Man of the Year, another Barry Levinson. A comedian (picture John Stewart) decides to run for President. This is the beginning of a very interesting campaign. He is accepted in the debates with the other candidates. He wants to discuss the real issues, not the fiction and lies (politicians) or the "weapons of mass distraction" (the news). He is elected by mistake but resigns the moment he knows the truth. Comedy is about freedom anyway. He gets the girl in the end.
Close Encounters of the Third Kind is a Spielberg movie about extra-terrestrials that reveals much more about terrestrials. It projects on extra-terrestrials the best parts of human nature. This week I found on youtube a video with a scene I wanted to show you today:
Just notice how some of these scenes look like a documentary, that's an art mastered by very few directors: it seems real because it's about real people, it could happen that way. And also notice how strong is human quest for the truth. They want answers. No boundaries can stop them. Their need to understand overcomes fear. Religion, science and politics have tried to fill this human quest. We are submersed by information, manipulation, consumer marketing, the constant noise. This movie also reminds us that we must always question information and try to validate it. No given explanation can replace individual counsciousness, especially when it makes resonance with others'. We need one another, we are communities, so, we must learn how to respect other's space and time.
