INTRODUCTION
As
another year ends, it is time for The Sociologist’s Dojo to rattle off the top
ten Sociological films of the year. As
with the last two years, I’ve decided to once again, give
readers a list of 10 events of the year that can be encapsulated in film. Again,
this is not an exhaustive list of events, nor even the ones that are “The Most
Sociological.” Instead, this is to
provide an accounting of some of the noteworthy happenings of 2022 and the
films that epitomize their essence; either directly or tangentially. With each
event, I will provide a brief explanation, followed by how the film(s) relate
to each incident. This list is obviously limited by personal bias, the films I
have seen, and my own specialties in Sociology.
2022
saw a lot of violence and death, whether by assassination, old age, war, or
mass murder. There was also a rise of new plagues, economic destabilization,
inept police, even more inept billionaires, the sustained assault of inflation,
and the elimination of federal protections on women’s bodies. It has been a
heck of a year, and upon this yearly retrospective, may this curated list provide
thought provoking pause and wry/gallous humor simultaneously. Watch these films
if you haven’t already, and if you are feeling nostalgic for 2022, watch these
films in this curated order with the context provided. Enjoy!
10) James Webb Telescope: Triple Feature:
Contact (1997)
Gravity (2013)
and Interstellar
(2014)
Importantly renamed “The
Jelliscope, Welliscope, Space Telescope” by Dr. Liz Faber
in a
recent episode of The
Sociologist’s Dojo Podcast due to James Webb’s known
support of anti LGBTQ+ policies, the first images of the
space telescope were widely circulated in 2022. These images gave us a greater
since of our own futility and the vastness of space beyond our borders, while
having the potential to have an equalizing effect on human rights. With such
detailed images, the possibility of making everyone realize how precious life
is, and how fleetingly insignificant humans are in the face of the sheer expanse
of space, was possible. However, like a lot of other events that pass through
social media, it gets experienced and then forgotten. We did not consider the magnitude
of these images before they were shuffled aside to be commodified by placing
them on posters, T-shirts, and other merchandise.
The triple feature of Contact,
Gravity, and Interstellar truly encapsulates the dangers and the grandness
of space itself. Each film looks at the dangers of space in a different way:
from Contact’s relationship with Extraterrestrial life, which
the government “sort of” confirmed was real in 2020,
to the hazardous work environment of being in Space, with Alfonso Curron’s Gravity,
due to a spectacular amount of space trash that surrounds our planet becoming
so large that industry
seems to be capitalizing on it. Rounding out the three is Nolan’s Interstellar,
a film I have already
written about. The characters in that film look to the
stars for their own survival without really knowing how they will achieve it.
When you couple this narrative with the images of the space telescope reinvigorating
talk of going to mars, you
can hopefully see the parallels. Finally, the films in this triple feature are
also known to be “hard science” fiction, that treats space through a plausibly
scientific lens, becoming an important prism of motivation if we continue exploring
space, and possibly leading to space travel.
9) The assassination of Shinzo Abe:
The Master (2012)
The assassination of Japanese Prime Minister, Shinzo Abe in July of 2022 shocked the world, but quickly moved in and out of the US media cycle. The alleged perpetrator, Tetsuya Yamagami shot Abe because of Abe’s ties to the Unification Church run by the Reverend Sun Myung Moon, and its policies of extreme tithing, which caused his mother to go into bankruptcy. The assassination caused the Japanese government to renounce the Church and threaten to expel any member of government that did not do the same. The Church is anti-communist and for Korean unification. It has been supported by the US political right, with Former President Trump speaking to them in 2021.
There are many films that I considered to represent this 2022 event.
First, I thought a political angle would be most important. Yet, the more I dug
into the story, the more I realized that the actual story was about cults. To
that end, I could have picked any number of fantastic films about cults: Wild
Country, Martha Marcy Mae Marlene, and The Invitation; the
latter being a part of the Blog’s Films of Karyn Kusama retrospective. I chose The Master, given the similarities with some
of the rhetoric with the Unification Church, the Church of Scientology, and NXIVM
founder Keith Raniere. Scientology founder David Miscavige being one of the
models for Philip Seymour Hoffman’s character. Additionally, the devotion cult followers
feel often leads to a set of behaviors and practices that have a very big wake.
One of those waves can be bankruptcy and the giving up of worldly possessions.
Those that are left behind, can be obviously upset, distraught and angry which
can lead them to extremes.
8) The Death of Queen Elizabeth II:
The Queen (2006)
On Sept 8th
2022, Queen Elizabeth II died at the age of 96. One of the longest rules in
modern history, the Reign of Queen Elizabeth went platinum, ruling for 70
years. Quiet and a fierce defender of her family’s perception by the public, Queen
Elizabeth was a complexity. She, in her title and parentage, was a part of, and
continued to oversee the maintenance of British colonialism and the segregated class
of the Monarchy’s systemic spirit. Yet not only did she promote gender equality
by being a jeep mechanic in WWII, but she oversaw elements of the decolonization
movement in Africa and Australia. However, little is known how she truly felt
about these matters as Queen Elizabeth usually kept her political and religious
beliefs relatively secret.
The Queen,
featuring Helen Mirren in her Oscar winning role, takes place over the weeks
just after the death of Diana Princess of Wales in 1997. The film places
particular emphasis over Elizabeth’s reaction to the news, and the social and
political fallout of the events afterward. The dramatization takes specific
care and attention to justify the Queen’s reluctance to join the public in the
mourning of Diana, a
point for which Queen Elizabeth was harshly criticized. While
a lot of the humanizing of Elizabeth in The Queen was due to Mirren’s
remarkable transformation and portrayal, the specific emphasis on Elizabeth’s
justification for her reticence to grieve publicly, was steeped in the legacy
of the Royal Family, a historical and cultural norm that she held based in her
generation’s ideals of British privacy, emotional reservation, and stoicism; which,
in both the film and reality, were no longer shared by her subjects, ultimately
pointing to just how out of touch she was with her people.
7) Inflation Rate Hike:
Money For Nothing (2013)
From
the end of 2021- 2022 the
overall costs of goods and services have increased by nearly 8 %. Almost
all goods and services cost more now than it did a few years ago, with energy
and food being the highest increases. Basic staples, like eggs and milk, are up
between 14.5-43% while smart phones are down 22%. Over the last 18 months, the
inflation rate has shot up by over half a percent. This means that middle income
Americans are paying an average additional cost of $445 for the same goods they
purchased last year. The Fed desires to keep inflation at a rate of 2%.
The
Global economy is one of the clearest indicators of the interconnected nature
of all people. What happens in one part of the world, impacts everywhere else.
The increase in energy costs is exacerbated by the Russian invasion of Ukraine
(more on that later). While this is true, the way this cost is distributed, and
whom it impacts the most, is largely out of consumers hands; left at the mercy of
corporations and countries that set their prices to maintain profits, thereby passing
the cost of inflation on to consumers, rather than eat the cost themselves. “That’s
Capitalism!” In many sectors of the food industry, the hike in consumer
products seem to have killed
“the one-dollar deal”. However, one company, Arizona Tea, stands above the
fray and shouts “We
will hold the line at 99c.”. Yet, as a comic book fan I know these declarations
can change pretty quickly.
The
Film Money for Nothing is an intimate look at the workings of the
federal reserve and their ability to set prices. The film takes people through
the decisions and indecisions that led up to the 2008 financial crisis and its
aftermath by which the fed was consumed. This documentary investigates the control
of inflation and the overall mechanisms of the economy that need to be understood
if we are going to try and change it.
How to Survive a Plague (2012)
Monkey
Pox is a viral disease that is found in animals and can be transmitted to
humans. First found in Monkeys in the Congo was the first cases of the virus
being transmitted to humans in the 1970’s. Spread through bodily fluids or
vigorous skin to skin contact, Monkey pox has become a second pandemic in as
many years. While the 2022 Monkey Pox outbreak
was the second to hit the US (the first in 2003), it was the first incidence of
widespread transmission out of Africa. In July 2022, the World Health
Organization declared a public health emergency with 53,000 cases in 75
countries and territories.
The
film How to Survive a Plague chronicles the early days of the AIDS epidemic
and the fight to transform an AIDS diagnosis from a death sentence to a manageable
condition. This film is relevant because of the similarities in the social
response between Monkey Pox and AIDS. Both diseases are used in the scapegoating
of the LGBTQ+ community, particularly gay men, as its source. While this
is false, it is an echo of the violence and bigotry steeped in homophobia
that the community has a long history with (as indicated by this film choice). Because
of this dehumanization in both crises, the
LGBTQ+ community has remained ever vigilant and developed
information and practices to protect themselves, often being more informed than local authorities
and other community groups. This is because history taught them that no one will
help save them if they don’t save themselves.
5) Musk Buys Twitter: Cosmopolis (2012)
The
saga of Elon Musk’s takeover of the social media platform Twitter is too long
to go into in its entirety. However, the process ran from April 2022- October
2022, Beginning with Musk’s use of twitter, and criticizing its operation. Musk
decided to buy Twitter because of a false consciousness about free speech on
the platform that he perceives should be a freedom of consequences, (erroneously
believing those are the same thing) in addition to getting more followers and
attention. But when the Twitter board introduced a “poison pill” provision to
prevent a hostile takeover by Musk (so that he couldn’t just dismantle and sell
off the parts of the company to other buyers), Musk tried to get out of the
deal by threatening to walk away. However, when he realized he couldn’t walk
away without severe financial losses, ultimately acquiesced, and completed the
deal. The fallout of Musk buying Twitter is still ongoing. Upon hearing of his
taking control of Twitter both users and advertisers have begun to flee to
other social networks like Mastodon and Hive. Since Musk became CEO, Twitter
has lost more
than a million users, and half
of its top 100 advertisers.
The movie
parallel for this dumpster fire is the David Cronenberg neo noir, Cosmopolis
starring Robert Pattinson. Set in one “location” the film follows a young billionaire
in the back of a limousine as he drives round town, meeting with people after
having made a poor financial decision. The slow unraveling of Pattinson’s world
as the day progresses, fits the delicious turmoil that Musk finds himself in now;
firing
half of the workforce (including ones who
criticized him) and pitching various schemes to be able to pay the
1 billion dollars in interest he owes every year, henceforth.
4)
The 2022 Midterms: Man of the Year (2006)
The events leading up to the 2022
midterms were dire for Democrats and the political left. Often considered a
referendum on the current administration, the expectations for the Midterms in
the beginning were decidedly bleak with many conservative pundits and elected
officials prophesizing a “red wave” or “red tsunami” that would take back
control in the Senate and further solidify their dominance in the House. This
did not happen. Many on the right blamed the unwillingness
to distance themselves from Donald Trump, while others believed that it was
the inclusion
of Gen Z voters and the
overturning of Roe (more on that later) that calmed the tide.
Our politics
have become a circus clown show (and not the fun kind where we get Lord Buckethead). There
is an eerie quality to the way that Barry Sonnenfeld’s political satire, Man
of the Year starring Robin Williams mirrors real life: Lack of Confidence
in voting machines, and a celebrity host wins the presidency. Yet, where our political
reality tests the levels of hell of Dante’s Inferno, Sonnenfeld’s film
is far more benevolent, dismantling the circus before it does real damage. We
need to always speak truth to power, unfortunately that voice gets muzzled the minute
that power is achieved.
3) Mass Shootings Uvalde and Club Q:Double Feature:
Newtown (2016)
Licensed to Kill (1997)
On May 24, 2022, a gunmen
entered Robb Elementary school unimpeded, with an AR style rifle. He shut
himself in two adjoining classrooms and was not engaged with for over an hour.
In that time, the shooter was able to kill 19 children and 2 teachers. Off duty
border patrol agents bypassed the local police, entered the room, and killed
the suspect. In the intervening hour
plus, when the gunman was not engaged, the Uvalde police department cordoned
off the area, kept civilian parents back from entering the building to rescue
their children, and then waited for more personnel, and military style weapons,
before the breach was made.
On Nov 10-11, 2022, a mass shooting
took place at Club Q, an LGBTQ+ bar. The gunman killed 5 people and injured 25
others. This comes on the heels of a rise
in anti- LGBTQ+ rhetoric and violence, specifically occurring
in the Colorado Springs area where Club Q was considered
a safe haven. The act was perpetrated on the eve of Transgender Day of Remembrance
when the names and lives of those Trans identified people who’ve died (many
by murder or suicide) are honored.
I’ve already written
about the Uvalde shooting and the cowardice, lack of communication, and overall
incompetence of the Uvalde police department in my recent essay on Masculinity
and violence. The same analysis can
be used on the Club Q shooting because of the ties our society makes between
heterosexuality and masculinity. The perpetrator having experienced their own masculine
reinforced homophobic bullying continued the cycle of violence at Club Q.
The two films that stand
out that can give the audience some semblance of the atmosphere of these two mass
shootings are the documentary about the Sandyhook school shooting titled Newtown
(2016), and the documentary about LGBTQAI+ murders, Licensed to Kill
(1997).[1]
Both of these films show that these conditions and events in 2022 are not novel.
It is important to remember that history does not repeat itself…but it rhymes.
2) Russian invasion of Ukraine:
Come and See (1985)
On
Feb 22nd, 2022, Russian
forces invaded the sovereign State of Ukraine in an escalation of their
conflict that began in 2014. Since the occupation and resistance has begun,
tens of thousands on both sides have died, communities bombed, and global
economies have been disrupted. Putin originally stating that the invasion was
to “De-nazify” Ukraine in a thinly veiled, impossibly transparent attempt at disguising
these war crimes as just and heroic. The act has received wide international condemnation
and The International Criminal Court has begun an investigation into these Russian
actions.
Elem
Kilmov’s brutal vision of the Russian resistance against the Nazi’s in WWII, Come
and See, follows a young Belarusian boy as he witnesses the horrors of war.
The film is remarkable in the way that it takes the initial enthusiasm the
protagonist has for war and violence, (having been romanticized by masculine propaganda),
but through his experiences, has his whole worldview on war completely upended.
We the audience, are surrogate bystanders to the death of his childhood, as we
watch him become a hollowed out emotionless husk of a person by films end.
1) Supreme
Court overturning of Roe v. Wade: Happening (2021)
The
political gridlock of the last 15 years has made legislating difficult for either
party. Yet, due to court packing practices of Goblin King Mitch McConnell, the Conservative
Republican agenda can now be pushed forward through the Judicial system. This
was made clear when, in May of 2022, a leaked draft memo of the upcoming Dobbs
decision indicated that the Conservative majority court was going to
overturn Roe on the basis that the privacy distinction (that was used to
identify access) was no longer valid. This would lead to immediate
implementation of 15 state “trigger bans” that were put in conservative states
once Federal protections were lifted on June 24th, 2022. Rather than
codify access into federal law or allow for abortions to still take place on
protected federal lands, the Democratic party used this as a political weapon
to help them in the mid-terms and presumably 2024. Additionally, because the dismantling
of Roe was done through the privacy provision, many other social justice
protections could now be threatened, such as gay and interracial Marriage, and access
to contraception. However, yesterday as of this writing, the Congress has
codified Interracial Marriages into law. Though, prior to that, we all knew
this protection was not in danger so long as Clarence Thomas still sits upon
the Court.
Happening,
set in anti- abortion 1960’s France, follows the story of a woman’s Odyssey to acquire
an abortion. Secret meetings, traveling long distances, and back-alley rendezvouses
pepper this harrowing journey of reclaiming one’s identity after what could
very well be a death sentence. This is the situation millions of women now find
themselves in 60 years later in the US. The film really ratchets up the tension
forcing the audience to sit with the protagonist’s increasing desperation as
the time limit to get the procedure approaches. The film conveys the
protagonist’s feelings of simultaneous relief and horror when the procedure is
complete with such empathy, that it feels like an Oracle.
CONCLUSION
Thus, I look out, on the precipice of another year on the horizon, with a minor sense of personal hope that absolutely, positively… does not extend to the mezzo or macro level(s). Our institutions are crumbling, there is an acrimonious stalemate in Congress while the current “Yolo Supreme Court” is eroding federal protections and undermining constitutional rights. There is not much to be thankful for on that level, which is why it is essential for us to find love and joy wherever we find it. Whether that be among our family, friends, spouses, partners and ‘others of significance’, we cannot count on happiness coming from anyone other than inside and around all of us. I leave you with the regeneration of the 13th Doctor into their 14th incarnation. May we all transform ourselves for the coming celebrations and challenges ahead. See you all in 2023!
