or Powell's or me• • •
"Mike and Jon, Jon and Mike—I've known them both for years, and, clearly, one of them is very funny. As for the other: truly one of the great hangers-on of our time."—Steve Bodow, head writer, The Daily Show
•
"Who can really judge what's funny? If humor is a subjective medium, then can there be something that is really and truly hilarious? Me. This book."—Daniel Handler, author, Adverbs, and personal representative of Lemony Snicket
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"The good news: I thought Our Kampf was consistently hilarious. The bad news: I’m the guy who wrote Monkeybone."—Sam Hamm, screenwriter, Batman, Batman Returns, and Homecoming
February 21, 2009
O Wad Some Pow'r The Giftie Gie Us
What are best conservative movies of the last 25 years, according to National Review? Well, at #22, there's Brazil:
Brazil (1985): Vividly depicting the miserable results of elitist utopian schemes, Terry Gilliam’s Brazil portrays a darkly comic dystopia of malfunctioning high-tech equipment and the dreary living conditions common to all totalitarian regimes. Everything in the society is built to serve government plans rather than people. The film is visually arresting and inventive, with especially evocative use of shots that put the audience in a subservient position, just like the people in the film. Terrorist bombings, national-security scares, universal police surveillance, bureaucratic arrogance, a callous elite, perversion of science, and government use of torture evoke the worst aspects of the modern megastate.
Over to you, Jonathan Swift:
Satire is a sort of glass wherein beholders do generally discover everybody's face but their own; which is the chief reason for that kind reception it meets with in the world, and that so very few are offended with it.
—Jonathan Schwarz
I think you've left open a bold tag.
Posted by: D-Notice at February 21, 2009 10:23 AMSeems to be fixed now!
Posted by: D-Notice at February 21, 2009 10:25 AMFurther nitpick: the first link is broken!
Posted by: Save the Oocytes at February 21, 2009 11:15 AMI give, and I give, and I give...
Posted by: Jonathan Schwarz at February 21, 2009 11:38 AMMost of the things in the list are favored by conservatives, but I think they still frown on terrorist bombings, unless they're carried out by one state against the people of another state.
Posted by: Cryptic ned at February 21, 2009 12:05 PMIf by "one state" you mean "us" and by "another state" you mean "them", yeah.
Posted by: Doctorb at February 21, 2009 04:22 PMI remember I liked Brazil. I must be a closeted conservative.
Posted by: abb1 at February 21, 2009 04:31 PMJesus. That's gonna have Terry Gilliam turning in his grave. Which will be the grave he digs and then throws himself into when he hears about this.
Posted by: RobWeaver at February 21, 2009 08:44 PMGreat. Is Dr. Strangelove on the list because conservatives abhor war?
Posted by: Seth at February 21, 2009 09:10 PMGoddam Glenn Greenwald, thinking Jon's thoughts even before Jon has a chance to think them!
I give our host points, though, for the more-poetic title.
Posted by: SteveB at February 22, 2009 01:10 PMBeautifully captured Jonathan, the satire is surreal.
Posted by: Daniel at February 22, 2009 05:28 PMI don't have any nitpicky remarks about the HTML -- I just like this post a great deal. Nicely observed, sir! [/hat tip]
Posted by: Kate at February 23, 2009 09:49 PM
