The above statement translates to "Top 5 'Don't Get Too Excited, These Are Political Ploys!!' Movies". The two reasons this post has a Turkish title is because it sounds better in Turkish, and because it was inspired by a recent tragedy involving an Isreali attack on a Turkish aid ship and the ensuing "outrage" that predictably fall like domino pieces on the political conspiracy playground. The execution of this political and emotional exploitation is so precise, it's almost mathematical.
I would say that it's so obvious this is a calculated move by The Turkish right-wing government and the religious right sending poor patriotic peons to slaughter so they can beef up the religious and patriotic sensibilities of the working class long enough to last until the next election. Yet I guess it isn't so obvious since I'm still sad to see many quote unquote educated and sensible people posting deceptively easy and naive Anti-Israel and veiled anti-semetic posts without thinking for a second as to the real hows, whens and whys of this outcome.
I'm far from being Pro-Israel and I'm definitely not a political science major. I'm just a guy who can see the strings using an uncanny superpower called "basic analytical thinking". That's why it's shocking to me how a lot of people who ought to know better fall in line to these obvious ploys like flies to a bug zapper, when anyone who has remedial knowledge of politics and political history should immediately realize that something doesn't smell right.
So as a public service, I took it upon myself to list five movies (Technically six) that cleverly expose these games for all to see as a sort of visual antidote:
5- Z / Missing (Costa-Gavras Double Feature):
This one-two punch from the master of political thrillers Costa-Gavras will open the viewers' eyes and make them realize just how far any government will go to ensure their survival. Inspired by a real event that happened in Gavras' hometown Greece, Z is about the blatant assassination of an influential leftist politician and the investigation into the ensuing cover-up. Missing is about a father, beautifully played by Jack Lemmon, who looks for his missing political writer son after a violent coup in 1973 Chile, only to find out (MAJOR SPOILER!!) that he was killed by The CIA after all. The irony is that throughout the whole movie the CIA pretends to look for the "troublemaking" writer along with the father. Considered by many to be the two best examples of their genre, these two films will definitely make you think twice about forming a quick opinion about any political event.
4- Canadian Bacon:
After the four hour Costa-Gavras depressathon, you deserve some light yet fierce political satire. Released in 1995, Canadian Bacon holds the distinction of being late John Candy's last film, and "the right-wing's canker sore" Michael Moore's only fiction feature. The story is about a wimpy president (Alan Alda) who is duped into manufacturing a war with "The Canadian Menace" after realizing he might end up a lowly "single termer". Far from being perfect, the film's characters are strictly one-dimensional and it has uneven pacing, but it makes up for all that with hilariously insightful jokes nitpicking every condemnation strategy the government and the media machine uses to incite hatred towards whatever country has the most oil that week, or will bring the most votes upon its decimation. My favorite scare tactic from an anti-Canadian ad within the movie: "Imagine your kids putting mayonnaise on everything."
3- Bill Hicks Live (DVD):
I know that this is technically not a movie, but especially in times like these, the late comedian Bill Hicks' brutally-honest-angry-preacher attitude will help open your "third eye" and make you realize "how you're being fucked by the government every single day of your life". The DVD includes almost all of Hicks' comedy specials. If you can't get your hands on it, type "Bill Hicks" on Youtube and watch every clip you see.
2- The Battle of Algiers:
Gillo Pontecorvo's masterpiece is considered to be one of the best war films ever made. It also holds the distinction of being perhaps the only war film that tells the story equally and completely objectively from both sides of the conflict. Being Italian, and having nothing to do with the French-Algerian war, Pontecorvo manages to do the impossible and truly shows us that there are no "good guys and bad guys" in war all the while not letting either side take the moral high ground. Both sides divulge themselves in equally reprehensible atrocities against the enemy in the name of their country. It's a truly powerful film that shows us the absolute and finite vilification or deification of any side in a conflict is never the right first step into peacefully resolving any issue.
1- Wag The Dog:
This one is the grandpappy of all political conspiracy movies. Released in late 1997 during the height of the Clinton-Lewinsky scandal, Wag The Dog is about the the president's topper than top secret spin doctors hiring a Hollywood producer to sell a non-existing war with Albania in order to divert the public's attention from a real presidential scandal involving a cheerleader. The lengths the team goes to perfect the illusion of war are both hilarious and terrifying at the same time: They create footage of "war-torn Albania" using actors, a green screen and a bag of patato chips that will later be digitally replaced by a cute kitten. If you can't find the other five films, at least try to watch this one and realize that nothing you are being spoon-fed by the government and the media is real and please, calm the fuck down.
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