline: Law & Disorder
About corruption and coverups in the NOLA PD in the wake of hurricane Katrina.
NOVA: Decoding Dogs
I’d recommend this in general, cause it’s just awesomely interesting. About dogs and their interactions with humans. Goes over domestication, it’s origin and it’s influence on human development (as well as the effect it had on the genetics of the dogs!)… the part that struck out at me was when it was talking about the difference between domesticated dogs and wolves, cooperation vs aggression. The wolves they attempted to domesticate were unable to integrate into society, etc etc. I thought it was actually quite interesting to see the nature of civil society vs aggression from an interspecies relationship. There was also an experiment in domesticating wild foxes.
National Geographic: Science of Evil
Lots of stuff on behavior here, Stanford Prison experiment was one of the threads. They seemed to want to show how ‘regular people’ could turn into absolutely disgusting monsters in certain situations, especially when put in coercive roles.
Anyway that’s all I can remember right now… granted, I typically avoid ‘documentaries’ as very reliable sources of information (the dog one really made me want to study the nature of aggression in more detail, though), but they seemed to fit well for this thread and are extremely accessible to laypersons and they could be more effective than some fictional sources because of their apparent “scientific” nature.
Oh and another + about the ones I mentioned was they weren’t overtly political in nature, but still seemed to have at least some strands of a libertarian message (but maybe i was just looking ).
You mentioned the wake of Katrina… reminded me of a good Nicolas Cage movie I recently saw - Bad Lieutenant. It’s not a great movie but it kind of shows the psychological mechanics of corruption in an individual police officer and how the system turns a blind eye to his outrageous behavior.
Clayton -
I’ve just found this list and I find it absolutely amazing. Thanks! There are some movies I haven’t seen yet.
However, I feel some great movies are missing and might make a nice addition to your list. Mostly european ones though, because…you know… that’s where I live. I actually attended this class, in my school, which was pretty much about watching movies that are somehow related to economics and history (mostly about communism, fascism, great depression, etc.). Great experience! I’m mentioning this because most of the movies below is here only thanks to the professor who led the class. Anyway, I hope somebody here will find this useful. BTW: the movies are quite depressing, but they are all worth seeing. You can take my word for it.
Europa (1991) - a story about “year 0” in Germany, after WWII
Spalovac mrtvol (1969) - a story about a fear of Nazi terror that breaks down even the most fundamental values
Obchod na korze (1965) - a story about Aryanization process in a small Slovakian city
Utomlyonnye solntsem (1994) - a story about the Great Terror, I know it’s on your list, but watch this right after the previous one and you will surely find some amazing parables that might illustrate the similarities of both regimes
Ana y los lobos (1973) - MUST SEE - a great story about the Franco’s regime (Spain), in fact anything from Carlos Saura is worth seeing
Katyn (2007)
Vsichni dobri rodaci (1969) - rather strange movie that shows how a single village is changed as the communism developed, and also an outstanding illustration of how enthusiasm from the ‘new freedom’ gradually falls and is being replaced by pure resignation
I do have some other movies I would recommend, but these are the absolute gold you just have to see, if you haven’t already. BTW there is one non-european movie that could probably make the list too.
Three Days of the Condor (1975)
I hope you find this useful. Enjoy!
Given the chance you should see My Dad, the Socialist Kulak, slim as the chances may be.
Speed Racer the movie.
Seriously.
While the state is no where to be seen, and a large corporation is the primary enemy, it’s a beautifully-told story about personal convictions leading to triumph over frightening odds.
Tombstone
How law enforcement cowers or aids criminal activity and only gun toting citizens can bring equilibrium and justice to society.
