Syriana
Reviewing Syriana is a necessarily political endeavour, which is precisely what the filmmakers wanted. The film is political from start to finish, and it is rhetorically deliberate from start to finish.
It treats the relationships between national economies, international politics, and the private lives of citizens enmeshed in the struggle. Perspectives on both sides of the conflict are presented (that is, Muslim, and American). No one character is lionized to absurdity, but George Clooney’s character comes close. His virtues (and the virtues of the good-hearted but deluded Muslims who run an armed missile into the side of a ship bearing key national figures in the oil deal) contrast sharply with the vices of the politicians. Still, the idea is obviously to paint a believable picture, so no one character is obviously ‘white’, though a few are pretty obviously ‘black’. I won’t say too much more about contents the movie, except to recommend seeing it. One final note about the approach. The movie is smart, and little attempt is made to water it down for a ‘common’ audience. My own opinion is that this gives the impression of an authoritative message : we’ve done the research, we understand the issues, you might not, but that’s okay because you just need to listen and we’ll tell you what you need to know. I’m not necessarily criticizing the movie for this, but I thought it at least merited observation.
As for my ‘review’, here it is. The script is interesting and intelligent. The directing is solid, as is the acting. On the surface, there is nothing wrong with the film’s message: when money-grubbing politicians make their primary initiative economic gain, people (as in, “the people”) are caught in the middle, and people get hurt.
But as a commentary on the present political situation, I’m not so enthusiastic.
I read an illuminating article today called, “On the hunt for a conspiracy theory.” The timing couldn’t have been better. Frank Furedi captures the heart of Syriana perfectly with his opening lines,
Conspiracy theory has captured the public imagination. Often we are less interested in what politicians say or do than in attempting to decipher the hidden agenda that motivates their behavior.
This is precisely what the movie does. A very cynical view of politics is presented, where economic motives and personal gain are the driving force behind everything. Life-long friends hang each other out to dry when their superiors demand it, apparently because greed and power always trump virtue in politics – especially, but not exclusively, if you’re American.
Furedi’s entire article is worth the read, but for present purposes I’ll jump to his conclusion.
The simplistic worldview of conspiracy thinking helps fuel suspicion and mistrust toward the domain of politics. It displaces a critical engagement with public life with a destructive search for the hidden agenda.
While Syriana is, in one sense, all about ‘critical engagement’, it is an engagement that assumes the worst from the outside. Only the powerless can be pure in its vision of politics. Meanwhile, the political elite rule the world on silver thrones, sacrificing the poor and (religiously) deluded on a golden alter to the gods of wealth.