By Adam Graham
Film is a powerful medium. When we see powerful images, real human beings expressing emotion, speaking real words, it can convey a message that is highly impactful. Film can elicit empathy, it can open our minds to new ideas that we would not otherwise consider, and bring new life to otherwise sterile or mathematical concepts with no real life of their own.
It is no surprise, then, that people of all sorts of persuasions have sought to use the power of film to sway minds. Today we often hear of Hollywood as a lost cause, a corrupted institution that always seeks to push culture in its progressive direction, to mold it in its own image. This may very well be the case for the majority of films, I can’t rightly say. I’m not an expert, a reviewer, or an aficionado. But I can say that when a film tells us or, rather, shows us something true in a fresh and illustrative way, I go out of my way to appreciate and share it with others. So when I noticed some films within the past couple of years that portrayed the message of non-intervention, rather unlikely films, in fact, I knew that I needed to highlight them and pass their recommendation on to you.
So, without further ado, here are a few unlikely films that I think do a surprisingly good job of portraying noninterventionism in an insightful way.
** SPOILER ALERT: Some major and minor plot points are discussed surrounding each film. You have been warned. **
Solo: A Star Wars Story
Anyone remotely interested in science fiction is undoubtedly familiar with the Star Wars franchise. And anyone who is a fan of Star Wars undoubtedly knows about the character of Han Solo. A fan favorite from the very beginning, the gruff smuggler that everyone can’t help but cheer for is a science fiction icon who has left an indelible impression on any number of sci-fi fans. So when Disney announced that they would be doing an origin film separate from the main series there was no shortage of skeptical fans.
That skepticism, along with a number of ill-fated last minute changes and rumors of filming difficulties, led to a rather lackluster reception at the box office. I retained my optimism and enjoyed it so much that I saw it twice in theaters; an almost unheard of practice for me. But what surprised me most is a series of scenes in the film that I thought was rather bold and, whether intended or not, also rather applicable to the day we find ourselves in.
Solo begins on the streets of the planet Corellia, where a young Han and his love interest, Qi’ra, scavenge as orphans in a sort of Dickensian underworld. Han and Qi’ra have been planning their escape for some time and this night is the night. After a daring escape from the orphanage house, they speed away toward the spaceport, in hot pursuit, barely making it there in time. They make their way to the final gate, bribing their way past security when, tragically, Han is able to pass through to safety while Qi’ra is held behind ruining any chance of escape together.
Devastated, Han makes the only available decision that he can think of to get himself off of Corellia, become a free man, and return to rescue his love: he joins the Galactic Empire. Here begins our look into the nature and presence of this new empire, one that is rather early in the Star Wars canon timeline. And it’s here that we see some interesting parallels begin to be drawn, at least to my eye. Huddling in despair, Han hears an encouraging voice over the loudspeaker, and after seeing an Imperial recruiting station, he is goaded to “Be a part of something. Join the Empire. Explore new worlds. Learn valuable skills. Bring order and unity to the galaxy!” After entering, he is met with an aloof officer who helps him to join with high hopes of a future as a glorious space pilot.
But that is not, of course, what happens. Instead of a glorious space pilot, Han is made an inglorious mud trooper in the Imperial infantry. We’re reacquainted with him a few years later in the midst of a scene in the trenches straight out of World War I. But, fortunately for us, this muddy scene holds a cinematic treasure. In this scene, we see an exchange between Han and his commanding officer, briefing before their next mission.
Officer: Attention! In three hours, we move out for the southern marshlands. I want an advance party of ten men.
Han: Great, more mud.
Officer: What was that?
Han: Just wondering what our objective is, Lieutenant.
Officer: Bring peace and prosperity to the galaxy, install a regime loyal to the Emperor, and eradicate the hostiles.
Han: It’s their planet, we’re the hostiles.
In this simple exchange, Han echoes sentiments that must surely resonate with decades of infantrymen everywhere. This officer and his vainglory objectives of bringing peace and prosperity to this world, subjugating the existing regime, and fighting those natives who are obviously opposed to such change are shown here clearly in a way that only film can achieve. One need only substitute any number of similar cases of Roman, British, or US conquests throughout history to see the tragedy that they share.
Doctor Strange
We now take a look at perhaps the most unlikely and most unique of these three films, that of Marvel’s Doctor Strange. The film is the origin story of the comic book hero of the same name. It follows Dr. Stephen Strange, a world-class, hotshot neurosurgeon whose professional future is cut short after a tragic accident leaves him with permanent nerve damage to his hands, the most prized possession of any surgeon. After pursuing every expert he can find in western treatment to no avail, he learns of a man who has reportedly been miraculously healed by Eastern mystics. After seeing the man with his own eyes, he sets out in a last-ditch effort to Kathmandu, Nepal seeking the masters of Kamar-Taj.
What he finds there is well beyond his expectation and his scientific skepticism. He meets the Ancient One, a master sorceror who introduces the Doctor to the wide world of the Marvel Universe’s version of magic. There, he uses his genius affinity and photographic memory to master the basics and advanced techniques required at a Luke-Skywalker-Becomes-A-Jedi-Knight-in-forty-minutes pace. He also learns of Kaecilius, the fallen sorceror who seeks to summon the mighty Dormammu from the dark dimension to swallow Earth in his everlasting hunger and bring “eternal life” to all (stay with me here, I promise there’s a point to all this).
Naturally, he eventually meets this Kaecilius and it is here that we establish the foundation of the insight that this film can give us about our own real world. While Kaecilius has stolen select “dark magic” rituals from the forbidden texts of Kamar-Taj, Doctor Strange also learns that the Ancient One, the paragon and hero of sorcerors everywhere, has used some of those same rituals to extend her life. In some ways, Kaecilius and the Ancient One are the same, drawing power from the dark dimension to further their own goals, albeit one seemingly more noble than the other.
It’s when the Ancient One’s right-hand man, Mordo, learns of her use of power from the Dark Dimension that the message is driven home. At first, Mordo is in denial, defending his master at all costs. But his disillusionment is secured when he sees firsthand that Strange was right, just before the Ancient One is killed. With her gone, the final showdown is inevitable and Mordo’s descent is guaranteed. In a conversation near the end of the film, we hear the quintessence of the tragedy that has befallen the forces of Kamar-Taj and the world:
Mordo: She wasn’t who I thought she was.
Dr. Strange: She was complicated.
Mordo:Complicated? The Dark Dimension is volatile. Dangerous. What if it overtook her? She taught us it was forbidden, while she drew on its power to steal centuries of life.
Dr. Strange: She did what she thought was right.
Mordo: The bill comes due. Don’t you see? Her transgressions led the zealots to Dormammu. Kaecilius was her fault. And here we are, in the consequence of her deception. A world on fire.
Here we see a very real illustration, however fantastical its setting, of the folly of intervention. No doubt, the Ancient One could see no other possible alternative, using such a dangerous method to achieve what she undeniably thought to be just ends. But one can draw a straight line between her hypocrisy in action and the unforeseen consequences of the actions of her disciples. Without her having done the unthinkable, the unthinkable could have been avoided.
Mordo’s words always resound in my mind long after the film is done and the credits have rolled. I think of the many mistakes and unforeseen consequences we see today. Here we are, in the consequence of her deception. A world on fire.
The bill comes due.
Captain America: Civil War
It may not come as a surprise to anyone familiar with the character of Captain America that this hero and the stories that feature him might occasionally touch on the political. A super-soldier engineered to fight a fictionalized Nazi threat during World War II and resurrected some sixty years later from a cryogenic sleep in a time of great need once again, America is in his name. But the Marvel adaptation of this iconic character has consistently had a mind and moral code of his own. Civil War is the third film in the franchise and “Cap” has been through quite a journey thus far. So far, after rescuing an alien device of amazing power from Hydra, a sort of secret society stand-in for Nazi Germany, he has witnessed the subsequent theft and recovery of said device by another alien force, saved the world from super-villains twice with the cooperation of the Avengers, and seen his childhood friend and mentor turned into a similar super-soldier by Hydra in The Winter Soldier. So it’s not surprising that, in Civil War, Captain Steve Rogers is a bit more tired, a bit wiser, and all the more independent of thought after all he’s been through.
At the beginning of this latest film, Cap along with a number of other members of the Avengers group find themselves pursuing Crossbones, a short-lived Shield security agent turned villain, through the streets of Nigeria. All seems to be going smoothly with Crossbones bested when a surprise explosive vest is revealed. While one Avengers member, the Red Witch, is able to contain the explosion in the crowded market square, it is only temporary, and she unleashes the blast away from the market but too close to a building, taking out a sizable portion of many floors and, we later discover, a number of innocent civilians along with it.
The Avengers members present are shocked and this shockwave seems to continue, unleashing a pent up frustration from many parties that have seen what sort of destruction can sometimes follow the Avengers’ deeds. Tony Stark, also known as Iron Man, is confronted by a mother whose son died in an incident in Sokovia in a previous film. And we also see the King of Wakanda, the home country of many of the Nigeria victims, issue a statement before the United Nations that helps to illustrate a very prescient point, one that applies just as well in our real world as it does in the film: “Our people’s blood is spilled on foreign soil. Not only because of the actions of criminals, but by the indifference of those pledged to stop them. Victory at the expense of the innocent, is no victory at all.” If only we could remember this sentiment more often. Not a day goes by when we are not presented with a report of civilian deaths as part of military or state actions and it is all too easy to become indifferent. But the human beings who live that reality every day see and experience it very differently.
The prospective solution is not a surprising one. The team is presented with the Sokovia Accords, an agreement drafted by the UN to place the Avengers under international control and oversight. From this moment on, the discussion is one that is both heated and divisive, leading to the film’s namesake. The Avengers are torn apart, one side desiring the centralization and oversight of another authority, the other seeing their independence as a necessary condition to their effectiveness. With that conflict, we see a number of ideas that are discussed and addressed and those conversations are much of what I found interesting for the libertarian. One illuminating point is presented by the character Vision. In identifying a pattern and relationship between the presence of “enhanced” heros and catastrophic events formulated against them, he notes, “there may be a causality. Our very strength invites challenge. Challenge incites conflict. And conflict… breeds catastrophe.” One need look no further than the myriad episodes of arms race phenomena, notably between the United States and the Soviet Union, to see that Vision may, indeed, have a point.
But the most iconic conflict throughout the film is between Steve Rogers and Tony Stark. Each represents the paragon of their own side of the discussion, Steve against the Accords and Tony for them. In one such discussion, Rogers lays out the fundamental problem:
Steve Rogers: Tony, someone dies on your watch, you don’t give up.
Tony Stark: Who said we’re giving up?
Steve Rogers: We are if we’re not taking responsibility for our actions. This document just shifts the blames.
James Rhodes: I’m sorry. Steve. That – that is dangerously arrogant. This is the United Nations we’re talking about. It’s not the World Security Council, it’s not SHIELD, it’s not HYDRA.
Steve Rogers: No, but it’s run by people with agendas, and agendas change.
Tony Stark: That’s good. That’s why I’m here. When I realized what my weapons were capable of in the wrong hands, I shut it down and stopped manufacturing.
Steve Rogers: Tony, you chose to do that. If we sign this, we surrender our right to choose. What if this panel sends us somewhere we don’t think we should go? What if there is somewhere we need to go, and they don’t let us? We may not be perfect, but the safest hands are still our own.
Yet another timely and important message. Anytime that we delegate action and responsibility to a third party, the perception of that action and responsibility is changed. To the Captain, the result is one of shifting the blame, one where authority is seen as a stamp of approval no matter the truth of the situation. It is no less true in real life. International bodies and consensus may bring a broader perspective to a situation, but that perspective is not made any more right or just for it.
This conflict continues through to the end of the film and seemingly splits the Avengers for good. There are many more nuggets like these throughout the film so I encourage you to see it for yourself or watch it again, paying a new attention and appreciation for the important messages it contains.
The Bottom Line
I hope this has been a fun and insightful look into some modern films that, I think, offer a lot of knowledge and many poignant points to make about our own lives and the world we find ourselves in. Ultimately, even the most fantastical stories and unbelievable situations can be just as impactful, sometimes more so, than any true story can achieve.
Originally Published by No King But Christ
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