Just watched "On The Waterfront" (1954, Directed by Elia Kazan. With Marlon Brando, Karl Malden, Lee J. Cobb,Herman Munster, Eva Marie Saint, etc). I had forgotten how  sad some parts of this movie are to me---and the messages, ah the messages, intended, imagined, etc.


When I first titled this blog, my intent was to 'localize' it-hence the riverfront. I titled this blog while just into the movie-now that the movie's ended, I feel differently.  I am relating the movie from  the bigger picture- us-U.S to the most individual-the "I" .

 
Yeah-this is the movie w/ the " ...I coulda been somebody, I coulda been a contender...but I'm just a bum..."  A bum because in the film, dock-worker,pigeon-lover,former boxer, Marlon Brando  threw a fight-and his boxing career .

In the larger terms, I can see Brando as us, US : hard-working,fighting, loving, 'believing' "powerful"  people-duped by those  "powerful" into making decisions  that are not in our best interest, not in the interest of the 'masses', but decisions that benefit the few powerful-helping the powerful stay powerful, while we,we the people scavenge  for, well, for something that we hope brings us something else that we hope will get us through...--not a pretty picture-not a pretty moving picture  either.

The powerful determine who  our leaders  are -not we the people. Why? Because we allow them to-just as the workers did in On the Waterfront.

I go into enough detail about this on the show, but, just remember the Democrat and Republican parties control the debates, they control The House of Representatives and The Senate, and , like two really tall people, play both sides of "monkey in the middle" w/ the White House-the Dems on one side, the GOPs on the other, and we-the-people are the monkey in the middle. I'd like to believe that there was a time in America that we jumped, reached and stretched...but after awhile, just gave up and went 'about our way' while the Dems and GOPs enjoyed the fruits(of OUR labour-after all-who's White House is it ?).

These two wealthy parties also control the politics in the media, so if your listening or watching-THEY'VE placed the commercials and THEY'VE provided the stations,shows, networks with commentators to remind us,US what to think--pick a pundit,pick your nose,pick your seat-what you get's the same: something you don't need.

In the movie - there's a mob-connected union boss that controls access to work.Those in control prosper by taxing the workers(dues) and taxing the companies by fees and access to the docs, etc.

Here - we have "mob"-controlled political parties that control access to government and all of government's fruits :    money,  jobs, grants, employment,funding, work, well, you get it-eh?




ooops, gotta go- Mutiny on the Bounty (1962)
Directed by Lewis Milestone. With Marlon Brando, Trevor Howard, Richard Harris is on NOW!!!!

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*to the 'oh very young'- movies were once called "moving pictures" or "motion pictures"