Monday Music: Everybody Knows (Leonard Cohen)

And then there's Leonard Cohen. During this political season, pundits abound. Political pundits overall have a very weak track record for telling us how things will play out, but no one is better than Leonard Cohen for telling us how it is.

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Being There

I saw Being There, starring Peter Sellers, when it was first released in 1979. I only saw it once, but it was the kind of film that makes a lasting impression.  I recall that at the time it was quite an intriguing film. It highlighted the influence of television on our society, and the artistic quality of the film created a unique environment in which to explore the dynamics of human perceptions and relationships.  

The story follows a simple-minded gardener named Chance who is thrust out into the world at midlife after having lived his whole life on a wealthy estate where he knew nothing of the world except gardening and what he saw on television.  When the wealthy estate owner dies, Chance is on his own for the first time.  His initial encounter with an urban street gang prompts Chance to point his TV remote at them, as though to try to change the channel. That moment, as much of the film, evokes both humor and a poignant sense of pity. 

Chance soon finds himself taken into the family of a well-to-do senator in Washington after the senator’s wife bumps into him (quite literally with her car). Chance’s simple observations about the only thing he knows, gardening, soon make him the toast of the town as the people and the television media put their own spin on the words he speaks. 

There is one scene that stood out as a significant side commentary and surprised most of the audience where I saw the film. It is a scene where the black former housekeeper from the estate where Chance had lived saw him on television and gave a pointed soliloquy about how “You only have to be white to make it in America.” (see below)

I happened upon an article from 2017 that speaks of the continued relevance of Being There:  “Being There: Still funny, but newly grim and topical,” by Ben Sachs.  A couple of quotes from the online article are in order:

“Many have called Being There, both the book and the film, a premonition of the Reagan revolution, which came to power, in part, on the strength of Reagan's ability to communicate on TV. The deathlike air of the film certainly connotes the end of something big, while the humor comments on the timeless human desire to be deceived by something that sounds good. These opposing elements give Being There an enduring complexity, although sometimes it's too bleak in its outlook to be laugh-out-loud funny.”

“In its deep cynicism about American media and politics, Being There may also have a renewed topicality in 2017. The film's penultimate moment finds a D.C. insider proposing the idea that Chance runs for president himself. I suspect that … at least one audience member will want to discuss what a Chance the gardener administration might look like and whether it would be preferable to the one that's currently running the country.”

Being There was Peter Sellers final role (he died a year after the film was released).  It was also Hal Asby’s last cinematic success as a director, having made his mark with previous films such as Coming Home, and Harold and Maude.

For those who want to see a little bit of what we’re talking about in Being There, below are some clips and film commentary on the movie.  The second clip is the soliloquy about "You only have to be white" that I referred to earlier. 

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The March of the Oligarchs

"A hopeful billboard in Montenegro" in 2016 (STEVO VASILJEVIC / REUTERS)

“America’s real divide isn’t left vs. right. It’s democracy vs. oligarchy.”

(title of essay by Robert Reich in Salon)

It was about twenty-five years ago that I began to notice that global corporations were exerting more influence in both foreign and domestic affairs. I had grown up seeing how demonstrations in the streets by the people had led to more humane legislation, as in the Civil Rights and Voting Rights Acts (and before that, the passing of child labor laws and workplace safety legislation). I asked myself then, how much longer that legislative model could endure as a safeguard for the people as global corporations assert more power and influence.

The following poem was one of my journalistic poems first posted March26, 2017, during the first 100 days of the current White House administration.  – CK

The March of the Oligarchs

By Charles Kinnaird

When I was a child

I was momentarily confused

The first time my older brother

Brought out his chess set.

The game board

Was exactly like the one we used for checkers,

But the rules were entirely different.

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Growing up during the Cold War,

We thought the threat

Was coming to an end

When the Berlin Wall fell

And the Soviet Bloc collapsed.

We were giddy

With thoughts of freedom –

Oppression had been lifted;

The “Communist Threat” was fading.

That giddy moment of freedom

Was soon seized by corporations.

They flew under the banner

Of free enterprise,

Thereby flying under the radar

That scans for

Enemies of the state.

Global corporations

Have become the prime movers,

Making governments inconsequential.

Seen as good for the country,

Essential for the economy,

Creator of jobs,

Granter of benefits,

And source of political spending,

Big companies hold Congress hostage.

Legislation may soon bear no more weight

Than nice ideas

Voiced by well-meaning folks

In a Sunday School class.

In today's political arena

The playing field is familiar.

The game board looks the same.

But the rules have changed.

                                              

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From the introductory post to my journalistic poetry series "Bearing Witness to the Times"

The best thing that poets can do is to bear witness to the times – articulate what is happening in the moment; speak to the real-life experiences of your people.  I am setting myself a goal to write a poem each week that reflects what I see and experience in the life of our nation... if I can write one poem a week there will be some chronicle of our sacred/tested/doubtful union.

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What Are We Going to Do?

Pennsylvania Avenue at dusk, by John Hicks (Getty Images)

In yesterday's post, I shared my views of the three things that need to be in place for a society that works. I indicated that there is disagreement as to how we can get there, and I didn't claim to have a solution to the problem of how to get there.

Robert Reich recently posted a video on his Facebook page in which he relates having someone come up to him and ask him, "What are we going to do?" Supposedly, the question had to do with a growing concern over what is happening in the country today. Reich shares some ideas of what we can do to make our system work better, centered around three "moral principles" that he thinks everyone can agree with:

1. Nobody should be working full time and still be in poverty
2. Everyone should be able to make the most of their abilities
3. We should not have a privileged aristocracy

Listen to what Robert Reich has to say, and feel free to add any comments you may have as to where we need to be headed and how we can get there.

Posted by Robert Reich on Friday, May 15, 2015

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