"Society, man!"
Every time something stresses me out in society, I remember that great scene from my favorite movie, "Into the Wild," where he just blames it all on society. Which is what I like to do.
Today I started making my top 10 list for 2015’s movies in preparation for the 88th Academy Awards.
In doing this, I became aware of an upsetting trend. In several of my top 10 picks, there is an element of hopelessness that is perpetuated by an extant system of living. Contained in their plots and in their conflicts are problems so pervasive in society that they feel impossible to solve.
The first that left me with a feeling of unobtainable justice is "Spotlight," which follows a special unit of The Boston Globe as they investigate cases of systemic child sex abuse by Roman Catholic priests.
While the reporters were successful in outing the predators and those who aided in covering up the crimes, the film demonstrated just how willing we are to let tragedy fall by the wayside to protect our own comfortable ways of life. The incidents of the movie confronted me with the entanglement that exists between organized religion, law, social class, and media.
Another disturbing movie is "Sicario." It is about an FBI agent eager to enact change, who is enlisted by a government task force to dismantle a Mexican drug cartel from top to bottom.
The operation employs deceit, unsanctioned murders, and a number of other questionable tactics to meet their end. The basis for the movie reminded me that even those in authority -- those commissioned to protect -- are human. Decisions must be made while the right answers are not always immediately evident.
A third story comes from the unsettling montage "The Big Short." Throughout, audiences are exposed to the deep-seated corruption of the American banks and economy from the vantage point of the financial crisis of 2007-2008. In the end, no one wins. Even when the culprits are turned in, no change is enacted, because (from my perspective) to prosecute and to correct would almost be more trouble than it is worth.
And there’s not solving it. Everything affects everything else. One solution only produces another problem. Each day we add to the chaos. I think in watching these films I came closer to understanding that old ambiguous concept from physics class: entropy.
The level of entropy represents the energy in a system’s inability to convert into actual work. Therefore, the degree of disorder and randomness is increased in the system.
And so it goes. We crawl over and under everything as best we know how. More often than not, we are motivated by selfish ambition. More often than not, we turn a blind eye. It’s simply too complicated to try to correct. It isn’t, perhaps, worth it.
But that can’t be right, can it?
How can we do the right thing? I’m asking.
I keep thinking that our hope isn't here, in this world.
