Movies for Anarchists - Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World
Hello Steemit movie lovers, libertarians, anarchists and anyone who falls 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 its libertarian content, so mild spoilers will follow.
Without further ado, here's today's entry:
Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World (2003)
The movie takes place during the Napoleonic Wars. A British frigate, HMS Surprise, and a much larger French privateer, the Acheron, stalk each other off of the coast of South America.
Captain Jack Aubrey (Russel Crowe) is well regarded by his men, even after the first devastating battle and an apparent personal vendetta against the French captain. The captain has taken Surprise far beyond their original orders. Their job was to follow the Acheron to Brazil, but they end up tracking it around the Cape into the Pacific. Their mission begins to seem endless and fruitless, and certain crewmen begin to question Captain Jack's motives, throwing around words like "vendetta" and "obsession."
The surgeon, Dr. Stephen Maturin (Paul Bettany) is also naturalist who balances the violence of his life as a naval seaman with the quiet demeanor of the scientist. He is the captain's friend and confidant, the two frequently debate the role of the military and play violin and cello duets together. It is this character and his relationship with the captain that is my primary reason for listing this film as a great movie for anarchists.
What makes this a great movie for anarchists?
It may seem curious to some of you that I've chosen a historical drama about British naval officers as a movie for anarchists, but bear with me. Far from the oft-seen, "Rah! Rah! America! (or in this case, England)" fare of war movies, this film brings up many poignant questions about the role of the military and even the government.
Even though he's a military doctor, Stephen is something of an anarchist. Though a good friend to the captain, their differences in philosophy often cause them to butt heads. Let me show you an excerpt from the film's script:
JACK: Men must be governed. Often not wisely I grant you, but there are hierarchies even in nature, as you've often said yourself.
STEPHEN: Hierarchies. That is the excuse of every tyrant in history. Of Nero. Of Boneparte.
JACK: (trying to call a halt) Yes. Fine words I'm sure
STEPHEN: (continues regardless) ...We are not animals and I for one am opposed to authority, that egg of misery and oppression..
JACK: Very fine words Stephen, but in these current circumstances, hard-work and firm discipline is what keeps our little wooden world together.
STEPHEN: And grog I suppose.
JACK: Of course. What of it? Of course they have their grog!
STEPHEN: (sits) (CONT'D) You know Nagel was drunk when he insulted Hollom. And Higgins is never sober. Even the midshipmen...
JACK: The men will have their grog Stephen. It is part of the immemorial tradition of the service.
STEPHEN: Well a shameful tradition it is too. To have them pressed from their homes, kept in a permanent state of dull inebriation.
JACK: Stephen...
STEPHEN: ...confined for months in a wooden prison, never more than a few hours sleep and flogged when drunken idleness drives them to....
JACK: (forcefully) ...Stephen! I warn you that friend or no I will not have you talk of the service like that.
STEPHEN: I am stating plain facts
JACK: (finally explodes) Well I will not hear them! From you or anyone. You understand! Things are as they are for good or bad whether or not they have a place in your damned papist philosophy. If you are here to make music then sit down and play. If not be gone, for you have come to the wrong shop for anarchy!
Words tend to change a bit by the time the screenplay makes it to film, but save for a few words, this excerpt is more-or-less presented in the same way in the finished movie.
This is an exchange like nothing else I've heard in a Hollywood film. A man speaking of the service as a "shameful tradition", calling all authority the "egg of misery and oppression", and flat-out rejecting the notion that men must be governed.
He says all of these things, and the movie doesn't treat him like a crazed-loon to be laughed at. His opinion is given equal weight in an argument with a man defending England's empire, government, and military service in general. This is a rare thing in cinema.
This is the strongest example of this type of conversation in Master and Commander, but there are others like it.
Go watch it. It's a fantastic movie with some nice tidbits for liberty-lovers to chew on.
~Seth
Other Movies for Anarchists
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Great movie!!!
I love that movie! It was on a few weeks ago and I watched it for the first time in over a decade.
I just rewatched it a week or two ago with my wife who hadn't seen it.
I've liked Master and Commander since I first saw it in 2003, but I hadn't watched it since becoming an anarchist. I never knew how much good stuff is in it! Great movie.
Master and Commander was a great movie in every way. I remember that much about it, even if not much else. Been almost ... damn, almost twenty years.
Gonna have to see it again apparently.
Do it! Watch it again. You won't regret it.
Damn this looks really good. Never heard of it. I'll have to check it out.
It's one of my all time favourites.
I love that you post these on Tuesdays. There's nothing on tv on Tuesdays haha. This legitimately looks awesome though. Pumped to check it out.
interesting choice, i see where you went with this, FANTASTIC MOVIE, just great characters all around and great story with several subplots. Masterful, exciting, and thoughtful.
Funny as always how many of the big names associated with the movie are themselves not libertarian, anarchist, notr voluntaryist.
I keep hoping that someday maybe these messages might get through to them as well.
I often wonder how the actors feel about the words that their characters are saying.
I have to give it another watch. I usually love historical pieces, but I didn't get anything out of it the first time through. I think it was the pace. Which again, I usually don't mind in this genre.
It's a pretty slow-paced movie, so I understand that it isn't for everyone. But I would highly recommend giving it another go!
I haven't seen it. Will put it on my playlist! Thanks.
I hope you enjoy it :)
Love it ! :)