The Dukes of Hazzard, the south shall rise again; A movie review

Southern Awakening?

I went to see the Dukes of Hazzard this evening. It was all I hoped it would be with Willie Nelson, Burt Reynolds, Jessica Simpson and other familiar faces (and other body parts) as well as a lot of unfamiliar ones. This time the "modern day Robin Hoods" as the theme song puts it, were environmentalists...when their family farm was stolen by crooked county officials Boss Hogg and his band of crooked county police who knew there was coal under it. It had plenty of car chases with lots of crashed cop cars to help vent frustration with the crooked government/corporate officials in real life and diversion in the form of attractive people doing attractive things. Also some grotesquely unattractive people doing unattractive things. More importantly it helps recast the rural American as what they largely perceive themselves to be; the self sufficient guardians of American freedomand justice for everyone. Hopefully this movie will help redeem the Confederate flag as something other than a banner for racism too. Let's hope, while hope still has a place, that the American flag can be salvaged from the forces that have claimed it as a banner for bigotry and aggression too.


Let's hope the south does rise again

Not the southern racists who would return to the days of slavery but those that fought the monopolistic drive of the industrial north in the civil war. The drive to empire that spawned the genocidal rampage against the Sioux and other native Americans in the 19^th century, led to the invasions of countless countries where dictatorships were installed in the guise of freedom and democracy in the 20^th century and is now fighting desperatly with the giant, but empty, husk of material power. The power of money and armies and the facade of religion and decency.


Hang them with their own rope

The right wing base to which Bush and Company appealed thought they were rallying behind a Texas dirt farmer and Washington outsider who would set things straight by driving the General Lee into the White House, the U.N. and set things right and so on but time is making them aware that the Conneticut Yankee son of Bush I is none of these things and that maybe law and due process ain't so bad after all. I read a review of this movie at Salon.com and agreed with most of it though have a different slant as you can see. Where I did disagree was with the comment in that article that it had appeal for those with an aversion to authority figures. It does not have that appeal at all; it appeals to those who like authority and want it to be above board and honest and have your and my interest at heart. Who want police that will protect us from criminals rather than be enforcers for white collar criminals with one foot in the government, one foot in the corporate world and both hands in the till. While it stops short of advocating a revolution it comes close.
As I predicted several years ago at TAPA's forums and numerous other places after the unopposed attacks on the WTC and the Pentagon their own followers will be the ones to lead them up the gallows steps when they figure out that they've been had and had bad.

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