Monday, December 29, 2008

Hear The Lamentations of the Women

We partied at Judi's on friday after a screening of "The Wrestler"... We then expanded our minds and watched Conan the Barbarian (1982) on digital cable... I had a major revelation about the films anti-hippie message, but everyone couldn't stop laughing long enough for me to share it... So here it is, it concerns John Milius, who directed the film and Oliver Stone, who wrote it... Stone being a vietnam verteran, and Milius being a bit of a gun nut (the character Walter Sobchack played by John Goodman in The Big Lebowski is closely based on Milius) ... the film's main plot is about a king's daughter who joins a snake cult who worships a shape shifting holy man named Thulsa Doom... the king hires Conan to bring his daughter back, which he gladly accepts seeing as Doom murdered his entire family when he was a child... long story short, Conan exacts his revenge and beheads Doom in front of his followers at his temple... I imagined Stone and Milius were referencing Jim Jones, Manson, etc... and the snake cult representing the "Me" generation of the 1970's... Conan represents the idea of the soldier, driven by a code of honor and service that was derided and demonized in the media, post 'Nam... If Altamont was the slap of reality that ended the 60's, Conan the Barbarian marks the end of the 70's and ushers in a new age of films(Platoon, First Blood, Full Metal Jacket, Missing In Action, etc...) that celebrates the call of duty and elevates the action sequence to new heights.... Or maybe i was just wasted, who knows....

1 comment:

Mike Wallace said...

I think you're onto something re: Conan the anti-hippie.