FILM REVIEW: CITIZEN KOCH By: Faiz No comments

A scene from Citizen Koch.

To divide they spend

By John Esther

Since the birth of this nation, the rich have held great sway over our government. If it were not for the people participating in the democratic process, namely voting, there would be no stopping the rich from infiltrating every aspect of government – starting with the campaign process. 

However, that changed in 2010 with the U.S. Supreme Court ruling in Citizens vs. United. A backhanded ruling engineered by the rich neoconservatives, the ruling essentially diluted the influence of working classes in the political process by equating unlimited and often undisclosed campaign contributions with free speech. 

Embolden by the new ruling, billionaires such as Charles and David Koch (AKA the Koch bros.) started this new weapon in class warfare against the working classes in Wisconsin with the 2010 election of Governor Scott Walker, a staunch Republican fixing to dismantle the unions in his state. As a result, a recall movement is born in 2011. People realize the importance of unions. 

Then the Americans for Prosperity from Virginia steps in, becoming Walker’s biggest donor while recruiting Teabagger dupes to back a policy clearly against their best self-interests. Meanwhile Republican members of public unions begin to question his and her longstanding beliefs regarding the GOP just like former Louisiana governor and US Congressman Buddy Roemer did as he ran a different kind of campaign during last year’s Republican primaries. 

Capturing this whirlwind of activity leading up to the historical failure in 2012 to recall Walker, co-directors Carl Deal and Tia Lessin (Trouble the Water) cohesively illustrate what happens when the bad financial powers-that-be cannot be stopped. 

FILM REVIEW: THE CAMPAIGN By: Faiz No comments

A scene from The Campaign.

Democracy for dollars

By Don Simpson

The United States finds itself teetering on the verge of becoming an oligarchy (or corporatocracy) under the guise of capitalism and free enterprise. Just as money makes the world go round, it is money that determines who will be elected into our government. Money also determines whether or not any legislation will garner enough support to become a law. Oddly enough, despite the polarization of our nation's two political parties, almost everyone seems to agree on this; but rather than doing anything about it, we just point fingers, blaming it all on the other side. Politicians provide us with endless lip service about changing the way things work in D.C. The problem is our political system is structured in such a way that things will never change. The three branch system of the U.S. government serves one purpose: to ensure that. The political environment is one of compromise, which means it is reliant upon persuasive powers and there is nothing more persuasive in our society than money. The two party political system is all about compromise as well, leaving most Americans with the option of voting for the better of two apparent evils or not voting at all.

Jay Roach's The Campaign presents us with a political climate that is controlled by the purse strings of billionaire brothers, Glenn (John Lithgow) and Wade Motch (Dan Aykroyd). The Motch brothers' bankroll carries so much persuasive power that it can instantly transform a stereotypical loser like Marty Huggins (Zach Galifianakis) into a viable candidate. On the other side, we are presented with the long-term incumbent Cam Brady (Will Ferrell) who has historically run uncontested. The Motch brothers have one goal, to get Cam out of office, but Cam will not go down without a ridiculously long and drawn out fight.

What could have been a biting political satire, The Campaign comes off as totally toothless and downright stupid. Other than its all-too-easy condemnation of the Motch brothers (who are modeled after the Koch brothers), Roach opts to not offend anyone...except his audience. The plot is a directionless blob that serves the sole purpose of setting up a nonstop barrage of absurd humor. If The Campaignis about anything, it would be the horrors of one-upmanship. Just as Marty and Cam try their darndest to out do each other, Galifianakis and Ferrell seem to be immersed in their own no holds barred competition for the most outlandish gag. Sure, some of the jokes are funny, but Galifianakis and Ferrell are trying way too hard. A little restraint would have gone a long way.