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Home Alone and the Culture of Passivity In today's political discourse, "non-violence" is considered the ultimate virtue. Media figures heap constant praise upon the likes of Gandhi and Martin Luther King Jr. while calling into question the legitimacy of violent revolutionary struggles in post-colonial nations. John Hughes's populist masterpiece, Home Alone, offers a rebuttal to this status quo apologism with a shocking dive into the psyche of his American audience. The film begins with Kevin's parents, his personified superego, abandoning him to enjoy the excesses of Paris. This is a direct corollary to actions of imperial powers who left their former colonies behind. Once the oppressive parental figure is gone, thieves quickly attempt to invade and take advantage of Kevin's new found independence, just the same as they did to newly freed third-world nations. It is important to note that the character of the house robbers is the same as his parents in essence; both seeks to impose a morality on Kevin that is in gross contradiction with his id. Like Kevin's parents, the burglars have to forced out so Kevin can create a model society that satisfies his innate humane desires. But how is Kevin supposed to gain independence from these powerful outside forces? The “mainstream” position claims that a strict adherence to the principles of non-violence will grant Kevin autonomy he so desperately seeks. The actual American public, unbeknownst to itself, takes the opposite position. They will laugh as Kevin slashes the burglars' feet, smashes their skulls with paint cans, and sears their flesh with hot metal. Even the most complacent sectors of American society, who otherwise find cannot tolerate violence on film, enjoy this brutal “slapstick”. This highlights a contradiction within the minds of Americans. On one hand, they are told by their oppressive father figure, the media and educational system, that political violence by those seeking autonomy is amoral, while on the other hand the sight of violence for the same means excites them. Like most such contradictions, the conflict is not realized by the individual's ego, but rather plays out in the unconscious. So while most Americans do not think that they are supportive of such violent measures, it can nonetheless be seen in their erratic behavior. They cling to guns, castle doctrine, and their own interpretations of individuality in place of actually performing the violent quest for independence. Home Alone not only provides a convincing parallel to the struggle of developing nations, but shows that the American public secretly admires the same violent struggle they denounce. The suppression of societies' collective id by the superego of modern western capitalism causes untold harm to the people of the world. Not only does it protect the status quo by quelling humanity's violent nature, but it produces an extraordinary form of mass psychosis that haunts American society. True freedom for America will come about not through empty rhetoric or non-threatening protest, but through a re-imagining of culture that embraces and encourages humankind's natural propensity for violent struggle against authority. Home Alone is a good first step, unfortunately more is needed. Activists around the world, lift your pens, point your cameras, and pluck your strings; it is the only way to achieve change.
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Jan 18, 2011 02:39
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McCaine posted:winner Well this was an enjoyable "Who Gets to Ban SITBM" contest anyway
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Jan 18, 2011 04:45
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