Movies for Anarchists - Captain America: The Winter Soldier
Hello Steemit movie lovers, libertarians, anarchists and anyone who falls somewhere in the middle of that Venn Diagram! This is my second entry in a new series where I recommend great movies for anarchists.
About "Movies for Anarchists"
In this series, I won't just be exploring films with an overt pro-liberty message. All of them will at least contains seeds of that message, but the most important factor I'll be looking for is whether the movie challenges the audience to think about freedom.
I'm going to try to keep these reviews generally spoiler-free because I want you to watch these movies. But I also want to give you a taste of each film's libertarian content, so mild spoilers will follow.
Without further ado, here's today's entry:
Captain America: The Winter Soldier (2014)
Damn, this movie had fantastic trailers.
I'm going to make a bold statement. Not only is this one of the best (if not the best) superhero movies of all time, it's also one of the greatest action movies that's come out in a long time. When you throw the film's thought-provoking content into the mix, it becomes a true gem.
The Winter Soldier follows Steve Rogers after his first appearance in Captain America: The First Avengers and second in The Avengers the next year.
Rogers is an enhanced super soldier and a World War II hero. At the end of The First Avenger, he is frozen only to be awakened in the 21st century. Waking up after decades of suspended animation involves more than catching up on pop culture; it also means that this old school idealist must face a world of subtler threats and difficult moral complexities. Steve has become an agent of S.H.I.E.L.D., a government agency with global reach. But he soon learns that they may not be all that they seem.
What makes this a great movie for anarchists?
I'm going to do my best not to spoil the movie for you, but I want to highlight some pieces of its libertarian message.
Even though the organization S.H.I.E.L.D. is fictional, The Winter Soldier manages to show us the ugly truth about government. As the movie demonstrates, government agencies are willing to:
- Take preemptive strikes against perceived threats
- Invade the privacy of every citizen in order to achieve "security"
- Kill millions to achieve "peace"
- Generate chaos so that they can intervene and become the saviours, thus solidifying their power and perceived necessity
Steve Rogers is the Edward Snowden figure of this story. He finds out the truth about what his government is doing and aims to expose them.
Early in the movie, Steve Rogers has a conversation with S.H.I.E.L.D Director, Nick Fury, about his concerns. Fury has just explained their new plan to eliminate threats before they occur. This plan will make the world a safer place.
Nick Fury: After New York, I convinced the World Security Council we needed a quantum surge in threat analysis. For once we're way ahead of the curve.
Steve Rogers: By holding a gun at everyone on Earth and calling it protection.
Nick Fury: You know, I read those SSR files. Greatest generation? You guys did some nasty stuff.
Steve Rogers: Yeah, we compromised. Sometimes in ways that made us not sleep so well. But we did it so the people could be free. This isn't freedom, this is fear.
Nick Fury: SHIELD takes the world as it is, not as we'd like it to be. It's getting damn near past time for you to get with that program, Cap.
Steve Rogers: Don't hold your breath.
Despite its perpetuation of the oversimplification of WWII, that it was fought for freedom, this is a really great conversation that sets the tone of the rest of the film.
That's all I'm going to say about The Winter Soldier. If you want a more spoiler-heavy analysis that delves much deeper into the anti-government themes, I would recommend an article from The Mises Institute: "The Rothbardian Implications of 'Captain America: The Winter Soldier'"
I know a lot of people are tired of the over-saturated market of superhero movies and others don't care for the genre at all. But I ask that you give this one a chance.
~Seth
Other Movies for Anarchists
I have probably watched Winter Soldier too many times - incredible action sequences and a fucking awesome story. Cheers!
Agreed. I often find myself bored by action, but the sequences in this movie are amazing!
Definitely like this one. Not a huge superhero person but anything that exposes the State for what it is, especially the idea that a bunch of Nazis have been in control the whole time (Dulles).
Some people say that the Hydra twist is a cop out. Like, "oh it's not our government that's bad, it's just the sci-fi Nazis!"
But I disagree. With or without Hydra, SHIELD was still doing bad things. "Good guys" like Nick Fury still oversaw project insight without moral qualms. And as Captain America himself said, "SHIELD, Hydra, it all goes." He recognized the inherent evil in BOTH organizations.
True that. It isn't really a cop out though if that's kind of what happens in America. Non-American interests running the government.
That's a good point too! Those who call it a cop out just haven't given it enough thought in my opinion.
Hmmmmm very interesting. I'm not going to lie I'm pretty skeptical about this one, but I think I'll give it a try. Really enjoyed "Master and Commander."
I might be getting ahead of myself but "Watchmen" definitely comes to mind when thinking of anarchistic super hero movies. Alan Moore who wrote the graphic novel is an anarchist. Although he didn't approve of the hollywood version of his book.
I saw Watchmen when it first came out. I don't remember much of it, maybe I'll give it another shot! And I didn't know Alan Moore is an anarchist. Interesting!
I'd strongly suggest reading the graphic novel if you haven't. It's pretty damn good in my opinion.
So disappointed that Chris Evans identified as Team Iron Man.
Agreed... I don't understand how anyone can be Team Iron Man. Statists gonna state...
That is the most powerful scene in the MCU.
I fucking love this show more than tits! Well actually almost that much but not quite!