FILM REVIEW: THE CAMPAIGN

A scene from The Campaign.

Democracy for dollars

By Don Simpson

The United States finds itself teetering on the verge of becoming an oligarchy (or corporatocracy) under the guise of capitalism and free enterprise. Just as money makes the world go round, it is money that determines who will be elected into our government. Money also determines whether or not any legislation will garner enough support to become a law. Oddly enough, despite the polarization of our nation's two political parties, almost everyone seems to agree on this; but rather than doing anything about it, we just point fingers, blaming it all on the other side. Politicians provide us with endless lip service about changing the way things work in D.C. The problem is our political system is structured in such a way that things will never change. The three branch system of the U.S. government serves one purpose: to ensure that. The political environment is one of compromise, which means it is reliant upon persuasive powers and there is nothing more persuasive in our society than money. The two party political system is all about compromise as well, leaving most Americans with the option of voting for the better of two apparent evils or not voting at all.

Jay Roach's The Campaign presents us with a political climate that is controlled by the purse strings of billionaire brothers, Glenn (John Lithgow) and Wade Motch (Dan Aykroyd). The Motch brothers' bankroll carries so much persuasive power that it can instantly transform a stereotypical loser like Marty Huggins (Zach Galifianakis) into a viable candidate. On the other side, we are presented with the long-term incumbent Cam Brady (Will Ferrell) who has historically run uncontested. The Motch brothers have one goal, to get Cam out of office, but Cam will not go down without a ridiculously long and drawn out fight.

What could have been a biting political satire, The Campaign comes off as totally toothless and downright stupid. Other than its all-too-easy condemnation of the Motch brothers (who are modeled after the Koch brothers), Roach opts to not offend anyone...except his audience. The plot is a directionless blob that serves the sole purpose of setting up a nonstop barrage of absurd humor. If The Campaignis about anything, it would be the horrors of one-upmanship. Just as Marty and Cam try their darndest to out do each other, Galifianakis and Ferrell seem to be immersed in their own no holds barred competition for the most outlandish gag. Sure, some of the jokes are funny, but Galifianakis and Ferrell are trying way too hard. A little restraint would have gone a long way.

FILM REVIEW: PINK RIBBONS, INC.

An ob-scene from Pink Ribbons, Inc.

Corporate ties

By Miranda Inganni

Award winning writer-director Léa Pool’s documentary feature Pink Ribbons, Inc. critically investigates the consumerist culture of “curing” breast cancer (the second leading cause of cancer deaths in women in the US behind lung cancer) and what stands behind those pink ribbons of hope.

The ubiquitous symbol of the pink ribbon has permeated our culture -- covering everything from yogurt containers, to cereal boxes, to make-up, to nonprofit logos sharing the image alike in order to raise money -- ostensibly to find a cure for the disease. But what is behind the pretty pink ribbon and who exactly is profiting?

According to the documentary, it is not so much the victims of this horrible disease but Susan B. Komen Cure for the Cause, Revlon, Yoplait and other conglomerates who have used this health crisis to perpetuate a particular agenda not quite conducive to women’s health care.

Since the most significant risk factors for developing breast cancer are being female and getting older, this provides a huge demographic available for corporations to target. And women have money. And hope. Women are the deciders of most major household purchases and buy 80 percent of consumer products -- meaning that they are the most influential market group. This has resulted in breast cancer becoming the cause célèbre of “cause-related” marketing campaigns.

While research has made headway (breastway?), those diagnosed with breast cancer continue to encounter the same treatment they had available 40 years ago. This is unacceptable, considering that the “pink ribbon” industry is a multi-billion dollar industry encompassing detection and treatment of breast cancer.

In light of the recent Susan B. Komen Cure for the Cause attack on Planned Parenthood scandal, Pink Ribbons, Inc. is as timely as ever. While Pink Ribbons, Inc. criticizes the co-opting of an originally innocent symbol of solidarity and hope, it certainly does not criticize the thousands of women who support prevention of the disease, researching for a cure, or those living with this horrific disease which kills nearly 40,000 women in the U.S. annually.

This is a movie that truly, to use a trite phrase, made me laugh, made me cry and moved me. I have been known to collect and mail in pink-tinged soda can “stay-on tabs” during the month of October, officially Breast Cancer Awareness Month, and participated in “Cancer Walks.” But I never really thought about who was sponsoring and/or profiting from such campaigns. Now I know and I do not particularly like the answers.