I'm still losing sleep, but hopefully actually healing post-surgery. So when I lay awake at night letting my thoughts race and compete with each other, I end up mulling over some odd things.

If you've read this blog before, you know that two of the topics that I tend to obsess over are, a) politics and b) movies. So it's natural, I guess, that the two would eventually merge into one in my brain.

So thanks to a long, sleepless night and the general machinations of my soul, I'm proud to present:

The Official SouthCon List Of The Top Ten
Conservative Movies of the Past Ten Years*

10:...The Incredibles

Helen: I can't believe you don't want to go to your own son's graduation.
Bob: It's not a graduation. He is moving from the 4th grade to the 5th grade.
Helen: It's a ceremony!
Bob: It's psychotic! They keep creating new ways to celebrate mediocrity!

I really enjoyed The Incredibles, especially it's Harrison-Bergeron-like elements. In the future conceived by the story, those with above average abilities will be forced to hold back, to reign themselves in, so that nobody will be made to feel unexceptional. But if everyone is exceptional, then nobody is. The resolution: Give it 100%, do the best you can do, and don't hold back. The other guy's inability isn't your problem.

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09:...Knocked Up

When you get past the vulgarity (and there's a lot of it), when you get past the swearing and the sex jokes (by the tons), two things about Knocked Up are inescapable. It's really, really, really funny ... and it's a story about doing the right thing. Ben and Alison don't love each other when they conceive a baby together. They hardly know each other, in fact. But they decide to try to get together for the sake of the child they've conceived.

The question of abortion is presented as a horrible alternative when Alison's mother tells her that she should abort her child, focus on here career, and later on have a "real baby, when the time is right." Meanwhile, Ben and Alison, who seem to have no common ground to build a relationship on, end up becoming a loving couple and devoted parents. Turns out, whatta ya know, the most important common ground of all is that they share the same priorities when it comes to family and pregnancy. Ben leaves his slacker lifestyle behind and Alison puts her career on the back burner. Knocked Up made me laugh like crazy, and made me happy with it's message.

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08:...World Trade Center

I'd call it a minor miracle. Oliver Stone, a left-wing director known for his obsessions with conspiracy theories, somehow managed to turn out a movie about all that's good about America.

I was worried when I heard that Stone was directing World Trade Center. I anticipated a "truther" movie; some ridiculous fable about George W. Bush, Haliburton and Isreal plotting together to destroy the Twin Towers and start a rich man's war. Wonderfully, that wasn't the case. World Trade Center is really the true story of two Port Authority policemen who're trapped in the rubble of one of the fallen towers on 9/11, and it's about the efforts of their rescuers to save their lives. The movie celebrates the selflessness, strength and love of the principle characters ... and of Americans in general. Whether you consider yourself a Ronald Reagan conservative (hand up, here) or a Howard Dean liberal, or anything in between, World Trade Center is poignant, beautiful reminder of what it means to be an American.

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07:...The Exorcism Of Emily Rose

In the worst case scenario, The Exorcism Of Emily Rose could have been a movie that exploited religious faith or simply mocked it. Thankfully, ...Emily Rose turned out to be a best case scenario; a movie that that seriously, carefully compared and contrasted the religious perspective and the scientific perspective of a young woman's controversial death. The scientific perspective is treated here with cold logic. Thankfully, the religious point of view is handled with sensitivity and profound thoughtfulness.

...Emily Rose was loosely based on the true story of a young woman who believed she was under attack by demons. When medical treatment didn't provide her relief, her family brought her home, where she eventually died. The central question of the movie was this: was her devout Catholic family responsible through negligence for their Emily's death, or had they really done all they could do? There are no easy answers, and thankfully, the movie doesn't settle for an easy ending. It's up to you, the viewer, to reach your own conclusions. What a wonderful rarity; a movie primarily focused on Christian faith that expects it's audience to think for themselves.

By the way, the German feature Requiem is a subtler, quieter film that's based even more directly on the true story of Anneliese Michel. The two films (...Emily Rose and Requiem) compliment each other nicely, showing two different approaches to the story, one done at a higher level of suspenseful drama and the other done as a quiet character study. I'd say that both movies succeed on their own terms and I'd recommend Requiem to fans of ...Emily Rose. You can see the trailer for Requiem by clicking here. If you're stout of heart and would like to hear and see real images and sounds from the real exorcisms of Anneliese Michael, you can click here for part 1 and for part 2. Further episodes are available on YouTube. But I'll warn you, some of this is somewhat upsetting.

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06:...Saving Private Ryan

Stephen Spielberg is an amazing film maker, but he's not known as a particularly conservative one. When he produced a movie about World War II, he could have turned out a revisionist mess. He didn't. Spielberg's Saving Private Ryan is a wide-eyed, reverent, profoundly grateful tribute to those who've sacrificed all in service to their country. And it begins and ends with solemn, beautiful shots of Old Glory, giving the flag appropriate weight and meaning. Saving Private Ryan is often difficult to watch, but it's a film that every American should see.

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05:...Signs

What an anomaly; a major motion picture, with big-name stars, from a major director and a major studio, that celebrates and glorifies the power of religious faith.

As of now, Signs was the last genuinely good movie that M. Night Shyamalan has turned out. And it's one of his best. This science fiction account of an alien invasion of the Earth is scary, bordering on terrifying at times, and just on the surface it succeeds simply as a thriller.

But there's more to Signs than what's on the surface. This is the story of a clergyman who, due to tragedy, has lost his religious faith. Then, events take place that seem to be counter to everything we know about our existence, and everyone involved is forced to examine themselves at the core and find the source of their resolve. Mel Gibson, as the lapsed pastor, finds that the core of his being is rooted in a faith that he can't really cast aside. The movie's final scene, involving a roman collar and a crucifix, is one of the most unapologeticly pro-Christian moments in recent cinema. It might make you a little verklempt. It certainly got to me, anyway.

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04:...Team America: World Police

Nobody in today's world of entertainment does a better job of mocking liberalism and all of it's silly conceits than South Park creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone. So it's no surprise that Team America: World Police, the duo's obscene puppet show, skewers liberalism with gleeful abandon.

Team America doesn't hold back, naming Hollywood's worst liberal elites by name. I laughed so much at this movie, allowing it's running jokes to brand themselves on my psyche, and to this day I can't see Matt Damon without saying "MATT DAMON!" in my deepest, dumbest voice. The movie ends with a speech about the necessity of (occasional) war that rings true and is yet the most vulgar, politically incorrect monologue you'll ever hear. (" If you don't let us ____ this _______, we're going to have our _____ and _______ all covered in ____!") And best of all, Team America even lampoons all that's bad about our country, taking a "warts and all" approach to patriotism. America! Eff Yeah!

Language Warning For This Clip

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03:...The Dark Knight

In my full review of The Dark Knight, I referred to Batman as "the ultimate Republican." And I can't think of a better way to describe the caped crusader. After all, he's an unapologetic millionaire and successful businessman. Plus, he's a self-appointed citizen soldier who goes after corruption and crime with unrestrained zeal. Batman is willing to do what it takes to stop the bad guys, even creating his own "patriot act" style surveillance system, allowing him to monitor every cell-phone in Gotham city.

Unethical? Maybe. Batman doesn't attempt to argue with his invaluable friend and supporter Lucius Fox, who promises to leave if the machine isn't destroyed. And in the end, the machine does appear to self destruct. But Batman has no qualms about using it for what he sees as the common good when he's stuck between a makeup wearing terrorist (The Joker) and a rigid, crusading politician (Harvey "Two Face" Dent). Batman does what he must to stop the bad guys. Let the chips fall where they may.

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02:...The Passion Of The Christ

Mel Gibson may be the only person in Hollywood with both the interest in making a major motion picture about the crucifixion of Christ and the power to get the movie made and distributed. And Christians around the world responded with a record turnout for The Passion Of The Christ.

Now, movies about Christ have been made in the past. But they usually focus on revisionism, such as the utterly unwatchable Da Vinci Code ... or muddled, perverse symbolism, like The Last Temptation Of Christ ... or satire, like Monty Python's Life Of Brian. The Passion is one of a kind: An unflinching, visceral look at the crucifixion of Christ that draws from the Bible and 2000 years of Christian Tradition as it's source and inspiration. Wow. What are chances of Hollywood turning out that kind of movie?

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01:...The Lives Of Others

You can't swing a hammer and sickle in Hollywood without hitting a pro-communism movie. At least two movies praising the murdering thug Che Guevara have been recently produced, for instance. Michael Moore's latest pile of refuse (I won't link to it, sorry) glorified Cuba. It's no surprise that if you want to see a movie that shows communism for what it is, you have to look outside of the American movie industry.

In fact, you have to look to movie makers who actually lived under Communism and can show it for what it is.

The Lives Of Others greatly effected me when I saw it, and I've thought about it occasionally ever since. And make no mistake, for all the twisted connections that some critics would like to make to the Patriot Act, The Lives Of Others is about, very specifically, life in Communist East Germany in the 80's. It's a dark, honest, evocative film, and one everyone should see.

The movie features a remarkable performance from Ulrich Muhe as an East German secret agent who becomes more humane and less Soviet as his surveillance of a young couple begins to touch his heart and soul. The progression of his character, along with the relationship between the man and woman under his surveillance, make for gripping, compelling story-telling. And the movie ends with a post-script that's touching and beautiful. Don't miss The Lives Of Others. It tells a story about life, love, and the evil of repressive government that you'll never forget.

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*Could anyone build a good argument that only some or maybe none of these movies really qualify as "conservative?" Could someone, in fact, build a case for the "liberalism" of any or all of these films? Well, of course. So don't take this too seriously. This list really tells you more about me, and about my perspective, than it does about the movies themselves.

Labels: Faith, Movies, Politics