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"The Paranoia Bug"
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Back in the 1950's and 60's it was streams of invading aliens in such classics as "The Day the Earth Stood Still", "Invaders From Mars" and who can forget "Attack of the Eye (Eye) Creatures". A couple of decades later renegade robots were on the loose in "Westworld", "Blade Runner" and "Terminator". Now, as we reach the end of the century, reality as a whole seems to be in doubt if we look through Hollywood's catalog of recent offerings. "The Matrix", "Dark City" and "The Truman Show" are just three examples of a string of films all posing the same question - is our whole existence just an elaborate fabrication?
Each of these movies has tapped into the deep-rooted fears of the times. Movies of thirty and forty years ago played upon veiled threats of a Cold War, which hung over much of the planet. What would happen if the nation were overrun by an 'alien' (read that communist) invasion? How would resourceful individuals fight back? Out-of-control androids and doomsday computer stories exposed our fears of the huge leaps in technology, and the possibility of that technology getting out of hand. Dr. Ian Malcolm's monologues on the subject in "Jurassic Park" sum up many people's concerns - the question isn't what CAN we do with rapidly advancing technology; the question is what SHOULD we do with it? As we witness the digital revolution in progress and the infancy of the internet, we are seeing the birth of a new universe, a new reality consisting solely of data. Is an internet community of like-minded people across the globe sharing ideas and opinions any less 'real' than the community of people living on our street? For many people, it is more so, since conventional society continues to collapse. I would suggest it is simply a different reality. Couple this with political scandals, abuses of power and trust, and you have perfect conditions to breed paranoia. Just look at the success of such tabloids as the National Enquirer. The current crop of paranoia movies seek to expose this concern of many people across the planet. We are ever more dependent on technology and information. The people who control that technology and the information are the real global power-brokers: the CNNs and the Microsofts. Again, we see the same fears surfacing every time the Y2K bug is discussed. People are worried about the future, both short- and long-term. Are we living on the brink of an apocalypse, or are these fears completely unfounded? Movies are a subtle 'release valve' for our fears and nightmares. As we vicariously experience them through someone else, we begin to face them ourselves. We may not come to any resolution, but at least we gain a little hope. Of course, life is never as simple as the movies, but at least we will have named the dark shadows inside and can move on to the point of dealing with them. |