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The Culture of Obedience

During the last year’s Presidential campaign Tom Brokaw posed the following question to the candidates during a debate, “Do you believe health care is a right or a privilege?” Barack Obama answered “a right”, John McCain, “a privilege.” This question, and these answers, soon prompted a rather surprising and revealing debate with a friend of mine.

At the time I had been working on some films dealing with patient safety and patient rights issues globally for the World Health Organization. After listening to countless hours of stories in which patients recounted their personal stories of (generally) preventable medical error, including stories from within the Unites States, it became clear to me that at this late date in history if we are to call ourselves a ‘civilized society’, quality health care (understanding the inherent difficulties of delivery) is indeed a right for all.

After the debate I voiced to my friend how disappointing, yet not surprising, it was that Mr. McCain, whom had most likely for all intents and purposes been privileged to both choice and low cost in health care his entire life whether via the US Navy or the United States Senate, would deem health care for the rest of us a “privilege”, to which, my friend simply replied “Well, it is a privilege.”

I was completely floored. I knew that this person was a self identifying conservative, and that there would indeed be disagreements about ways in which our current system of care must be changed, but never imagined we would find disagreement at the most basic human level of health care debate. His current life circumstances completely argued against his ardent defense of McCain’s statement. A person with a family, raising two children, working a job that barely provided a livable wage and that did not offer any health care benefits. One of the 46 million uninsured, one accident or illness away from complete financial ruin or worse, and possibly a change of mind in regard to the “right” or “privilege” question.

After much frustrated debate I had a thought that, after examination, I now believe to be at the root of so many of our social ills in this country. It’s summarized this way: we are now living in a culture of obedience. Slowly but surely over the course of decades, with the rise of corporate culture and its dominance on the political stage, we have created an institutionalized system of class obedience manufactured and fiercely defended by the rich and powerful in this country by preying upon the hopes and fears of the masses with the hollow promise that one day they too will be rich and powerful.

Why else would my friend, the uninsured taxpayer, defend a system in which he pays, in part, for the health care benefits of 535 members of congress, the same congress that due to influence from corporations advises him that he is not afforded the same low cost or choice of care as they are? Why else would citizens take to the streets, at the prompting of faux populists, fighting to keep the corporate status quo and maintain limited choice? Why else would we as the consumer populace, time and again, in all areas of industry, work and life, accept willingly this perceived notion of choice over the real thing?

The deeper root of this, I think, is found in the mythical “American Dream.” Once a collective mantra of hope and belief that in this land you could do or be anything you wanted, no matter where you came from economically, socially or ethnically. Obviously there have always been large disparities in who the American Dream actually served, but at its core was a good and shining light. The universal understanding that you couldn’t get something for nothing and that innovation, hard work and perseverance would, in the end, pay its dividends to those who stuck it out.

As we neared the end of the 20th Century and the disparity between rich and poor increased monumentally, this concept, like many other things in this land had been co-opted, corrupted, re-packaged and re-sold to the masses as a devolved mantra of ’something for nothing’ revved up by a celebrity culture that valued wealth and fame over progress and innovation. The will to create was replaced by the need to ‘make it’.

This past week I was lucky enough to be in New York and Los Angeles for two great and inspiring events. First, in New York, I was able to attend Jon Riess’s talk at the IFC Center on his new new book “Think Outside the Box Office” and in Los Angeles I attended DIYDays at the quite remarkable Downtown Independent Theater.

I’ve been involved in independent film production since the mid-1990’s and have watched (and experienced personally) as the initial instinct to tell stories and create art was corrupted, even damaged, by the overwhelming and obsessive notion of ‘making it’. The independent film became ‘brand’ and suddenly ‘commercial viability’ entered the picture and with it a swift, decisive and hostile corporate takeover of the hearts and minds of artists and filmmakers.

I honestly can’t blame most…we all like to eat, we’re all dreamers and as with any art form, filmmaking is driven in part (well, probably in large part) by the need to be seen. But, now as we roll down the other side of the plateau we see, perhaps for the first time, all that was lost as we have toiled in a system of seeking approval from arbitrary gatekeepers. Our sanity, our ownership of the process, innovation in method and creativity, control of our own individual destiny…our own American Dream to run with inspiration, explore, imagine and frankly -make cool shit, traded for a culture obedient to a status quo that has now failed, and was basically a stacked deck from the get go. Like the new American Dream it reflects, independent film distribution became a world open to the privileged few, forever holding out the carrot and preying upon the hopes and fears filmmakers with the hollow promise of the meteoric rise to fame and fortune.

After experiencing these two events, I couldn’t help but think of my debate over right and privilege and our continued adherence to this highly unachievable (even for the most talented among us) status quo as artists and filmmakers.

In New York I was engaged by Jon’s adept grasp of the ever changing world of independent film distribution and its future. He, in his talk and his book, has outlined with depth and detail a virtual road map by which to traverse this new landscape…one in which we take the reigns and bypass the gatekeepers.

In LA, I was impressed by the quality of the speakers and the breadth of the conversation that, no matter the subject, shared at its core a decisive return to the idea of innovation and experimentation in our work, how we make it and how we share it. (I highly recommend checking out the videos from the even available at the diydays.com site)

As I listened to these speakers, I felt a part of the beginnings of what I hope becomes a large scale movement of artists breaking free of the culture of obedience, reclaiming their dream free from fear, free from the anxiety of ‘making it’, while ushering in a new era of responsibility (for our work) that allows for all of us to take ownership over the entire process of our work and with it, the fruits of our creative labors.

While pondering all of this I ran across this new post on Ted Hope’s Truly Free Film Blog. I think the content and tone reflect exactly what this new era of responsibility will look like. Many times our obedience to a system or status quo is born less of our willingness and more from our laziness. In the words of Ted Hope, “It’s time to take back what is already yours.”

At war with ourselves

As the soldiers and families of Ft. Hood (joined by our President and First Lady) lay to rest those killed at the hand of one of their own today, I cannot help but think the lasting legacy of the past 8 years of being a country ‘at war’ is the even more debilitating war within.

It’s no secret that our national discourse has taken a nose-dive with the sad side effect of reducing our friends and neighbors to caricatures, devolved of their humanity and categorized by bumper sticker headlines. But that is just the ever swirling circus of constant distraction that is America in the 21st century. The deeper and more complex war within is the ever compounding side effects of the circus…the growing culture of indifference, of anti intellectualism and the death of critical thinking.

I think this culture is best summed up by a quote from former President George W. Bush, when discussing the newly dubbed ‘war on terror’ in 2001 he stated, “You’re either with us or against us.” Words that were probably meant to be a show strength of coalition as we began to seek justice after the events of September 11th, had, I believe, an additional and longer lasting global effect. In that moment and in those words the world was given permission, or better, a directive, from the leader of the most powerful nation on earth that it was time divide. Choose your camp, choose your weapon and dig in. It frankly killed all discussion, all reason and did not allow for a moment of contemplation as to what factors brought us to this point in our nation’s history.

Thus, as the immediate, honest, completely understandable and most likely justifiable reaction to what happened on September 11th waned and the war raged on indefinitely it became more and more apparent that we no longer knew exactly what it was that we were fighting for. In essence, a once noble call to duty 8 years later devolved into a global version of Hatfields vs. McCoys.

So in the immediate aftermath of the absolutely devastating shootings at Ft. Hood it was not surprising that headline No. 1 was the fact that the soldier and perpetrator of this horrible crime, Nidal Hasan, was indeed a Muslim. It was the easiest short hand to frame what had happened. No need for discussion, contemplation or investigation.

Luckily this time around, the ensuing days have brought investigation, revealing the truth of our individual humanity. We are not simply “this” or “that”. We, all of us, are complex collections of our lineage, our cultures, our social circumstance, our economy, our religion (or lack thereof), our immediate surroundings and the list goes on. These things do not provide justification for our actions, especially those actions that bring immediate and lasting harm to many, but rather offer us insight to the real reasons, not the off the cuff distractions, as to why this happened.

When my collaborator, J. Reuben Appelman, and I began working on our film Person of Interest in 2007 it was born from this growing feeling that an almost overwhelming heaviness had descended upon our nation after 6 years of war. No matter how close or far your direct connection was to the conflict itself, you couldn’t help but feel something had fundamentally changed in the American psyche. As much as we tried to find solace in our old ideas of the world, to many veils had been lifted and combined with a constant onslaught of conflict (real and manufactured) it was startlingly apparent things were never going to be the same. All of this, I feel, in part came to a head in the broken men and women that were our returning soldiers.

Prior to shooting the film I had conducted some interviews with a very close childhood friend (and his family) who in 2005 had been stop lossed (as part of the National Gaurd) and deployed to Iraq. He, like many who share his story, was not just out of high school or college, but rather already in his 30’s; a husband, a father, involved in his community and generally living what we would describe as the American Dream. So, when he returned I became curious, as a person who has never (and most likely will never) see war close up, how exactly does one go from ‘normal’ life to a war zone and back again? It seemed completely implausible that you could do so without skipping a beat, and after several talks and interviews it became very clear that you don’t really come back at all, not in one piece and never fully as you were before.

With embarrassment, it was the first time I felt the full weight of the phrase “give your life for your country.” I learned from my dear friend whether or not you come back at all or in one piece doesn’t matter, when you go to war, whatever the circumstance of your return…you have given your life.

I know that there is an overwhelming ’support for the troops’ in this country, which I don’t feel is disingenuous by a long shot. However, much like in our everyday lives, we are in large part suspect of mental illness in this country and especially when it strikes those we view as the strongest among us. The last several years have seen a steady stream of returning warriors thrust back into their lives and communities without support to great consequence. My friend was one of them. And he, like a vast majority of mentally wounded soldiers was unwilling (at first) to seek out help due to the stigma associated with being ‘less than’. A fear institutionalized by the Army itself and unfortunately upheld in our communities at large. A by-product of being a culture of indifference.

After the election last year, and arguable ‘end of an era’, J. and I half-joked that we had taken to long to finish the film and it would soon be irrelevant. In light of many recent events, good and bad, it appears we couldn’t have been more wrong.

The good news is that due to the efforts within the armed forces, by returning soldiers and soldier organizations like the The Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America and the Wounded Warrior Project, soldiers are being heard and policies, especially those dealing with treatment of post traumatic stress and mental health issues are being addressed and in some cases changed.

Sadly, at the same time, we’ve seen a disturbing uptick in vitriol, violence and attempted (for the moment) domestic terrorism plots in this country.

And then there is Ft. Hood and Nidal Hasan. Is it a simple story of ideology driving someone to violence or is it something much deeper? A truly American story of unchecked pressures of war in an age of ambiguity and us vs. them? I honestly cannot imagine the sense of betrayal, anger and overwhelming sadness his comrades and community at large must be feeling in this moment. I, like most I’m sure, hope justice is served, quickly. I also hope that this case serves as a point of true contemplation of where we could be headed if this war within is not addressed in a tangible way in our very immediate future.

The circus can only continue as long as ‘we the people’ are willing to buy the ticket.