So given all the free time I have I've been catching up on movies. I like to keep my viewings themed and this theme happens to be "Men who don't care(but actually do)".... That title isn't very good. Perhaps I should go with "Misunderstood heroes" but that isn't very accurate. It is very hard to write a supportive statement for men. All too often we demonize men for being men. In our modern era the only men that get any positive attention are stunning and brave, for being gay or trans or disabled or as a supportive "comrade" to the cause of overall equality. Why are we not supportive of our fathers and our brothers? Are they not human? Well I already know the answer. The group think response is the future is disabled and the patriarchy is wrong and should die.
WARNING: There are spoilers in this but it is all history.
First I watched [The Current War]( https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2140507/ ). It tells the story of Thomas Edison and George Westinghouse and their fight to electrify the nation, literally. I found it compelling like I find almost all historical recreations compelling. These men were the cornerstone of the industrial age and birthed a level of technology that was pure magic. However we can't talk about these men without talking about their flaws. By now most view Edison as a opportunist who "stole" other peoples inventions and patented them. The film illustrates Edison as a brilliant inventor and like most brilliant people had a hard time working and talking to everyone else, but he had loving support from his family, his wife and children and his right hand man Samuel Insull. His greatest flaw was his ego which put him directly at odds with George Westinghouse who wanted to work with Edison but Edison was tired and totally blew him off. At that point Edison and Westinghouse were competitors for the future of the nation and approaching the energy problem from polar opposites, Edison with his DC power and Westinghouse with his AC power. Along the way Nikola Tesla shows up and goes to work for Edison and then leaves when Edison won't listen to his brilliant ideas. During this time Edison is starting a propaganda war against Westinghouse claiming AC power is lethal and DC power is perfectly safe and to prove this I'm gonna show people how to electrocute a horse.
The movie is essentially Edison's story and Edison is remembered as the guy who failed 999 times to invent a light bulb but did not give up and succeeded on his 1000 try. That in itself is a compelling story about tenacity and endurance but the movie decided to focus on the darkest part of his life which is ironically the more interesting part. I don't hate this, it's very good drama and the ending is bittersweet but has a feeling of hope for a better future, which is what Edison was always keeping in view. His interest and reason for being was to make the world a better place and his inventions reflect that. Beyond that he wanted the best for his family and loved ones and for his creations, unfortunately that made him a bully to anyone not part of his family and friends and creations (Sorry Nikola). This is part of the instinct for a man to protect his tribe. We often speak of tribalism as wrong but it is also completely natural. We don't get upset at gorillas and wolves viciously defending their respective tribes so why do we demonize any human to defend their home or country with the same amount of viciousness as wolf. Is it because we should be "better" than that because we are human beings? Another viewpoint that tribalism, or nationalism, doesn't allow for the outsider, the immigrant, and they would be wrong.
The other movie I saw was [Vice]( https://www.imdb.com/title/tt6266538/ ). It just might be the only biography of Dick Cheney we will ever know. Now I am not a fan of Cheney. I served in the Navy during the Bush administration and I saw all of this conflict as being a terrible mistake in a litany of historic mistakes but I was also very immature too. Speaking of immaturity, the movie is directed by Adam McKay who has directed some of the funniest movies ever made, I am talking about The Other Guys and I am not ashamed. I haven't sat down to watch The Big Short but I will, eventually. The movie is all over the place having these aside moments that are constantly giving me information about what is going on. From what I understand The Big Short does the same thing. This isn't bad but it is distracting and in this case kinda necessary mostly because Dick Cheney doesn't say or do much that is exciting. Aside from being a D.C. insider and CEO the only other thing he does is fishing. His first formal office looks like a broom closet. But, from this humble broom closet his first action is to call his wife and tell her where he is. The movie starts with drunk Dick getting pulled over by cops and goes to being berated by his wife Lynne. She threatens to leave him and this brings the change in Dick to improve himself and his wife and his future. From this point on I am all for Dick Cheney. He is a man doing right by his family and keeps improving. The byproduct of this is he becomes well versed in the dirty politics of Washington and develops a ruthless method of keeping his position. The scope of this reaches critical mass when he becomes vice president. Actually, because of his lawyer and interpretation of constitutional law he becomes vice president PLUS ULTRA, and establishes a way to power that is unprecedented.
History is now subject to interpretation, which is BS in my opinion. History only tells us what happened not what was intended. Dick Cheney made himself the most quietly powerful man in American history for the betterment of his family and his country, at least that's what the movie tells us. Edison's story concludes with his invention of the kinetoscope that ultimately leads to motion pictures and these movies being possible. Even with these historical moments of success, public opinion still regards these men as less than human. Edison stole others inventions and electrified animals and Cheney violated civil liberties and shot an old man in the face, but that's not the point. These men are historical now. Any of our condemnation of their actions is meaningless and a bit cowardly. These were men creating a life and future to surpass themselves and were unapologetic about how they did it. I have always been hesitant about what I do because I was always trying to consider the consequences of my actions, ultimately accomplishing very little and still having to deal with problems I did not predict. Such is life.
In conclusion, great men are defined by their actions which comes form their ambitions and wants. Very few of us get to pursue this to its fullest extent but we still try. It has recently become popular in academics to demonize these men and men like them in the ultimate goal to crush the patriarchy. Well they can try, they are free to, and we, as free men, are free to not give a damn and to aspire to be great men, and to never apologize for being great.
Submitted April 11, 2020 at 04:21AM by FredoBear https://ift.tt/3eccike