Tuesday, February 13, 2007
Flip Flop Girl: Another Pop Culture Snapshot
Hello there, I was just thinking again about the mess we seem to be in regarding our collective mindset, full to the gills with pop culture, at least in western society, specifically American. Still pondering poor Anna Nicole, the latest victim of our tabloid nation feeding frenzy. Good that we have artists that help us see the big picture. A perfect example is Charlie Chaplin who remains quite relevant in his world view.
I just saw a film that seemed to put our perpetual pop culture circus in its place. It is A King in New York. This was Charlie Chaplin's last film in which he also stars. I take this straight from Wikipedia: "A King in New York is a 1957 film directed by and starring Charlie Chaplin in his last starring role, which presents a satirical view of certain aspects of United States politics and society. The film was produced in Europe after Chaplin's exile from the US in 1952. It did not open in the United States until the early 1970's."
How interesting that this film wasn't allowed into the US until 1973. It took that long, a whole generation, before the United States was ready for the sort of satire that Chaplin delivered which is not heavy-handed but quite sensible! Nice how a mild approach can still sting some people! And those same sorts are still among us today--just take a look at the Bush White House and the right wing blogosphere! Basically, Chaplin is asking for tolerance and understanding during the McCarthy Communist witchhunt. What makes this film so beautiful is that he is also doing so much more than that!
Get this: The plot really takes off when Chaplin's character, the exiled King Shahdov, is the victim of a reality TV prank!
King Shahdov is forced to leave his country after a revolution and makes it to New York only to find his assets have been stolen. Broke and desperate, the king is forced to become a spokesperson. Clumsy and befuddled, his mistakes make him more and more popular to where the public will buy anything he endorses.
To look good for television, the king is willing to try plastic surgery which distorts his features and leaves him unable to form real expressions. Lucky for him, the procedure is reversible and he gets his old face back!
Meanwhile, Americans are caught up in a patriotic frenzy that leaves them suspicious of each other and vulnerable to government and media manipulation.
As a leader of a small and struggling nation, the king feels that atomic energy might prove the key to improving his country's fortunes but he is forever being suspected of actually wanting to create weapons of mass destruction.
Despite it all, the king is still optimistic about America and can see a time when the balance of power will return.
What do you think?! See this film! And totally as an aside, there is even a little scene where Chaplin is engaging in a little foot play with Dawn Addams! Very cute.
Labels: blogs, Bush, Charlie Chaplin, Communists, criticism, film, foot fetish, journalism, marketing, McCarthyism, media, politics, pop culture, reality tv, right wing, sex, terror, war, witchhunts, Writing
