Christian Bale and his Messiah Complex

This short commentary about Mr. Bale is not intended to be malicious but only an example of the grandiose ambitions of actors/actresses in the performing arts.

I have wondered whether or not Christian Bale suffers from a messiah complex in the roles he chooses to play in film. It came to my attention over the Easter weekend where I spotted him playing the role of Jesus in one of the many apocryphal tales on the subject. I watched for a couple minutes and changed the station only after I had established a certain trend about this actor. It seems that this early role where he plays Jesus was the precedent for more popular roles where he was attributed with the title of the savior. Well the three most prominent roles that emphasize my point are his role as Jesus in a forgettable film, Mary, Mother of Jesus (1999), about Jesus and his mother; his role as Bruce Wayne/Batman in the Christopher Nolan trilogy (2005, 2008 & 2012) where he plays a caped capitalist crusader pitted against various crime factions (external and internal) that wish to affect his lucrative investments; and lastly his role as  John O’ Connor in Terminator Salvation (2009) (Salvation ring any bells) who wages the last great resistance against the dominant machines which is the only hope for mankind. Everyone in filmdom is aware of his famous tirade on the set in a particularly emotional scene.  In The Fighter (2010) he does portray someone, Dicky, who is the source of inspiration for his brother Micky (Mark Wahlberg).  In that film the ego of the character, or Bale’s, shines through especially as a supporting actor he dominates the screen and, initially, it seemed as if the film is about to tell his story. This is not to say anything against Bale but this exemplifies how people can assume roles that they will never be qualified for in day to day living especially as it requires a supernatural effort of physical prowess, concentration and dedication.  When Christian Bale was turned out of the house of a popular political figure in China under house arrest we see the menace of a man who lives out his fantasy in reality. He staged this furor shortly after filming The Dark Knight Rises (2012). It also makes you wonder about the other actors/actresses that have messiah complexes associated with their celebrity status which is more often than not generated following their various representations on screen as individuals that most people in the audience cannot relate to in their day to day living. Even the representation of a real live character in human history can be represented in the most grandiose fashion making them appear godlike to the insignificant other on the other side that has to pay to be thrilled by the fictional experience in most cases. 

The Hunger Games (2012) **½/5: A very timid film that is not as daring in its promise of change

The Hunger Games (2012)

The Hunger Games (2012) is a so-so film which could have been more daring in its approach so as to suggest some form of change which is what the film is about. The change in the film is a gradual one and there is no suggestion that there is a plan on the part of the protagonists to effect a change. There is no clear cut challenge to the system in which the down trodden tributes from the various districts find themselves in the hunger games. It is suggested in some episodes but not in a significant manner and one wonders about the direction that will be taken in the upcoming installments to actually challenge the system from the bottom up. I will say again that it is only suggested. The changes are only superficial and are related to the games themselves as opposed to the wider society which has to subscribe to this backward practice in the land of the future, called Panem. There are some stupid moments simply because there are times when you cannot reconcile fantasy with reality.

The film stars Jennifer Lawrence as master archer Katnis Everdeen one of 24 teen tributes chosen from 12 districts (2 per district) to compete in the hunger games which occurs in the Capitol where the centre of civilization of a future America resides. The so called civilization or centres of commerce is the land of freaks and wackos who have benefitted from the exploitation of the districts that reside in a state of utter destitution. The allegory is evident. There is usually only one victor to remain after the hunger games where teen slaughters teen if the environment does not get the better of them first. Everdeen’s situation is unique for she is one of the first individuals to volunteer for the tourney after her younger sister is chosen via the lottery which is the traditional route. She takes the place of her younger sister because of her endearing love for her. Everdeen’s choice is rewarded because she is primed by her mentors which include the drunk Haymitch (Woody Harrelson) to become a star to attract sponsors. She is partnered with Peeta Mellark (Josh Hutcherson) from her districts as it is two from each district who seems to be an ambiguous character but seems to understand the system. Their relationship becomes important as the film progresses and becomes the impetus for change by the end.  The hunger games are broadcast over the television airwaves and so the people of each district are able to view the events as they unfold. Everdeen’s tactics to enforce change become a media sensation as opposed to an on the ground movement. As a media sensation the movement for change seems timid and pathetic because the media can never effect real change for it is only the movement on the ground that can effect real change. The hunger games are simply a tool of propaganda and so change within the game itself is not real change. The real change should come from the revolt of the districts. By the end Everdeen becomes a star of the hunger games when she should be seeking to abolish the practice.  This is truly American as the fear of revolution from below is compensated by gradualist measures where people do not resort to violence but simply a change in the political process through various conciliatory measures. I was anticipating the impending revolt that would sweep all the districts and see a veritable challenge of the capitol’s authority. This was not to be and so the film seemed stagnant and overly emotional for no apparent reason. The film keeps pointing in the direction of open revolt but then reverts to the games itself. When it seemed to be suggesting revolt I was saying to myself here we go but then wondered concernedly at the anticlimactic moment. It is this tension between open revolt and conciliation that is the main downside of this film; it is not clear about the direction it wishes to go in. The film will not be readily identifiable for future audiences because it did not go all out. Whether this is the fault of the book is not my concern for what is presented on screen is the most important thing at the moment not the book. I cannot read the book while I watch the movie. If the movie captured the essence of the book according to the fan boys and girls then the book itself reeks of juvenilia especially as it is a teen book. It does not seem to be clear to the protagonists that the system itself should be challenged based on the high levels of exploitation. Instead of challenging the system the games are challenged and so society seems to go on as usual with exploitation intact. It never once highlights that the carrot is being dangled in the eyes of the members of the twelve districts. Let us hope that the second installment hints at the impending revolution better than this one. Rise of the Planet of the Apes (2011) is a better film for these reasons and more mature. The Hunger Games is for teens and those adults who wish to be teens forever and so keep their head in the clouds. The next installment may or may not be an improvement and I am not making a judgement here.

What’s good about this film?

The main positive highlight of this film is that it does not shy away from the brutality of the hunger games themselves. We see children willingly slaughter each other in a desperate struggle to stay alive; it seems even more brutal when the younger children are forced to compete with the older ones. The environment too can be brutal as is discovered with a scene involving some poisonous wasps.  The brutality of the games represents the extent of devaluation of the populace located in the districts especially as the games seem to be their sole purpose for living. I never got a sense of an economy and it was not really clear how the districts are structured apart from the hunting and gathering elements. I assumed that it was a tributary system but the games seem to be the only viable connection between the districts and the capital. This is why I am surprised that the revolution was not in the making from this film. I only learned later on that the actual revolt won’t begin until the second book when it should have begun from this installment. The film does have some good moments involving the central character and her archery skills and the propensity to stand out among the other contestants particularly apart from the leading contender from one district; the district from which the leading contender is a resident has put forward more winners of the games than the other districts in recent memory because it is more equipped for the tourney. The other thing that got me were the tense moments that had me considering whether or not something unexpected was going to happen. I thought it would have gone full throttle instead these moments were anti climatic and so I was let down. When the film did become anti climatic I thought the film would get excessively emotional and melodramatic as was the case with the twilight series. The sad part was that the anticlimactic moment was preceded by a genuine moment that promised some form of kinetic interaction. In the moments of headlong interactions, that seemed suspenseful before the eventual let down, I thought that this teen flick was a marked improvement from the more recent twilight series although the films in the Harry Potter franchise still remain the frontrunner. The Hunger Games differs from the two because it promises some level of realism associated with activities one would only witness in a colosseum.   The film has good visual effects particularly in one scene where artificial flames burn continually on Everdeen and Mellark as a design for their costumes as a means to entice sponsors. The film also has a parallel with the gladiatorial games and by extension roman culture. The game itself provides its own spin however but the original basis for its concept lies in these gladiatorial games once held in the ancient Roman Empire. The scene where all 24 contestants are introduced for the first time in chariots says it all. The President (Keifer Sutherland in a very toothless role), postures himself like an emperor in ancient Rome amidst the cheering mob as he greets them and concludes his greeting with the iconic line of the film ‘May the odds be ever in your favour.’ The parallels will be apparent not only for fans of the franchise but for fans of Rome and its corrupt politics especially as it is now portrayed in the television series, Spartacus. The film does portray the citizens of the capitol as a set of wackos benefitting from the excess wealth on display which contrasts with the poverty of the countryside where the individuals are more rugged and are more dependent on the whims of nature; this would explain why these districts are chosen as the sources of tribute.   These elements should be readily obvious to the non-partisan viewer and for these reasons the film must receive kudos. It is always good when a new interpretation of the future comes to the fore and here we have a vision of an America that has passed and this is why I wished to be more informed about the extent to which the America has changed and received the new name of Panem.

 It is good for the film industry that another major teen fantasy series has come to the fore to fill in some way the gaping hole created by the end of the Harry Potter film franchise and the soon to be concluded Twilight series.

What’s bad about this film?

The main issues I had with this film were its sedateness and un-believability at times. It seemed too sedate when it promised kinetic action and a full throttle styled immersive experience only to crumple in an anti-climactic fashion. I mentioned this earlier and so only a few examples will suffice. It seemed stupid because of the constant manipulation by the city officials that monitor the movement of the participants. In one episode for instance Everdeen is pushing towards the boundary which would see her move beyond the sphere of the hunger games. The authorities conveniently add fire out of nowhere and in another instance they add rabid, beastly like dogs to attack the participants. The games seemed too artificial and unnecessary especially as it is initially thought that the participants would be reliant on their own natural prowess and how they interact with each other violently and the harsh climate conditions. I was not impressed with the aid offered to Everdeen whenever she or Mellark, who is close to her, was wounded. It seemed too artificial and defeatist and I thought to myself ‘what is the point of the hunger games when these participants get help whenever something bad happens.’ I am made aware that Everdeen is destined for some higher purpose later on in the series and so it is necessary that she stay on but what is the point if this is not made clear to the non-partisan viewer. You would think that it was a case of star favoritism. Whenever someone gets wounded a special ointment speeds up the healing process dramatically. The more frequently this occurs the less tense is the atmosphere in the film. In another absurd moment Everdeen and Mellark are paired together so as to add interest to the viewers  of the show. You realize pretty early on that the show is a media event and so I was looking for that moment when the protagonists would come to the realization that the carrot is being dangled in front of them as if they were lambs heading to the slaughter. I was disappointed that the protagonists merely capitulated and embraced the illusion. There was not much change effected only a mere change in presentation on the part of the media. It added some level of sensation to the games and would not affect its dissolution in any great regard. It was rather celebratory when the victors finally emerged offering salutations to the cheering public. There should have been an outright challenge of the establishment and it seems the creator of this story was in support of a gradualist measure instead of an instant upheaval of the status quo. There is no suggestion of real change on the ground level apart from one moment where a young participant is murdered and a riot breaks out. These moments were too few and failed to add to the notion that there is no going back and that a serious challenge has been offered to the exploitative practices of the capitol. If there is to be internal contradiction it should be from the forces that are stemming the revolt and this is not definitive because no revolt is waged. Instead of challenging the games definitively the victors are lauded in a hypocritical fashion with no clear demonstration that dissatisfaction is the order of the day among the districts. The film does resort to romance between two lovers as a serious challenge to the system however this is not definitive and instead of a genuine dissatisfaction being expressed only timid romantic gestures save the day. The only positive from all of this was that the film highlighted it in such a way to suggest that this revolt was always a possibility. It only diffused the possibility by resorting to romance and thereby rejected a genuine on the ground movement. The film therefore seems longer than it really is and an endless tug of war between melodrama and genuine expression becomes the normative expression. The heroes are so trapped by the system that not once is it suggested that a challenge should be offered. I waited for the entire 140 minutes for this challenge and it never emerged. It was hinted at in the beginning when Everdeen and one of her hunting partners (can't recall his name) speak of the great escape especially as the helicopter hovers overhead in search of potential or actual escapees. I thought I was  in for a great adventure but this was not to be especially as there is not much variety in the environment apart from the natural features; I was hoping to get some sense of history of the games and also to see the impact man has made on the environment through the participation in the hunger games. There are no man made relics suggesting a legacy of some sort only artificial resonance coming from above. The games itself seems pretty stupid therefore and I wonder if this is a future that can be envisioned for America especially as world civilization is supposed to be at an advanced state. The place itself seems to be constructed without any attention to the history of the world. There is also no sense of other world empires and so Panem seems very isolated and looms like a false abstract in the imagination of the viewers. You call a place Capitol and do not highlight that capital is a worldwide phenomenon not some isolated event. This is the most accurate depiction of the future by calling the centre capitol especially as everyone knows that it is capital that rules the world however advanced capital would not permit the wholesale slaughter of its surplus population without first working them to death and extracting surplus value in its industries.This tributary system seems more backward than advanced however if that was the intention of the author of the series then she is correct for if this is the future then capital should have advanced beyond the excess bush on display.  The civil war which was said to have resulted in the creation of the hunger games seemed rudimentary and perfunctory in the discourse offered in the film and this is the only real historical information that the viewers will be treated to in the film however it does not resonate and does not highlight chinks in the armour. The intellectuals must be very silent and so everything is devalued under capital (not the capitol)

The heroine does not seem to be effective despite her significant presence in the media. In the hunger games itself she just runs around and climbs in a tree and this would suggest that she does not really want to take part so why is it not made clear instead of her receiving all of these handouts. The games at first seem to be repugnant but eventually Everdeen and Mellark seem to be consuming a lot of carrots i.e. they gobble up the illusion without hinting at the hypocrisy.
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This brings me to the next point for I never got a sense of the economy and how things circulate through trade which would explain the destitution of the districts. This would explain the true state of impoverishment apart from the tributary system which is associated with the broken empires of Greece, Rome and Babylon which seem to be installed forever in the imagination of the West. This is why I did not appreciate the references to Rome because the backwardness of the future is astounding given man's eternal progression from the darkness.

It is clear that this film will fill the gaping hole left by Harry Potter film franchise and the soon to be concluded twilight series. If this series does not improve people will observe it with a sense of estrangement and this is a  constant  attribute of  fanboy franchises that does nothing for the non-partisan viewer. Decline is certain to ensue. 

The Celebrity as a Stagnant Element in Society

'Alright Mr. Demille, I am ready for my close up.'

A celebrity is a stagnant element in society because he or she continually postulates or embodies ideals in their person and in such a case the ideal becomes more and more regressive especially as the celebrity can no longer postulate such an ideal because of death of the physical person or decline of the worth of the ideal. This ideal can never correspond to reality to a large extent because for a celebrity to assume the position that he or she does in society they must assume characteristics, external to their own innate characteristics, which are only in the imagination. When that is the case then the celebrity eventually becomes a farcical version of him or herself especially when that ideal does not correspond to reality. The eventual decline of the celebrity is the inevitable result. The celebrity is normally attributed to the spheres where physical posturing is normally ideal i.e. in the arts, innovations in technology with mass appeal, politics/political activism, warfare and sports. (It goes without saying that even on a small scale within the family an individual that has a successful career is regarded highly and conferred with the status of celebrity) The celebrity corresponds to the time in which or she emerges which is why they become a celebrity because they captured the imagination of the populace within that particular time. The ideal that they embody or postulate expresses the sentiments of the populace in the time which they resided. This ideal normally corresponds to the material forces of that particular period and normally represents the hopes and failures of that particular period.  The stagnation becomes evident when the material forces change for various reasons and so the aspirations and failures change. There are those celebrities however who do not correspond to the milieu in which they existed and so what they represent outlast the period in which they resided. This can be because they were never celebrities in their own time and that their celebrity only came to the fore in later years as opposed to the here and now. They become increasingly relevant as their views or mode of expression seemed to be so contrary to the period in which they resided. These celebrities eventually become eroded because others will assume what they represent and so their ideals become manipulated to suit the particular milieu of later celebrities. For a celebrity to outlast his or her own milieu they must embody the ideals postulated by earlier celebrities and yet satisfy their own material conditions and so postulate dreams for the future. Every celebrity will be known for the time in which they resided but it is the ideal that they postulate which will resonate.

There are certain themes however which correspond to a particular mode of production as long as it lasts. The main mode of economic production in the these times, for instance, is capitalism and this mode of economic production is prone to crisis and when this crisis erupts numerous members of the proletariat are thrown into confusion and they express the struggles experienced by these members and so long as this class exists they will be able to identify with these struggles even if they occurred several years ago because it is typical for this mode of production and so individuals will always be able to identify with the expression of  that particular society. There has always been the struggle between the ruling class and the oppressed class and so the expression of that age will always resonate with particular class groups. The class struggle has always existed since man ceased to be nomads and settled on various land areas. These elements will always resonate externally but the time in which one particular celebrity resided would never be as advanced as the next celebrity. Either in technology or in the mode of production or in the form of expression however there are laws within a particular mode of economic production that will resonate for that mode of economic production but never for the mode of production that will succeed it. It is only credit to the man who can accurately predict the formation of the succeeding society based on the dissolution of the already existing one. Here is where the celebrity thrives as he or she impresses upon the populace the hopes of that particular era or they fully express the mode of production akin to the era or sphere in which they reside. Each celebrity represents the outcome of the production of the individuals that preceded him or her. The celebrity that exists squarely in the present must synthesize and subsume the principles that preceded him or her and by so doing will lay the groundwork for other celebrities to rise to the fore. The celebrity status is tied into the mode of economic production and the means of expression therefore one has to understand that when that is no longer the case the celebrity status must fade and be replaced. When that particular celebrity clings to the ideals that he or she represents and refuses to acknowledge a change in the mode of economic production or forms of expression then they will inevitably be seen as a stagnant element in society especially as their position has political implications because these individuals appeal to the wider public. I am here only focusing on the celebrity as a stagnant element and will later discuss the relevance of that celebrity as they rose to prominence as they represented the views of an era. The support for my argument will come from various films on this subject and as film is the most representative art form it is more than fair even if this were not a blog about film. Indeed a lot of the great films do speak to the stagnant element of the celebrity and it is suggested by these said films that one must be prepared to hand over the reins because the times are changing. I will not dwell on these films but this is a motif in film which is reflective of the wider society that must be taken into account, if even briefly. A film made in 1975, for instance, may resonate thematically with audiences of the present but with regards to documenting the actual social context prevalent today it will not be as effective and will always be regarded as classic by the modern day audiences because it accurately documented the social interactions of a particular period in the past. This is why classic films are continually updated to correspond with the mode of expression of the present context. The celebrity that was born in the film of 1975 will not be a star in 2012. The only claim to fame will be the star making role in 1975 and so words such as legend is thrown around in order to give that particular celebrity some measure of significance but eventually that person will not be regarded as highly as the years move on.

Let us start with the film considered one of the best of them all on such a subject, Citizen Kane (1941). The head of a media empire Charles Foster Kane (Orson Welles) rises to fame on the back of his newspaper, The Globe. He believes initially that the paper will be one of the first to expose the corruption within society and give a voice to the people. His rise to fame begins with the fabrication of stories, buying out the best workers from the competition in the form of the chronicle which results in an increase of circulation of his paper. With all his fame and wealth the world is at his feet: he is engaged to the niece of the current president, he begins collecting magnificent ornaments and figurines which serve to encourage his taste in refined goods; this encourages those who follow in his wake to marvel at his grandeur which was built on the back of his achievements which seemed genuine despite him originally being handed wealth on a silver platter. He was still able to begin his own political movement through his newspapers after rejecting a lofty position on the board of one the companies in which he was a major shareholder. When he began his media empire he seemed genuine in trying to capture the voice of the people. He began a movement which captured the voice of the people at that particular period. His empire spread however like most empires it lost touch with reality as the ambitions of Kane extended to running for president and him being consumed by the excessive purchasing of luxurious products. He also made questionable choices such as making trade links with the Nazi government led by Hitler and committing adultery in the midst of a political campaign for Governor for which he is exposed by his rival. He even goes as far to promote his second wife through the papers as a great opera singer although she is mediocre. This was used as ammunition against him to highlight that he was no longer genuine and did not represent the voice of the people. Instead of trying to represent the voice of the people he felt that anything printed in his papers would be absorbed by the people. The people gave him the power and so he felt it legitimized his speculative endeavours which were only reflective of his own ambitions and not of the people. Firstly the people give you the power and then, secondly, you continually believe that what you say and do reflect what the people are thinking in the streets as they interact daily within a particular sphere. When the latter episode takes place you are setting yourself up for a fall because it is no guarantee that you can portray the views of the people especially as your activities have increasingly isolated you from the wider public which can never enjoy the privileges that you do.  Who are the people? His best friend even remarks that he spoke of the people as if they were his. His political endeavours end ignominiously as his media empire shrinks and he is forced to sign away his rights to the company through a sale although he is compensated sufficiently to live a life of luxury in his palace of Xanadu, a sprawling estate, filled with Kane’s extensive collection of figurines and ornaments. The space is large ad Kane and his wife become increasingly isolated from the wider society. The wife eventually leaves him and he is susceptible to the maggots and the rats in the form of his own staff. His celebrity status has faded simply because he no longer conformed to the forms of expression as society continually progressed. He became a stagnant element because his views became irrelevant although he believed that his outdated postulations were what the people wanted to hear. What he postulated never conformed with the aspirations of the people anymore however he was still determined to make these postulations appear relevant. His celebrity  status becomes even more stagnant should there still be those loyal to him that embrace his ideals without absorbing it and making way for new interpretations i.e. they subscribe to his views as if they are relevant although his movement is over. The illusion becomes the reality whereas before the reality became the illusion for aspiration. Even if his views were no longer relevant there were still things to learn from his views and experiences for they could be eventually subsumed by the next generation which would have learned from Kane how to begin a magnificent media empire although the mode of expression would have changed as well as the mode of production. The movement has to be from the bottom up and must reflect the expression of the people who will be the ones to relate to it and consume it.

In Sunset Boulevard (1950) we see the same decline and stagnation in the form of the once great silent film star Norma Desmond (Gloria Swanson). When she first appears in the film she is clearly an individual whose time has passed especially as the silent medium is now obsolete but is adamant that her once lavish celebrity status is still a force to be reckoned with in society. She recruits the down on his luck screenwriter Joe Gillis (William Holden) to be a ghost writer who would draft a more refined screenplay adapted from her own bloated script so that she can return to the modern day screen which features audiovisuals as opposed to strictly visuals (I am speaking of the talkies and not the music that normally accompanies the performance in a silent film). He eventually becomes her trapped lover because she showers him with money.  She believes that the Paramount studio will embrace her return although she is not aware that new stars have emerged in  her place; she even hopes that the influential director Cecil B. Demille will allow her to return to the screen particularly when he takes a look at the fabulously mediocre script that was submitted. Poor Demille recognizes her faded glory and eases her into the realization that it won’t happen by using delayed tactics. Her main justification is that ‘Without me, there wouldn’t be any Paramount studio.’ ‘I am big. It’s the pictures that got small.’ She could not explain why her dressing rooms slowly shrunk at paramount having once been as large as a street block. She is referring to her reign as a silent film superstar although that does not necessarily amount to anything with a generation now accustomed to talking pictures. In the end her delusions result in tragic consequences. She murders Gillis in a jealous rage especially as he decides to leave her for another, younger, woman or she thinks he does. When she is lured out by the cops with the aid of her butler, who was also her director during the silent era, it is done when she is convinced that she will be returning to the screen. She gives her final famous line ‘ Alright Mr. Demille I’m ready for my close up.’ In Desmond’s case she could not believe that her time had ended and that society moved on without her; she also could not believe that society was not ready to receive her with open arms again. She became a stagnant element in society when she decided to return to the screen despite the fact that her luster had faded and as with Kane only her loyal followers, such as her butler could have embraced such a return. Her increased isolation since the decline of the silent film format inevitably resulted in her absorption of the illusion generated by her stardom in the formative years. When one becomes increasingly isolated one cannot embrace the new mode of expression. This theme was developed more recently in The Artist (2011) where the monomaniacal star, Valentin, slowly comes to the realization, through a painful excursion, that the age of silent films is over for good. He is fortunately able to embrace the new mode of expression thanks to the love of a woman who shepherds him through the valley of death.

We see the same dilemma in All About Eve (1950) (see my review) where established star Margo (Bette Davis) becomes jealous of upcoming young starlet Eve. Margo has to concede when Eve is chosen for a part that she is fit for because of her youth. Margo wished to play the role but has to concede eventually as a result of subterfuge on Eve’s part. It was necessary however to dislodge Margo because it seems she thought that her light would shine forever. This was becoming a stagnant element because she refused, initially, to make way for Eve who was more of a fit for the role. In this sense the age of Margo is no longer compatible with the roles available in the theatre for younger women. At age 40 it is time to give up the reins and stop desperately holding on, craving for another whiff of glory.

We see the same element of stagnation in films such as Patton (1970) where the famous General is forced to accept that his harsh disciplinary tactics are no longer compatible as a morale boosting measure. There is even the case with Vito Corleone in The Godfather (1972) who refuses to accept the offer from Sollozo to market drugs within the ghetto neighborhoods and is almost killed for his refusal which was bad for business or a new means to generate revenue for the various families. Sollozo says to Tom Hagen ‘The don, rest in peace, was slipping. Ten years ago could I have gotten to him?’Vito is forced to accept it later on and it goes to show that his stubbornness was due to his overwhelming confidence in his power as Vito Corleone who was the most powerful mob boss in New York prior to the attempted assassination. Nevertheless he was not prepared for this attack which goes to show that his celebrity never corresponded with the new change in the mode of economic production. The same misfortune was to beset Michael in The Godfather parts 2&3 for various reasons associated with overwhelming faith in his own abilities despite others not sharing his sentiments. When he realizes this he tries to have all his enemies killed yet still isolating those close to him like his wife Kay. This is a man losing grip of reality and the final nail is set with the death of his daughter. Michael always seemed to think that he could legitimize his criminal enterprise without paying a personal price. In Braveheart (1995) the Scottish clans united under one banner following the death of William Wallace. During his lifetime before he was dismembered by the English monarchy Wallace strove futilely to unite the clans; he went as far as seeking the assistance of the nobles that double crossed him. His legend did grow but after several defeats and betrayals he was almost a one man band despite the legend or illusion that captured the mind of the Scottish public. As the authorities focused on him they figured that not much would come of the revolt once they defeated the Wallace band. This was a stagnant element because as long as Wallace was around killing nobles and failing to offer suitable alternatives he would further isolate some members of the populace. One of his friends suggested that he was only leading the revolt as a means to avenge the loss of his wife who was brutally murdered by the English authorities. This suggests that his mission can be seen as personal in the eyes of others for he could not offer a suitable alternative by way of the mode of economic development which the average peasant could subscribe to.  Although he did establish links with the chief noble who would eventually be king Wallace could not drive the people onto freedom with his warring bands regardless of how tragic his death. He became a stagnant element only insofar as it prevented the nobles from acting definitively. As long as he existed the nobles would remain quiet. It is to the credit of Wallace that he recognized this and was prepared to broker an arrangement with them so that they could get down to real business devoid of talks of freedom which is mere idealism. His legend could not advance the populace in the long run but like all celebrities he emerged at a time when the people called out for that individual to express their frustrations. Wallace did this but that was all his stature was good for and it would be pointless to see him advance the mode of production especially as his primary role was to create excitement. He challenged the nobles, even murdering two, and so any hope he had of advancing the cause of liberty faded and so he died ignominiously. He would have had to murder all of them and take control of the means of production thereby empowering the people. His time came with his minor rebellion and his legend stopped there and advanced no further. I say again it is to his credit that he acknowledged the important role played by the corrupt so called nobles. Malcolm X in Malcolm X (1992) shows how Malcolm so enamoured with his position in the nation of Islam and his love for Elijah Muhammad finds his dreams shattered when Muhammad’s several sexual liaisons are revealed and his hypocrisy cannot be defended by Malcolm. Malcolm worshipped Mr. Muhammed to the point where someone asked if he was Elijah’s pimp. His worship of Muhammed acted as a stagnating element on his own development for when the Nation of Islam felt that Malcolm was becoming too prominent they had him assassinated. This was to ensure that Mr. Muhammed maintained his celebrity status. Gandhi the great idealist does realize some of his dreams by challenging the rapaciousness of British Capitalism. In Gandhi (1982) we see his dreams of a unified India shattered when the Muslims decide to found a nation of their own by the name of  Pakistan. Whenever conflict between Muslims and Hindus would break out Gandhi would fast because he had so much faith in his stature. The fighting does stop but Gandhi is eventually murdered for his trouble; his celebrity status acted more as a hindrance for certain groups for he could not prevent the Muslims from seeking separation because he never understood their mode of existence and could offer them nothing but dreams. Like William Wallace he could not offer them something substantial but he did express ideals shared by the populace who sought freedom from Britain. He was completely at a loss when India achieved its independence and in desperation began to fast to try and curb the bloodletting between the Hindus and the Muslims. It was a clear sign that his time was over and he could not accept it.

In sports the same element is present. In Raging Bull (1980) Jake La Motta, the famous middleweight boxer, is constantly jealous of his wife and it reaches the point where he cannot focus on his career in boxing which sinks in the hole ignominiously. He was so confident in his abilities that he never took his training seriously and he exceeded the prescribed weight for his class and his celebrity status forced him into ignominious bouts where he had to take dives for the gambling mob in order to return for championship contention after a suspension. It also ruined his relationship with his wife because his prominence made him think too highly of himself and believe that he was overwhelmingly important which in fact he wasn’t after his wife leaves him following his retirement from the ring. His constant abuse could not reveal to him his wife’s displeasure. He opens a bar and is shamefully arrested for kissing a 14 year old that pretended to be 21. He even accused his own brother of sleeping with his wife despite his loyalty. His celebrity status corrupted him and inflated his ego and we watch him wither down to nothing as he is left in a state of destitution employed as a mere MC simply because people recall his glory days. The times had changed and he became a fat loser in the end. It is to his credit that he retired from the ring however he still used his celebrity status to get some businesses going although his time as a middleweight boxer was over. His boxing was the only claim to fame. We see the same with Apollo Creed in Rocky (1976) who was so confident in his abilities he could never anticipate the rise of Rocky Balboa, a ‘Southpaw’, who is a underdog he fights in a promotional event for the champ in order to promote the American centennial. He is nearly stunned when Rocky knocks him down for the first time in his career and goes the whole distance of 15 rounds. Apollo Creed could never have anticipated Rocky’s fortitude because he was so blinded by his celebrity status. The key scene of that film is Apollo’s complete disregard for Rocky’s training practice of thumping frozen cow meat. His coach tries to get him interested and Apollo waves his hand in a dismissive manner indicating that he is not interested. The documentary Tyson (2009) on Mike Tyson accurately sums up the trappings of celebrity and explains why Mike was so desperate to leave the ring because of the ‘leeches’. His celebrity status was so stagnant that he only used his name to get fights so he could get the money. He was ignominiously shot down by Lennox Lewis and Kevin McBride in the twilight of his career in his desperation to salvage some cash from his name which was associated with a past glory no longer compatible with the modern day.

We see the same stagnant element in romantic films where the two individuals part for various reasons. In Gone with the Wind (1939) (see my review) Rhett refuses to be enamoured by Scarlett in the end and concludes ‘Frankly my dear I don’t give a damn.’ In this case he exalted Scarlett as if she was a celebrity within their sphere and lavished her with grand material tributes which contributed to her inflated ego and her own belief in her superiority. Rhett after various domestic squabbles and the death of their daughter has had enough and decides to quench the flame so that some form of progress in his life can be achieved. In Annie Hall (1977) (see my review) Alvy and Annie cannot get along particularly as Annie under the moniker of her new lover Tony moves to California thereby putting an end to their relationship. Alvy is a comedian and his celebrity status acted as a smothering factor in Annie’s life prior to her own rise to fame as a singer and this contributed to her leaving. His realistic viewpoints dominated her way of living until she was able to get a break and move to the more open air of California. He refused to see the signs suggesting that Annie was prepared to leave him because his viewpoints were dominant for so long and so it comes as a shock when she refuses to come back to him when he goes out to L.A win her back. After Annie’s taste of success she eventually returns to New York and is still drawn to the cold way of living in New York City however the relationship built on the back of romance, where individuals exalt one another, does not necessarily last regardless of old times.

There are also instances where the celebrity gives up his or her lofty position and therefore pave the way for society to move on unhindered and therefore removes themselves as a stagnant barrier. This is evident recently in The Dark Knight (2008) where Batman sacrifices himself to protect the reputation of district attorney, Harvey  Dent, who went on a killing spree. He decided to protect Harvey so that the citizenry of Gotham would not be dismayed by the madness that besotted one of their true stalwarts in the public service. He was notable for trying to put a dent in crime (no pun intended). In Apocalypse Now (1979) Colonel Kurtz was a decorated officer and seemed to be set to become a general but relinquished his post in order to return to the original state of man. The celebrity status afforded him in the tribal village where he finds himself is another element although it too seemed stagnant because he sought to emphasize that man should return to a primal state. I mentioned Kurtz to highlight that as an aspiring young officer who was set to be accorded a prominent position he suddenly rejects the position to go off into the wild. It is testament to his desire to remain true to himself and not be divorced from reality as he saw it from the eyes of a soldier especially as the generals are divorced from on the ground activity.  When one becomes a general the politics of the station seems to be of more significance than on the ground combat. Kurtz accepted his fate and challenged the generals that sent Marlowe to assassinate him. Kurtz may have been on the deep end but he recognized the hypocrisy of his superiors who are out of touch with reality. He never wanted to be a part of that and sought to return to a simple state.

The celebrity status also results in the decline of Empires be it in the form of businesses or nations. The members of the corporation or nation rely so much on their name to acquire credit that eventually it results in speculation and swindling. These empires feel that they are not accountable to anyone and feel that they can throw their weight around. This inevitably causes their decline when they are ignominiously defeated by the nation or the corporation on the rise that does the actual work on the ground. These nations and corporations rely on debt to survive. The same situation affects the ruling classes and eventually when a crisis strikes these individuals resort to desperation and scavenging in order to stay relevant especially as they fear the rise of the class beneath them that will overthrow them especially as all ruling classes profit from the labour of the working classes or those supposedly beneath them. It is in these moments that they issue war proclamations or threats of military action so as to distract the populace who continue to buy into the illusion of prosperity generated by their once good credit. As the rats gnaw at their possessions the ruling class desperately cries to the heavens as the termite infested house becomes a spectre associated with decline and destitution. They can no longer correspond to the need to do the actual work to stay relevant with the citizens or customers and even then age bites and pinches them and it seems as if they are continually attacked by ticks. These people always refuse to heed the warning. It is amazing how the church has raped the name of Jesus in the name of advancement which is in reality regression. Jesus emerged in a particular time and expressed positively the desires of the people. The church rejects science in favour of the dogma of Jesus. The corruption of the church is startling; it advocates that we continue to honour Jesus in the form of holidays although what Jesus fought for is long gone. These holidays only result in the loss of money because people become idle on days when they should be working. Jesus is in heaven already so why are we continuing to celebrate him so fastidiously although his struggles are long passed. How would Jesus cope in these times of advanced capitalism? The people who still subscribe to Jesus almost look silly particularly the ascetics who sacrifice themselves for ideals no longer compatible with the present day. The church however has gotten rich on subventions from the state and its members.

This commentary merely seeks to highlight how celebrity status can corrupt society because it eventually becomes a stagnant element no matter how genuine it might have seemed at first. The variety of spheres in life and the increased division of labour limit the capabilities of individuals to fully express themselves. They become boxed in by that particular sphere and can only concentrate on being successful in one particular sphere. If it were the case that a celebrity was not necessarily needed to advance society this could only come about when mankind realizes its full potential and until then we will continue to see people rise to the fore and express the sentiments of the age but only few will be able to transcend the age because they were limited by the celebrity status they acquired. It is those individuals that run contrary that will continue to thrive because they expressed sentiments that will resonate for several generations to come as opposed to merely being content with the state they found themselves. The individuals that run contrary always seek to discover an objective reality that is inexorable to mankind. The celebrity status eventually becomes corrupted through dogma and a dilution of the main reasons that a particular individual sought to challenge the status quo. Celebrities are trapped by idealism which defeats them in the end particularly if they relied too heavily on the ideal as opposed to the material forces external to themselves which determined their mode of thought

Modes of Urban Alienation, pt 2: Midnight Cowboy (1969)

Midnight Cowboy (1969)

Introduction

Midnight Cowboy is a great illustration about the perils of life in the great urban centres of the world. This film captures the essence of urban alienation particularly from the perspective of the underclass that is caught up in the scramble for space.  The illustration of urban life however does not go as in depth as other films such as Taxi Driver (1976) because it is not limited to that particular setting. There is also the presence of the southern states such as Florida and Texas. New York City is at the centre of the film however it is portrayed as a means of entry and exit when compared with the other two territories. The film opens in Texas which does not seem to have many opportunities for the young Joe Buck and then the journey is made by him to New York City where opportunities are supposed to abound; the culture shock is apparently too much for Joe Buck and so he accompanies a dying Rizzo, his only friend, to Florida to escape the perils of city life. New York therefore contrasts with two states in the film for different reasons. The city therefore represents two things to the main characters: success and failure. 

This film does contribute to the filmography associated with urban alienation because it does emphasize the sex trade from the perspective of a male prostitute which was hardly ever addressed in such a gritty manner. This idea of the male prostitute is reinforced by the concept of the surplus population and the underclass caught in the scramble.  This film preceded the cynical decade of the 70s style of filmmaking which sought to expose the underbelly of American society and the power structures that are associated with capital gain with no recourse to morality. It is in this film where we see the dissolution of censorship control.

 The editing in this film is superb and it captures another feature of urban life: constant movement. When you become a member of the underclass you have to constantly be on the move seeking means to earn money simply to survive. This is the hustle (‘struggling man has got to move,’ says Jimmy Cliff, ‘ struggling man no time to lose.’). This film also captures the life of the drifter since the young Joe Buck will never be settled although he hoped to be settled in the city by earning money as a cowboy stud for older females. This dream never materializes due to the unexpected harsh climate of the city and the deterioration in Rizzo’s health. This forces him to move to Florida in an effort to give Rizzo some peace. Rizzo is also conditioned by the constant hustle in New York City since he can never settle because of his position in the underclass. This forces him to be a ruthless con. He sees Florida as a means to settle down however as the final scene suggests he will always be on the move even in death.

  The film captures the essential nature of drift through these characters magnificently. The two individuals are conditioned by their personal histories. Joe Buck for instance was actually settled in Texas with his philandering grandmother and his onetime love Annie. These two individuals were removed from his life and so he was cast into the void and so he suddenly had an urge to join in the glories of city life. Rizzo ( I called him Ratso in my introduction to this series but he will be referred to here as Rizzo, his surname) likewise appears to have lost the security of his family particularly his father, a struggling shoe shiner, who seems to have been the mainstay of his childhood. He tries to break free from this legacy however that is not forthcoming because he is conditioned by an existence devoid of reason apart from money. He will never be able to establish a reasonable legacy however his encounter with Joe Buck gave him a chance at doing this especially as he becomes his manager for a time. His dreams of Florida remain stuck in his mind and are his only saving grace from city life however this is undermined by his health. Joe Buck also has to grapple with the issue of his sexuality. In the city as a midnight cowboy he has to attract both male and female customers and with no solid moral foundation or conscience guide, such as a heterosexual partner, he is forced to question it. This is reflective of his position as a drifter. Money has no scruples once you can get your hands on it so as to spend or to invest. Capital has crippled the moral foundation of the working classes who were once tied to communal living in the countryside. The theoretical reason for Rizzo and Joe being members of the underclass is the concept of the surplus population created by capital. When capital advances constant capital grows to overwhelming proportions in the form of technical applications utilized through machinery  and this forces  the workers onto the market looking for a buyer of their labour power as the machine absorbs their high levels of productivity. The surplus population released by the machinery can either find jobs in other sectors or be forced to wait until new investment opportunities are created for work to be available. If investment opportunities do not materialize for capital to expand then this surplus population become relegated to a class of so called criminals (drug traders and thieves. Murder is mixed in the process when the underclass compete for space that can derive some economic benefit (gangs)or simply to form shelter), beggars or seekers of welfare and prostitutes. This is done to compensate for the position created for them by capital. The most crafty ones can become unproductive servants of the bourgeois class either as housekeepers or security guards. These elements represent the corrupt values of this bourgeois system where the only basis is profit without any recourse to morality. The bourgeois class only gets taken aback by the violence when the proletariat threatens to revolt having been denied a share in the spoils which they have created by generating surplus value or unpaid labour time for the capitalist class. It is as a result of this surplus value that profit is generated on the objective capital advanced.

Midnight Cowboy was the first film to receive an X rating due to its explicit sexual content. It was well received by critics and audiences when released and went on to win academy awards for Best Film, Best Adapted Screenplay and Best Director. It was rightfully nominated for Best editing and the performances by Jon Voight  as Joe Buck and Dustin Hoffman as Rizzo for Best Actor. There was a nomination for Sylvia Miles as Cass, a brief role, who cons Joe Buck when he believes that he may have found his first old female customer. I was disappointed by some of the reviews of this film, particularly that of Roger Ebert, for the philosophical dimension is entirely missing from these critiques and so this undermines their analysis of the material. Ebert says that instead of focusing on the relationship between Rizzo and Joe buck the film ‘reaches outside the relationship for a string of melodramatic scenes that will not do.’ This analysis is not complete for it cannot ‘reach outside of the relationship’ when their existence is conditioned by the urban experience. It is necessary to have the main character(s) engage in several encounters to add some form of panache to the setting. If they were to focus solely on the relationship then one would never be allowed to understand the circumstances that brought the two together and what actually keeps them together. In that sense the film had to highlight the material circumstances despite the relationship at its core or momentum will be lost and the relationship itself would become melodramatic, speculative and redundant. In the city there is not much time for introspection based on the constant hustle and the squalid living conditions in which Rizzo and Joe Buck find themselves. It is a miracle that these two characters are able to come together especially as there is an individualist mentality when it comes to the hustle or when the workers compete to sell their labour power to the capitalist. This is what makes the relationship special on its own without any of the characters themselves coming to overly dramatic conclusions. It is clear that a character such as Rizzo wants to matter to someone and he eventually discovers this in Joe Buck who is almost childlike in his naïve charm. Rizzo adopts a more parental role whereas Buck assumes a childlike stance. This is enhanced by the fact that Rizzo is crippled (walks with a limp) and has a debilitating illness. What could have been made clearer is that Rizzo is probably older than Joe Buck and this is the cause for their dichotomy and unity. Rizzo is more concerned about his legacy since he wants to be more than what his father was: a simple shoe shiner. He therefore assumes a big brother sort of role. It is clear that by the end he may have succeeded in doing that since he actually mattered to someone. Joe Buck on the other hand is more concerned about earning money. The time has not come for him to worry about his legacy for he simply wants to enjoy his youth and this is reflected in his naïve approach to money making: being a stud for old women. The fact that Ebert, or other critics along his line of argument, could not highlight these elements undermines his arguments significantly. Ebert also made the mistake of comparing the context of the film to later periods without establishing that the film is actually influential in its approach to city life regardless of the fact that others might have built on its premise and surpassed it. Ebert mentions that it is influential while at the same disregarding this influence on later generations of film and that is absurd to a certain degree. Any film that is not influential is not worth speaking about and the film does not need to be rewritten only some elements elaborated on. The influence of this film is undeniable and its approach must be discussed seriously which is why it is included in this series on ‘Modes of Urban Alienation’.

In this review I will discuss the concept of urban alienation along the lines of the relationship between Buck and Rizzo, life as a midnight cowboy and the drifter elements in the film associated with the displacement in rural and city life. I will also discuss the relationship between New York and the other two states featured in this film Texas and Florida and the relationship between Urban and rural areas. This relationship between rural and urban areas is significant for the concept does not apply only to the country side in America but to the immigrants of the poorer countries entering America. Many immigrants have similar experiences when the American dream begins to fade before their very eyes.   The poorer countries of the world have an agrarian base where the development of industrial capital is slow in coming as a result of low levels of productivity and small scale capital investment or the Government, which is a bastion of the small productive base revels in corruption, and resorts to begging  to stay afloat. The most dominant economic force are the merchants or the commercial and money dealing capitalists. Petty commodity production through avenues such as the artisans and small peasant farmers precludes the possibility of increasing the productive powers of social labour under capital. The patriarchal conditions of production are part and parcel of this tradition of small isolated producers. As a result of the low levels of productivity high tax and interest rates are the norm and usury rears its ugly head. Poverty is glorified through religion/high handed morality, rabid political movements, a warrior class in the form of police, soldiers and the henchmen of the warlords/gangleaders.There are also various spheres of entertainment where entertainers and sportsmen are deified. It is a mere scramble for spoils in such a setting and so it compels many individuals to seek living outside of their shores. The intellectual class is equally impoverished by the surroundings and resorts to penchant idealism in order to counter the destitution at hand. The ‘poverty of philosophy’ is clear for all to see as the intellectuals resort to hollow ideological rhetoric in order to gain some measure of prestige in the society and so ingratiate themselves with the authorities as their main struggle becomes one with the bloated government bureaucracy. The lack of  serious scientific inquiry impoverishes the intellectual capabilities of the poor nation and any possibility of serious innovation within that country is woefully small. Physical posturing becomes the norm of excellence as opposed to progressive improvements through scientific inquiry. This posturing is sold as a cultural accompaniment as the impoverished nation seeks the means to fascinate the world and thereby encourage the wealthier nations to make grants or capital based loans so as to provide relief for the rampant destitution. It is no wonder that Joe Buck in this film is proud of his sexual prowess. It is this physical element that he hopes to sell as a means to earn large sums of cash. It is a reflection of his poverty within the context of capital as the film correctly demonstrates. Physical prowess counts as nothing unless it can appropriate the various sources of revenue as  what occurs with  prostitution in this case. If your physical prowess cannot garner any attention you might need to ship yourself back to the land of the ancients where poverty is enshrined and glorified as a means of salvation as is done here in Jamaica for instance, and there you can utilize your physical skills and charge exorbitant amounts just to make a physical appearance as what some doctors and lawyers trained abroad do. This is not to blame the poor nations of the world because it is clear that  capital from the developed nations has denuded, raped and pillaged the frontiers of the world creating the class of beggars that exist throughout the world. The buffoons remain safe from harm as a result of their corrupt lackeys in the various poor governments and try their hand at philanthropy so as to assuage their guilt as world pollutants; a testament to their waste as they feed people's illusions about their glory. It is this environment which forces individuals to resort to physical posturing with the hope that their eccentricities or physical practical skills will stand out.

The Journey Begins: Exiting the Country and entering the City

The beginning of the journey in Midnight Cowboy is one that most people in similar situations can identify with: exiting the country and entering the city. The film makes clear in these early moments that the countryside represents a binding emotion link firstly because the population numbers are so low and this encourages individuals to reach out with more intense emotion as the particularity of individuals becomes more prominent and seems more eccentric. These eccentricities are however conditioned by the destitute material circumstances on display in the countryside particularly the idea of the cowboy who is one that is expected to grapple with the many facets of the land. The cowboy factor is therefore a product of the vast expanse of land on display in those areas and the women, therefore, are more inclined to favour the man who is physically endowed. When Joe Buck has flashbacks of his grandmother we see why he is conditioned to be a stud or a physical accompaniment or servant to the female. In the flashbacks there are moments where we see a young Joe Buck massaging his grandmother or we see her cowboy lovers with a young Joe caught in the midst; particularly in one scene where he lays in the bed with her and her cowboy lover. The said cowboy lover takes him to rodeos and so on and while on the national bus on the journey to the city Buck is reminded of the his grandma saying that he is going to the best cowboy on show.

 We also get to understand that his idea of servicing older women sexually was conditioned by this experience especially as he doted on her so obsessively in such an intense manner and this would explain why he made the decision to leave Texas for good, after hearing of his grandmother’s death, to the city where there would be a plenitude of such older females to service; however before he could make this break for the city he had to have the original experience with his own grandmother. In a moving scene we see a young Joe being shepherded to his grandmother’s house by two females and it can be presumed that one of them most be his philandering mother who could not manage the so called burden of raising a child. As is customary in the countryside she dumps him on the grandmother as she is either conditioned by poverty and is incapable of raising him as she too bought into the physical prowess of the cowboy producing on the land over the wage earner who can carry in money regularly under the domination of the capitalist. It could be seen as immaturity on the part of the mother but it is more a result of her poverty and the fact that the grandmother would be a more stable source of emotional support for a child ( as she would have acquired a  significant amount of property whether landed or  money). The daughter, as a result of her poverty, either squanders her body through prostitution thus giving birth to Joe Buck or moves to the city to seek a fortune and thereby become settled after dumping the child on her mother.   The cowboy is a mere circus clown in the modern day as opposed to the famous robbers and gunslingers in the Wild West during the nineteenth century which was reflective of the poverty of the locale and therefore glorified/deified by the populace. This is just one reason why the film is masterful by highlighting the cowboy as a mere figure head in the times of advanced capitalism.  The mother is therefore poor and as the basis of landed property becomes eroded she too will be caught up in the scramble for money.    Joe says in one scene that the only thing he has ever been good for is loving. The legacy of poverty is here expressed in a poignant fashion.

Joe Buck’s perchance for loving is reinforced by flashbacks which reveal that he was involved romantically with a girl only referred to as Crazy Annie. She seems to have been the only girl that Joe Buck has been with in life which would explain why it is so resonant. Joe’s liaisons with her and his constant reference to her as he enters the city seems to suggest that he is a romantic by nature who aspires to those ideals of the south where one should act like a gentleman. It seems from Joe’s flashbacks that she was something of a prostitute or a sexually promiscuous woman living in a dingy old house broken by many years of decline in the south where landed property was once the basis of all wealth prior to the advent of capitalism. This also reminds one of characters such as Blanche Du bois in A Streetcar Named Desire (The Decline of the Old South part 2: A Streetcar Named Desire (1951)) who prided themselves on the legacy of landed property and slowly wasted away beneath the burden of acquiring money and resorted to sexual outlets which would represent the essence of their beauty or their desperation in hopefully landing a husband who will be taken in by her beauty.  In the glorious days of the south great physical beauty reinforced by virginity could land you a husband however in the times of decline your beauty is only good for sexual reasons for women are now expected to earn a livelihood in the advanced capitalist economies  as money becomes the basis of wealth. A sap like Joe Buck seems to have naively assumed from Annie’s pronouncements while they have sex  such as ‘You’re the only one Joe’ that he was in the act of lovemaking or some form of transcendent experience. One of his flashbacks reveal one of the males of the town saying that kissing Crazy Annie ‘you better drink a whole drugstore.’ kissing the whole drugstore. The flashbacks also reveal that she was gang raped  on several occasions or that she slept with most of the men in the town through prostitution or simply in desperation to land a husband. This is made even more clear by the fact that she appears lost without the usual guardians or chaperones who would constantly implore her to preserve her virtuous virginity for her husband. This is the ultimate manifestation of the decline of her way of life i.e. landed property in the south. It must have been a great relief for her when she could attract someone as naïve as Joe so that he will commit to marrying her because he would naively believe that he is the only one. We therefore understand by his numerous flashbacks throughout the film that this romance was exposed when there was an invasion by the boys from the neighbourhood who would scribble on the water towers that ‘crazy Annie loves Joe Buck’. We see her carted away to a mental  institution perhaps as she is so enamored by constantly saying that he is the only one. It never had to refer solely to Joe Buck but to the many men she hoped to ensnare into marriage with the same phrase. Love or the ideal that it represents eventually becomes eroded with the realization of the domination of material forces as opposed to grand spiritual revelations normally associated with religion. Joe Buck is also seen in a comprising position where his legs are splayed by the males. This suggests that he too was possibly gang raped because he is a nancy. It is soft hearted characters like Joe Buck that the queens target in prison. This act would have thoroughly shattered any romantic pretensions he might have had about Crazy Annie.  Crazy Annie is a product of the poverty in the south and Joe Buck’s love for her seems increasingly absurd and is brought down to reality by the defeat of the romance through the invasion of the town’s populace in the form of the frisky, sexual robust juveniles into the sanctity of the broken down old house on the prairie. These juveniles have no occupation as poverty becomes the norm and so the sex drive or physical posturing becomes the standard form of expression. This is why these experiences of Joe Buck reveal that in the countryside the family unit is more pronounced as well as the romantic relationships that are tied into notions of landed property are more pronounced.

 Landed property is therefore the basis of glory/wealth in the south however land in all its abundance, uncultivated, represents stagnation and destitution. Individuals in the countryside only become aware of this with the rapid advances of capital where the basis of exchange values is through the purchasing power of money as opposed to barter or communal sharing. This reveals the extent of poverty in the countryside and so some individuals are compelled to seek money outside of the prevailing destitution in the countryside; the money that is being sought is located mainly within the major cities.  Joe Buck from the outset does work at a Diner as a dishwasher and it seems as if Texas has some semblance of a business environment but obviously not as extensive as one would find in New York city which has more variety. In the agrarian based economy of Texas at the time there would be not much avenues for employment in productive based enterprises. A diner seems the most logical outcome in an agrarian based economy that is trying to make a transition to a capitalist mode of development for food production along with the production of raw material is the basis of agriculture which is given shape by capital in the form of the manufacturing process under the factory system. When Joe Buck steps out of the bath, packs his suitcase and dons his cowboy outfit to exit the turkey town we have a brief illustration of the poverty on display where beyond the district one can glimpse the large swaths of land undeveloped in the distance which implies poverty on a large scale particularly where the centre of commerce i.e. the town is quite small in comparison. It is clear that some of the citizens aspire to a life in the diner and when the film opens we see Joe buck envisioning them asking ‘Where’s that Joe Buck?’ because he knows that he is late for work as a dishwasher when in fact he is going there on that particular day to collect his wages so that he may begin his journey to the city. He will soon come to realize that aspirations to become a dishwasher  in a diner in a agrarian economy is the same aspirations for the underclass, that exist on the fringes in a state of destitution, that have been thoroughly exploited by capital in the cities. Joe Buck’s career as a dishwasher in a impoverished town in Texas does lay claim to the few avenues of employment however his aspirations towards the city seem to be motivated by his military experience. This is also not so clear but we glimpse, in a flashback, Joe in military outfit returning to the now derelict house which once belonged to his grandmother’s house. She had passed away while he was away. If he was in the military it is not clear if he fought in a war however his recourse to join the military is also a reflection of the physical posturing that seems to be the norm in poverty stricken districts. Returning as a veteran does not usually guarantee employment as is seen in The Best Years of our Lives (1946) and this would explain why Buck ends up as a glorified dishwasher. Physical posturing only belies your incapacity to earn riches apart from your glorious physical attributes. Without physical posturing poverty would be more visible to the naked eye for the lowly position of the proletariat and the petty bourgeois class would be on full display. For instance entertainers, the media fraternity, police officers, soldiers, priests, high ranking domestic servants and sportsmen/women merely provide an illusion with their riches as they are mere wage earners (directly or indirectly) of the capitalists who are now in full control of the means of production; they could not earn their riches any other way apart from their physical posturing which can be equated with prostitution in some cases. It is a testament to their poverty or the enduring legacy of their poverty as a class where the only way to survive is through selling your body or what  your body represents. Rich capitalists and elitist landowners do the physical posturing also but it is only testament to their inability to do anything else or produce productively and they eventually become symbols of decadence as exploiters of wage labour without the physical posturing which dazzles the eye of the proletariat or the petty bourgeois with their riches.  

Joe Buck is about to become a part of the great migration as he takes the journey to the city from the impoverished countryside with his last payment in wages as a dishwasher. We hear the famous song  ‘Everybody’s talkin’ The important lyrics go as follows: ‘Everybody’s talking at me I can’t hear what they’re saying. All I hear are the echoes of my mind. People stop and stare, I  can’t see their faces only the shadow of their eyes. I’m going where the sun keeps shining through the pouring rain. Going where the weather suits my clothes (testament to Joe’s idealism). Banking off of the north east wind sailing on summer breeze, skipping over the ocean like a storm   ’ These statements remind me of Blanche in A Streetcar Named Desire as she took the street car named desire to the Elysian fields and thereafter was introduced to the dissolution of the morals associated with religion and the dictates of capital with the accumulation of profit and wage earning  being the main drive of the citizens of New Orleans. The drive on the national bus is well constructed and is testament to the superb editing for it highlights the passage and the reflections that take place as we leave the heart of darkness or the vestiges of poverty behind. We see a hopeful Joe Buck get into the bus and we get a sense of his rapport with some of the passengers and his reliance on his trusty radio. During the ride however we get a sense of his pain for on such a long journey all one can do is reflect (or sleep) and the memories of his grandmother and crazy Annie who are the two women he ever loved and made him believe in his ability to love. The superb editing comes to the fore for while reflecting we get the sense of the passage of time during the journey and how he lost track with some of the passengers as he became so engrossed by his flashbacks. There is also a haunting choral arrangement  or one low note as the memories of those two women come to the fore in his mind or the echoes of his mind.  There is also a haunting lullaby sung by his grandmother ‘Grandma is going to buy you a mocking bird.’ He is reminded of this lullaby after the old woman he sits next to on the bus  almost commands him to keep the light on after he switches it off when she says ‘I want it on.’ After he switches it back on we are made aware of  the deep respect he has for old women as a result of his grandmother. When he enters the  city and gives a typical yahoo or yee haw we become aware that he has arrived and is now fully prepared to make the riches that are supposedly so  abundant in New York City. The passage of time is well documented through the radio as it is through that instrument that the signal of the radio stations of New York is transmitted through the FM frequency on Buck’s trusty material friend.  

The Journey continues: Joe becomes a member of the surplus population of New York City

This section is optional for the average reader

(Before I continue with Joe Buck’s story and his first interaction with Rizzo it is necessary to discuss the context within which Joe finds himself. He immediately becomes a member of the surplus population sometimes by choice and sometimes by factors external to his being. As mentioned before the relative/artificial surplus population arises when there is overproduction of capital in the form of commodities and the elements utilized in the production process such as machinery and the means of subsistence in the form of wages for the workers. This overproduction occurs when capital absorbs the large levels of productivity of the productive wage earning class by driving down the necessary labour time and increasing the surplus labour time which becomes surplus value which is afterwards translated into profit for the capitalist. When the labour power of the wage earner becomes devalued (this devaluation is also conditioned by competition among the workers themselves as they scramble to land jobs with the capitalist. Some workers deliberately accept lower wages in order to secure a job) and becomes redundant he is disposed of by the capitalist who invests further in the means of production such as machinery. The devaluation of the workers’ labour power corresponds with the overproduction of capital for this implies a magnificent mass of surplus value which implies a reduction of the necessary labour time to keep the workers alive.  The  growth in relative surplus value also implies the phenomenal growth in the goods produced by capital and so the workers are forced to contend with the fact that the capitalist would not be able to employ the capital he has accumulated in order to continue production on the same scale  as the rate of profit declines with a large concentration of capital and a plethora of goods on the market which are not sold (depressions in trade). With the  large concentration of capital the capitalist class employs, increasingly, machinery or constant capital to replace the workers who are disposed of however this is relative for smaller capitals will emerge who will  eventually absorb this  relative surplus population however these smaller capitals are sometimes offshoots or subsidiaries of the larger capitals who extend their investment opportunities into these offshoots so as to occupy their capital. There is also the situation that occurs where with the decline in the rate of profit the larger capitals will resort to investment overseas so as to ensure a higher rate of profit which cannot be afforded at home where capital has expanded rapidly and with the high levels of accumulation laid on reserve this capital is sent overseas to ensure higher returns. With overproduction at home capital goes through a process of devaluation and sometimes capitalists do not get the necessary returns on their investments and so they are forced to look elsewhere to be assured of a certain profit rate particularly in countries that are labour intensive. At home, where capital has rapidly expanded, therefore according to Karl Marx in Capital Vol. 3, who is speaking about the consequences that occur when the rate of profit declines: ‘ This plethora of capital arises from the same causes that produce a relative surplus population and is therefore a phenomenon that complements the latter, even though the two things stand at opposite poles –unoccupied capital on the one hand and an unemployed working population on the other.’ Marx continues:

 ‘Stagnation in production makes part of the working class idle and hence places the employed workers in conditions where they have to accept a fall in wages, even beneath the average; an operation that has exactly the same effect for capital as if relative or absolute surplus value had been increased while wages remained at the average. Periods of prosperity facilitate marriage among the workers and reduce the decimation of their offspring, factors which, however much they might involve a real increase in population, do not involve any increase in the population actually working, but do have the same effect on the relationship between the workers and capital as if the number of workers actually active had increased. The fall in prices (high levels of productivity)and the competitive struggle, on the other hand, impel each capitalist to reduce the individual value of his total product below its general value by employing new machinery, new and improved methods of labour and new forms of combination. That is, they impel him to raise the productivity of a given quantity of labour, to reduce the proportion of variable capital to constant and thereby to dismiss workers, in short to create an artificial surplus population (occupy wall street). The devaluation of the elements of constant capital, moreover, itself involves a rise in the profit rate. The mass of constant capital applied grows as against the variable, but the value of this mass may have fallen. The stagnation in production that has intervened prepares the ground for a later expansion of production.’

This passage explains the occupy Wall Street movement of last year (2011) and why the jobs now must move to China (China grew  between 8 &9% in 2011 when compared to the US that grew on average 2-3%. This is a clear sign that the rate of profit is higher in China than the US. This is why American capitalists are moving overseas and the members of Government are still exclaiming America for Americans as they raise the tariff barriers which only delay the inevitable) and other developing nations enjoying high rates of profit where there is a high demand for labour (particularly skilled). The world market here comes into play and one cannot keep looking to America in times such as this for capital will move overseas to new markets where labour is in demand and therefore new avenues to generate absolute and relative surplus value so as to keep the rate of profit high. ‘ If capital is sent abroad, this is not because it absolutely could not be employed at home. It is rather because it can be employed abroad at a higher rate of profit. But this capital is absolutely surplus capital for the employed working population and for the country in question. It exists as such alongside the relative surplus population, and this is an example of how the two things exist side by side and reciprocally condition one another.’ (Marx Capital Vol. 3) 

The smaller capitals that emerge as an offshoot of the larger capitals cannot compensate for this decline of the rate of profit and so: 

'The mass of small fragmented capitals are thereby forced onto adventurous paths: speculation, credit swindles, share swindles, crises. The so called plethora of capital is always basically reducible to a plethora of that capital for which the fall in the profit rate is not outweighed by its mass-and this is always the case with fresh offshoots of capital that are newly formed- or to the plethora in which these capitals, which are incapable of acting by themselves, are available to to the leaders of great branches of business in the form of credit.'

This surplus population grows to overwhelming proportions and capital is not capable of absorbing all these numbers. The most viable alternative for the surplus population is in the service industry because with regards to productive employments the members of this group do not have much opportunities to contribute to the growth in the rise of the general rate of profit. ‘What is produced is firstly too great a section of the population which is in fact incapable of work, which owing to its situation is dependent on the exploitation of the labour of others or on kinds of work that can only count as such within a miserable mode of production (small business owner and peasant). Secondly, not enough means of production are produced to allow the whole potential working population to work under the most productive conditions, so that their absolute labour time curtailed by the mass and effectiveness of the constant capital applied during this labour time.’ Marx was way ahead of his time in his assessment of the situation that is in occurrence today as well as what poor Joe Buck encounters in New York City. The service industry therefore remains the most viable productive alternative in this case and so members of the surplus population try and upgrade their skills through additional education so that they can apply for the higher skill level occupations; some become domestic servants, independent artisans, policemen, soldiers, government workers, intellectuals/impoverished philosophers (not speaking about money. I mean the fantasy laden analyses delivered by this group which compensates for their own inadequacies), lawyers, doctors, parsons, nuns and monks, entertainers/media personalities, sportsmen/women and prostitutes (they prostitute either image or body. Image in the case of the entertainers or those who appear through various media formats and sportsmen/women). It is this growth in the service industry that has allowed the harmonizing economists to make erroneous conclusions that the growth in the service industry has accounted for the majority of growth in the economies of Europe and America and therefore these two territories have entered a post industrial phase. The service industry is a result of the increased division of labour that occurs among the productive sectors under capital and so they become revenue based enterprises fishing for money. The service industry only appropriates revenue and when it appropriates all that revenue what does it do with it but invest either in its infrastructure or in stocks that are tied into production somehow. The absence of productive outlets will create an enormous accumulation of capital with no outlets for investment which results in devaluation.

Other members of the surplus population that are born into this cycle of poverty, as a result of them being disposable, are driven into a downward spiral and become permanent members of the underclass. This class resorts to criminal behavior as it preys on those that are able to earn an income, whether productive or unproductive. Gangs are formed, as this underclass settles in the least hospitable conditions, which compete for space or territories where they can exact tribute. A tribal base of economy originates here with drugs, gambling, usury, con men/petty thieves,   petty commodity production,  as what occurs in small businesses or among the members of the peasantry, and illicit services being the predominant offerings which generate an income. This exists in small quarters in the rich cities of the world but it is more dominant in the poorer nations of the world. The legacy of poverty is perpetuated in such conditions as a certain section of individuals become permanent representatives of the underclass and keep competition for employment in menial jobs high thereby allowing for continuous exploitation of the least desired jobs or a high mass of surplus value. Democracy becomes a pipe dream and this underclass is always wooed by the possibility of riches only to have their dreams shattered time and time again. There are some who do make it but only to a limited extent and here the eccentric personality comes into play. Not everyone can be assured of the desired positions that ensure some measure of prosperity but the carrot is always dangled in front of them like lambs being led to the abattoir. The family becomes important here through inheritance because it ensures that the money accumulated through productive labour is kept within certain circles thereby downplaying the risk or possibility of additional investments from outside. This eventually results in monopolies that are shattered ignominiously by competition. The underclass is where Rizzo finds himself from birth.)

Joe Buck goes to the city seeking to become a prostitute for older women however he ends up as a streetwalker ( A Midnight Cowboy) as his ideals crumple in the face of reality. 

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Now that the economic framework is out of the way it is now possible to focus on how Joe Buck makes the transition from idealist cowboy to a realistic city dweller caught up in the scramble for gratification. When Joe Buck first enters the city we see an individual with his last wages from the diner believing that he will fulfill his dreams of becoming a stud for older women in the city. When he does arrive we see his naiveté  on full display as he rents a room at a fairly pricy hotel instead of a motel which would have afforded him more opportunities for consumption. It is clear however that the media, the main organ of propaganda for the bourgeois class, also contributes to Joe Buck’s idealistic fantasies and we get an example where he continuously has the radio at his ears. When he eventually loses the radio the reality is made even more apparent. One episode that contributed to his idealized version of New York City occurs when the bus is just about to arrive and the host on the 77 radio station W-A-B-C, Ron Lundy, asks several women the ideal that they look for in a man, and here the editing is superb, as Buck immediately imagines the faces  which are conveniently older women as they describe the features they are looking for: Gary Cooper; a Man who takes pride in his appearance; Consideration;  ‘definitely tall’; ‘Someone I can talk to in bed’; ‘A good sense of humor’; ‘Not afraid of sex’;  ‘A Texas (how convenient from Texas) Oilman’; ‘Aggressiveness’; ‘Outdoor Type’; and ‘ A rebel’. Joe Buck as a lover man could certainly meet all these ideals for which he was reared by his grandmother apart from being a Texas oilman although he is from Texas. The Texas oilman conforms to the notions of the country which produces primarily raw materials; in this case that raw material is oil. The advance in industry forces the countryside to exploit its resources so as to generate revenue as a result of its poverty. Within the context of the world market it encourages exploitation and the increased dependence of one country on that particular resource which eventually impoverishes it as the well dries up and there is a crisis in diversification. The optimistic theme song continues to play but after Joe Buck settles in the hotel and sets out on his quest to discover those older women he can service with his cowboy charm. While amidst the bustling crowd buck gets a firsthand taste of the reality he is about to encounter  when he sees a man laying prostrate, apparently lifeless, in the street as the people move casually by. A few individuals express some interest in the plight of the individual or perhaps they are more interested in Joe bucks fascination with the unfeeling nature of city life. Joe Buck puzzles himself for awhile about this prostrate man and it is this that seems to catch the eye of the other passersby. Joe buck reveals here his romanticism and the moral/Christly teachings that have shaped his perceptions as he stops and stares expressing some sort of strange sympathy in his cowboy outfit. It seems as if he wants to reach out and be the good Samaritan but the stares of the people seem to suggest that his compassionate attitude is strange and so he resists his Samaritan like impulses and moves on like everyone else. This is his first encounter with urban alienation and the increasingly individualistic tendencies of the populace motivated by selfish motives. The competitive struggle among capitalists and workers has made everyone concerned firstly with their own livelihood as opposed to the plight of others.  The large population numbers also render particular individuals as insignificant in the wider movement of commodities/valorization of capital and the leechlike service operations as a result of the division of labour. His stroll also reveals the elitist groups in Manhattan, for that is clearly where he is, and this continues to feeds his dreamlike state for the optimistic theme song is again being played at full force as he searches for older women to service. We see huge bank vaults being opened, we see various high society groups and people on the hunt for luxurious goods such as high priced jewels and fashionable clothes. This side of New York is the home of the elites from the rich bourgeois and landowning classes that have engrossed all this wealth through exploitation of the working classes.  Buck seems ideally (!) placed to land himself an older woman.

When Buck continues on his first stroll we see how ridiculous he sounds and looks to the city dweller. The first old lady he approaches he tries to lure her in by firstly asking for directions to the statue of liberty. The woman casually moves ahead ignoring his question at first but with persistence Buck approaches her once again with the same question. She asks ‘ Were you serious about the statue of liberty? I’m sorry…’ She thought he was one of those cowboys ( or so called cowboys since everyone can cop an outfit) in the city  that target older women or women in genera offering to prostitute themselves in a degrading, sycophantic and pathetic matter. It seems therefore that Buck is late in his pursuit for the phenomenon is dying down in the city and with the plenitude of so called cowboys he seems like an impersonator when he may be the real thing. He asks here, ‘You sure are a pretty lady.’ ‘You’re not looking for the statue of liberty at all?’ ‘No ma’am I ain’t.’  ‘You ought to be ashamed of yourself.’ She ends as she walks off leaving the bumpkin Joe Buck for he was so easy to identify because that type of hustle is now common knowledge.  We see this as he approaches his next victim who in turn cons him for she is a prostitute herself that knows the trade. It is clear that Joe Buck fortunes begin to wane along with his savings associated with his last wages because he will be conned by Cass and Rizzo. He was hustled as he attempted to hustle mainly because of his out of place outfit and his lack of subtlety. When he is finally conned by these two individuals then we see the fate of most hustlers when they don’t have any money they become beggarly as they have no skill which could see them employed in the productive sectors should the opportunity arise. Firstly let us see what happens with Cass he approaches her with the same questions about the statue of liberty as she is trying to get her dog to urinate by a tree. She responds to the question saying, ‘It’s up in Central Park taking a leak. If you’ll hurry up you’ll catch the supper show.’ She is wise to his con but as she has plans of her own she still invites him up to her room which, it is discovered while she is on the telephone, is paid for by  her main man, Morey,  who is a happily married man. She seems to be wise to the trade of prostitution as that is what she is engaged in as the man’s mistress. They eventually have sex in seemingly high passion for Buck seems he has won the jackpot. After the encounter the con is revealed as Cass becomes emotionally distant and tells Joe to clean up certain pieces of the house as well as zip up the back of her dress as she prepares to go out since she is late. She does all this in a hurried fashion so as to hustle him for that is how hustlers work they tried to hurry you into things.  As she scampers about the room speaking about Morey and his ulcers (he must be an old man) Joe buck slows the tempo and this is the first way to trap a hustler but Joe does not know he is being conned. He is also quite soft as we shall see. He says to Cass, ‘I don’t know what line Morey’s in but myself, now, I’m kind of a hustler.’ ‘A person’s gotta make a living’.’. ‘Pardon me ma’am’ (You are being conned). She repeats herself in a slower manner indicating the art of seduction and that she too is a con. It is masterful and we see now why Sylvia Miles was nominated for best supporting actress. ‘ Are you sure you heard what I said?’ ‘Sorry Tex. My mind isn’t all here. I don’t want to be late for my date with Morey. Listen Sweetie. Why don’t you run along and take the number, and we’ll get in touch with each other  real soon. Would you believe that I forgot to get to the bank, and now it’s too late. I have to take a taxi, I need a few bucks. Hate to ask you but you’re such a doll.’ (the con has begun) ‘ You know, Cass, that’s a funny thing, you mentioning money ‘cause I was just about to ask you for some.’ You were gonna ask me for money?’ She seems perplexed which is all in keeping with her experience.  Buck continues, ‘ Hell,  why do you think I come all the way up here from Texas for?’ ‘ You were going to ask me for money? Who the hell do you think you’re dealing with (country bumpkin or country boy she would have liked to say)? Some old slut on 42^nd street?(yes that is what Cass is or was)In case you didn’t happen to notice it you big Texas longhorn bull (country bumpkin. She comes out with it for emphasis to lower Buck on the social ladder and elevate herself as a seasoned city dweller). I’m one hell of a gorgeous chick! (highly paid prostitute not aware that her illustrious features are fading and that her aging looks makes her a target for the poor Joe Buck) I’m 28 years old ( oh dear not even her dog would mistake her for 28 years old). You think you can come up here and pull this kind of crap? You’re out of your mind. I could kill you with my bare hands. Will you get outta here?’ She starts crying as a result of her fake agitated state and shows that she is a seasoned con. The poor sap by the name of Joe Buck attempts to console her and thereby acknowledges that he has been conned. ‘Would I be after you for money with a wad like I’ve got ridin’ on my hip? Stop your cryin’. You are one gorgeous chick (really you sap). Guy gets horny just lookin’ at you. How much you want for that taxi? Five? Ten? Twenty?’ as she snatches the twenty dollar note. Joe just lost $20 in the hustle. 

He leaves defeated and immediately after encounters Enrico Rizzo in a bar. Rizzo looks at him deridingly at first: this cowboy figure displaying his crumpled money for the entire world to see. Rizzo introduces himself by commenting on Buck’s shirt and saying that he must have paid a lot of money for that shirt. Rizzo is mocking him for it because it is a shirt with birds and a symbol representing a heart. Rizzo is basically saying that Buck looks like a buffoon and he is trying to discover an angle whereby he can con him. Buck responds to Rizzo’s query about the shirt by saying in typical buffoon fashion ‘ I ain’t cheap.’ They get to talking especially after Rizzo makes Buck aware that a woman who approached him in a flattering manner asking for a ciggarette is a transsexual. Buck upon his/her approach thought his charm was working for him until Rizzo snatches the cigarette he was about to hand to him/ her saying, ‘ More goddamn faggots in this town .’  ‘ Oh kiss it Ratso,’ says the transsexual which means he was right. Buck offers to buy drinks all round  and Rizzo does not mind this at all. They then get to talking about his profession. Buck relays his experience with Connie and how he was conned. Rizzo seems to be at a loss when Buck says that Cass started to bawl when he asked for money. ‘Money for what? ‘ he asks.  ‘Hell I’m a hustler. Didn’t you know that?’ ‘How should I know that? You gotta tell a person things.’ ‘ I’m a hustler.’ ‘shh Alright. You’re  a hustler. But your pickin’ up trade on the street like that…That’s nowhere. (Buck’s first real lesson) You gotta get yourself some kind of management.’ ‘ You put your finger on it,’ says the sap Buck. Rizzo picks up quickly on his sappiness. ‘ You know what you need? You need my friend O’ Daniel. He operates the biggest stable in town. In fact in the whole goddamn metropolitan area. It’s stupid a stud like you payin’. You don’t want to be stupid. I mean, I understand. A dame starts cryin’ I’d cut my heart out for her. ‘ The transsexual intervenes saying, ‘ I’d call that a very minor operation. In fact you just sit comfy and I’ll cut it out with my fingernail file, ratso.’ After a brief intervention from Buck Rizzo says, ‘ I mean, I’m used to these types that get their kicks pickin’ on cripples. The sewers full of them. ‘ The transsexual says, ‘ I wanna ask you one question cowboy. If you’re sittin’ over here and he’s sittin’ over there how’s he gonna get his hands into your pocket? I guess he’s got that figured out.’ The transsexual walks out with Rizzo insulting him/her saying  ‘Faggot.’ He knows that the transsexual is correct. He continues his lecture to Buck on the streets ‘With these gals that wanna buy it most of them are old and dignified. Social register types you know what I mean? They can’t be trottin’ down to Times Square to pick put the merchandise. They gotta have some kind of middleman. That’s where O’ Daniel comes in… he pauses as a Taxi driver blows his horn gesturing that Rizzo should get out of the way and in this famous scene we see Rizzo shouting, ‘ Hey I’m walkin’ here!’ This relates to the urge people have to be recognized amongst the overwhelming population numbers. He consoles Buck about the altercation ‘ Don’t worry about that. Actually that ain’t a bad way to pick up insurance.’ He continues  ‘ It’s crazy, a stud like you payin’ that dame you told me about. With proper management you could be takin’ home $50, maybe $100 a day, easy. Hey Brucey. Hang in there baby.  Him I placed with O’ Daniel about two weeks ago. He ain’t much of a stud either from what I hear.’ The naïve Buck agrees to meet Joe Buck and Rizzo like Cass before feigns helplessness and wonders how he will benefit from such an arrangement. Buck agrees that Rizzo should get a cut. Buck offers ten and Rizzo makes him know that that is cheap and says he will still need another ten for expenses once he has lined up the arrangement and so he offers to take the ten plus the other ten for expenses. Another $20 dollars out of Buck’s pocket and that now comes $40 if we add the hustle by Cass. When Buck and Rizzo do reach O’ Daniels flat we see Rizzo in a hurry to get away. He even says that Buck can reach him at the Chevy-Netherlands hotel. When have you heard that you can reach a street hustler at a prestigious hotel.  Buck takes his steps towards O’ Daniel’s apartment; room 901.

iii

The young sap Joe Buck believes that O’Daniel will offer him the ‘proper management’ that he needs to survive as a stud for older females. When he knocks on room 901 and O’ Daniel opens the door saying ‘You must be Joe Buck let’s take a look at you.’ You would think that Rizzo did play his part and that Joe Buck will finally be able to make some sort of advancement. O’Daniel tells the young Joe Buck to turn around so he can get a good look. He likes what he is seeing ‘ Good strong back you’re going to need it. So you want help eh?’ Buck corrects O’Daniel saying ‘ I ain’t a for-real cowboy but I am one hell of a stud.’ ‘Seems to me you’re different from most of the boys that come to me,’ says O’Daniel ‘Most of those boys are troubled and confused. I’d say you know exactly what you want. But I’ll bet you have one thing in common with those boys. I’ll bet you’re lonesome.’ ‘Well not too. A little, ‘ says Buck. O’daniel begins his tirade and we eventually learn that he is a preacher man. ‘Lonesome! “I’m lonesome, so I’m a drunk.” “I’m lonesome, so I’m a dope fiend.” “I’m lonesome, so I’m a thief.””I’m lonesome, so I’m a fornicator, a whoremonger.” Poop, I say Poop! I’ve heard it all and I’m sick to death of it. Lonesomeness. Lonesomeness, is something you take you hear? Damn it you take it and you go on with your work.’ Joe Buck says he is rarin’ to go and O’ Daniel warns him that he is going to use him and run him ragged while praising his simplicity. ‘Why don’t you and me get down on our knees right now? How does that strike you?’ he asks. Buck is perplexed ‘Where?’ ‘ Here right here. I’ve prayed on the streets. I’ ve prayed in the saloons. I’ve prayed on the toilets(?). It don’t matter where so long as He gets that prayer!’ Buck immediately starts to recall his baptism as a youth when he was dunked in water in the presence of god and his grandmother. In the countryside a baptism is more poignant because of the isolation and the absence of development in capital where the mythic land is prone to legends from the deep and here the moral dictates of the almighty knocks you over and is glorified as a result of the poverty on display. We see a young Joe Buck crying during the flashback because the morality brought to bear on you seems heavy and O’Daniels seems to be in a similar mold to those of the countryside however in the city you seem like a buffoon or a lunatic when you seek to impose such high handed morality. O’Daniel’s character is a feature of city life where the preachers jump around in the streets speaking of judgment and that people should repent. There are also groups that demonstrate in the streets and hold aloft placards saying that judgment is near. As Rizzo says ‘the sewers are full of them’. The high handed morality seems redundant in the city although one can understand how even the religious elements are unable to cease the so called vice on display. There always seems to be some recourse to morality as a result of the abolition of the communal element. The government is also another harbinger of morality, but usually in impoverished nations or impoverished sections of the city, where they ally with the church to conduct ceremonial activities in order to gain some measure of legitimacy,  as well as censor boards, the police etc. In this case the people go underground and let loose but it cannot be stopped. In the city morality does not hold sway since the basis is profit generation or wage labour both associated with productive enterprises and then the services spring up to get a piece of the pie. Once money can be earned it does not necessarily matter what you are involved in and so the recourse by people such as O’Daniel to Jesus is pointless for the basis of the city for the average individual such as me or you is to earn money or you will not survive. Jesus cannot save you. Even some churches engage in earning money by asking the citizens who subscribe to the cult to give all their money to Jesus and live a life of poverty and so be exalted. When Buck escapes the clutches of O’Daniel we here the final word of O’Daniel ‘Don’t run from Jesus.’

After this episode we see buck on the hut for Rizzo/Ratso and you get to understand why he is called Ratso. The usually dreamy eyed Joe Buck imagines himself hunting Rizzo through the populous city and finally gaining a hold of him and choking him to death. This is a fairy tale for in such a populous city as New York City it is unlikely you will connect with someone once the two of you have severed all ties and it is unlikely that a sap such as Joe Buck will kill at that present moment for he has to undergo a series of transformations before that can occur as it does in the end. Unless in some cases you are connected by some mysterious bond as is the case in this film. He goes back to the bar where he first met Rizzo and when he asks around for Rizzo he is rightly greeted with laughter from the transsexual. He imagines smashing the place as he would have done when he was a child but it would be ignominious in this case for it is likely that he would have been killed or beaten severely.  After this episode Joe becomes increasingly alienated and this is reinforced when he goes back to the hotel room and sees how a dog is put on display for its owner who is offering some freaky service on TV as if it were a mascot. It is dressed up like a human female would be and the host of the program asks ‘Isn’t this really the case of conning a lot of lonely people?’Buck also recalls how his grandmother used to leave him alone to go on her dates. In this case there is no one who is going to come home to him; he is all alone. The dog that becomes a mascot reminds Joe of how he too was dressed as a cowboy mascot by his grandmother. Now that urban alienation has set in Buck is now forced to take himself to the streets or in the sphere of the nowhere trade without any management. I must say that while watching this film up to this point most people will notice how sharp the editing is  and how it is able to integrate several shots in a short time frame. When Buck imagines himself chasing Rizzo through the numerous streets in New York and eventually strangling him there is a montage of shots related to the chase through crowds and empty spaces and also references to his past when he and crazy Annie were gang raped thus bringing back to Buck’s mind his shame and being taken advantage of again. When he goes to make his sojourn on the streets during the night and ply his trade as a prostitute seeking older women there are other images that immediately precede this such as a train on an electronic billboard heading towards the viewer and the numbers flashing on screen suggesting that the day of production is basically over and that people will be going home to rest, or to take in the night life so as to consume some of the products and services on offer. This seems to be Buck’s first walkout into the streets of New York at night. It is at night that the prostitutes come out to take advantage of the consumers be it wage earners or capitalists who want to enjoy the fruits of labour. Buck in the streets with his trusty radio that keeps feeding his optimistic thoughts. The media keeps dangling the carrot with such phrases as ‘Gold and silver and candlelight. Wine and skyrockets and butterfly thoughts that glitter in your mind.’ ‘You’re special. Give yourself special treatment.’ Need money? We love to lend it to you.’ ‘Why worry about your future? What do you want more than anything in the world?’ ‘Take it easy. But take it.’ When Buck walks the streets he sees several cowboys such as himself plying their trade. You know they are cowboys as a result of the trade mark hats. It is good that the writers highlighted that Buck himself was not unique as a cowboy prostitute. He has competition and this is why he is immediately identifiable when he approaches an older woman. In one shot we see a group of children surround one cowboy with the hope of learning of the wild west thereby highlighting that the cowboy still holds some measure of respect in the imagination although in the city the figure is a mere figure head with no other feasible means of applying himself than by physical endeavours such as lifting heavy loads or by promising sexual gratification.

As Buck takes all of this in we see him with his trusty radio wandering day and night as indicated by the editing which switches from day to night. He seems to be wandering aimlessly with his radio uttering many falsehoods that keeps his ideals alive and obviously has not received any clients which would allow him to earn some income and pay for his room. When he does go back to his room, it seems he has not been there for awhile because he asks the attendant for the key to his room 514 and is told via note and attendant’s word of mouth that he is locked out of his room ‘‘til you pick up the tab.’ ‘What about all my things?’ Buck asks naively. ‘We keep them nice and safe ‘til you get this thing settled.’ ‘You can keep all the rest of the goddamn junk if you just let me have the suitcase. Suitcase means a lot to me.’ ‘We keep everything. House rules.’ Buck’s last wages are now finished and he is reduced to a state of destitution. Buck’s agrarian background is prevalent when he asks for his special suitcase because the design is modeled off the patterns of a cow (black spots on a white canvas. See the cows featured on anchor cheese). On the streets without the security of lodging he ironically sees a sign outside a restaurant saying ‘Dishwasher needed’. He does not apply and this is testament to his idealism/naiveté because he still entertains ‘dreams of victory’ or dreams that he will make it big in the city and so a dishwasher job will only leave him back where he started however he does not seem to understand that in the city there are many means of employment however unglamorous for whereas in the countryside you will be stuck in such a position, in the city you could use that as a base from which to build your repertoire.  It is the radio that keeps transmitting these daydreams into his head. We also see him begging food (crackers) from a child. The child disregards the food for we see him playing with the crackers and in a very symbolic sequence we see the mother and child play with a plastic rat. It seems to be a reflection of what Joe Buck has become as he scrounges for food. He also humiliates himself by spilling ketchup on his pants. While walking aimlessly in the subway tunnels he sees a reflection of himself and says ‘ You know what you gotta do cowboy?’ He plys his trade on the streets with the common prostitutes and no longer makes himself exclusive to older women. As a common prostitute you have to be flexible which would mean performing acts for both men and women. Buck’s first customer is a lowly male student and the two have a moment in the cinema where Joe Buck allows him to perform oral sex. He tries to stay grounded and to stay true to his heterosexual nature by recalling his sexual encounter with Crazy Annie. The editing here as with Cass uses the images on screen to convey the sexual motion and the final outcome which occurs in the form of Buck’s ejaculation. The sexual act is introduced quite cleverly through the film being viewed in the cinema ‘Spacecraft to Earth control. Check trajectory. We have a malfunction of our instruments (Buck is forced to become a common prostitute). Captain Grace is investigating. Orbital module has failed to separate from upper stage booster as planned (Buck is forced compromise and to abolish thoughts of being an exclusive sexual performer for older women. Before the act with the student Buck needs to let go (orbital module) of his preoccupation with his ideals/upper stage.). His visions of crazy Annie seem to suggest that a lot of the men in the town had her for he recalls seeing her in the cinema walking about like a prostitute as the men arise from their seats to follow. It seems they all lined up to get their turn including Buck. Maybe she charged for it who knows.

Back to the student he makes it known that he does not have the money ($25) to pay and this angers Joe Buck who clarifies it by threatening him with violence and searching him and finding nothing. Again he is taken advantage of but he has an opportunity to compensate himself for the male student has a watch which he can take but the student insists that his mother would die if he came home without it. It seems that the male student has a similar masochistic condition to Buck’s final customer, before he departs the city, because he seems to hope that he will get a beating for his indiscretion. He keeps asking ‘What are you going to do to me?’ after he informs Buck that he does not have any money. If Buck starts to beat him then he would relish it like a true masochist. Buck would learn from this experience and will eventually realize that you cannot be sympathetic in the city. He lets the boy keep the watch which is a testament to his sentimental nature. As a masochist the boy would have relished Buck taking the watch. Overtime the sentiments he arrived it will be gradually eroded by the reality of city life for he just prostituted himself for nothing. Afterwards he tries to get some sleep (and he is in fact sleeping) in the cinema but the authoritarian presence of the policeman swinging his baton in the aisles, knocking it against the seats to awaken those fast asleep, makes him aware of the soulless nature of the city. It must be a public theatre for a policeman to be combing the aisles like that.

Buck is in luck for when he exits the cinema he encounters the petty con Rizzo/Ratso. We see Rizzo’s influence for just before he encounters Rizzo in the coffee store he tries to put himself in the way of a incoming taxi as he crosses the street. He was made aware earlier that it is a good way to pick up insurance. He jostles Rizzo and it seems as if he will assault him with buck like retribution. All Rizzo has to say is ‘Don’t hit me I’m a cripple.’ And Buck relaxes due to his sentimental mentality; he still searches Rizzo in the hope that he might have some money on him in order to rescue his belongings at the hotel. His pockets are empty like so many small time hustlers who ply their trade on deceit. If it were someone else hardened by city life Rizzo would have been beaten senseless.  The movie makes a shift here from Joe Buck to Enrico Rizzo as he tries to make up for his earlier deceit by doing right by Joe Buck and helping him to realize his dream as a stud.

iv Enrico Rizzo as a reflection of the legacy of poverty experienced by the underclass in the City.

‘I’m invitin’ you. If you’re not located I got a place,’ Rizzo says to Buck. Buck is still at arm’s length and Rizzo trying to lay claim to his legacy is adamant in his customary style ‘I’m invitin’ you goddammit.’  Buck accepts the invitation regardless of his reservations about Rizzo’s character.  I already explained the legacy of poverty in the underclass. In the rich cities of the world such as New York the underclass exists in pockets as the glitzy nature of the city obscures to an extent the fate of the downtrodden. In poor countries however the underclass/petty commodity producers/so called criminals are a more prominent factor in those societies and poverty is more obvious to the naked eye. We see that Rizzo’s poverty is concealed from the city because he shacks up or squats in a condemned building like most members of the underclass. The building seems to be located in a neighborhood populated by Italian immigrants and this speaks to the influence of the film on later films during the 1970’s. ‘The ‘X’ on the windows means the landlord can’t collect rent which is a convenience on account of its being condemned. Front door (which is locked). I don’t care.  Actually, I prefer it that way. Keeps the punks and the creeps outta here.’ What an ironic statement coming from Rizzo. ’Watch the plank. Break your goddamn skull. No way to collect insurance.’ This statement just shows the extent that money conditions an individual in the city. Eventually he gets in through his own ‘private entrance’ and has Buck carry a small fridge up to the room.  ‘Where’d you steal this damn thing?’ asks Buck. ‘What do you mean its been sitting down there for weeks.’ ‘I don’t mean now. Before then.’ This is very clever dialogue. When they arrive Rizzo seems to be proud that he can demonstrate that he has a place in the city to the now lowly Joe Buck. His squatting becomes some form of an achievement in the eyes of a drifter like Joe Buck. ‘Not bad uh (it’s a rat hole). There’s no heat here but by the time winter comes I’ll be in  Florida.’ Rizzo seems to be very sincere in his efforts to make Buck feel comfortable. Having been caught up so long in the cutthroat nature of city life he seems to finally be aware through the impoverishment of Joe Buck of what this cutthroat nature can do to unsuspecting  individuals.

Joe Buck collapses in the bed and falls into a deep slumber understandably. His nightmares are also understandable for Buck has always been alienated. We see the usual flashbacks to his romance with crazy Annie ‘do you love me Joe. You’re the only one.’ and it being shattered by the invading cowboys who seem to have raped the two of them. His grandmother also spanks him on the bottom and this image is supposed to correlate with him being gang raped as an adult. We see Annie being carted off to a mental institution and we see Rizzo in the mix taunting Buck with a jeering smile and a broken bottle that he pokes at Joe Buck. Buck is now ironically in a condemned building and he imagines that it will eventually be demolished with him in side. He feels trapped by his legacy of destitution. It seems that Buck was never really loved by anyone. This is the torment of poverty that the rich will never understand; it seems as if there is no way out. He naturally wakes up paranoid and he wonders if he has been again subjected to another con by Rizzo but by this time Rizzo genuinely cares and he never went anywhere. The dialogue that takes place after this is remarkable. Buck is paranoid says a lot of petulant things such as ‘I’m one dangerous person. If I’d caught up with you that night there would have been one dead  Ratso.’ Rizzo, the more mature character/parental figure, responds calmly, ‘I’m impressed you’re a killer.’ Joe Buck is also adamant that Rizzo wants him for something and says he should get out before he is conned again or asked to perform a homosexual act. Rizzo is not a homosexual he sees himself in the role of big brother. Rizzo calmly responds ‘I’m not forcin’ you. Who’s forcin’ you? Look I goddamn invited you didn’t I?’ Buck decides to stay and Rizzo’s calm nature cools Buck down and makes him feel at ease and gives him some sense of stability. Rizzo also asks Buck to stop calling him Ratso because he is now demanding respect as a senior figure. We see them unite to survive in the city henceforward regardless of the arguments that they have. We see them steal food from a petty Italian fruit vendor so that they can eat. The warped moralists would say that is wrong but they have to survive and the petty fruit vendors would never realize the full value of their products anyway. ‘The two basic items necessary to sustain life,’ says Rizzo as he cooks in a very paternal fashion ‘are sunshine and coconut milk…In Florida you got a terrific amount of coconut trees there. And ladies. You know that in Miami you got… Are you listenin’ to me? (Buck is reading’ his comic book suggesting his stunted development)you got more ladies in Miami than in any resort area in the country. I think per capita on a given day there’s probably three hundred of ‘em on the beach. In fact you can’t even scratch yourself without getting  a belly button up the old kazoo there. It’s hot let’s go. Come on.’ In a moment they begin arguing again about the direction each should take. Rizzo says ‘I gotta get outta here.’ He wants to move to Florida. He starts to dream and does  not realize that he is becoming an idealist. ‘Frankly you’re beginning to smell and for a stud in New York that’s a handicap.’ They exchange words about who has scored from who has not scored. Buck thinks he has won when he says that ‘I bet you ain’t never been laid! How about that? And you’re going to tell me what appeals to women.’ ‘I know enough to know that that great big dumb cowboy crap of yours don’t appeal to nobody except every Jacky on 42^nd street. That’s faggot stuff! If you wanna call it by its name, that’s strictly for fags!’ ‘John Wayne! Are you gonna tell me he’s a fag.’ After a pause Buck says ‘I like the way I look. It makes me feel good. It does. And women like me goddamnit. Hell the only thing I’ve been good for is loving (the statement that reflects his destitution). Crazy Annie they had to send her away (poor Buck).’ Buck is defending his legacy of destitution but he begins to wise up and jostles Rizzo saying that he must stop dreaming about Florida and earn $20  worth of management.  In The Treasure of the Sierra Madre (1948) (see my review) the drifters go on a quest for gold that ends in ignominy whereas here Rizzo sees salvation in Florida.

Rizzo is back in his element as he tries to get Buck looking sharp. He gets his clothes clean at a laundry mat by smuggling in Buck’s clothes with those of a pregnant lady. The typically naïve Buck says ‘It just ain’t right cheating from a pregnant lady.’ ‘What did it cost here? Get outta here. The laundry syndicate lost a couple of coins. I’m cryin’.’ They steal a hat from an enfeebled, old hat maker or retailer, and then get Buck’s  shoes shined. When they are about to get Buck’s shoes shined a policeman sits right next to Buck and then another gentleman takes a seat so as to have his shoes shined.  We learn here of rizzo’s legacy of poverty passed down from his father. Before those two arrive next to Buck Buck says ‘hey you’re pretty damn  good at that. I bet you could make a livin’ at it if you tried.’ ‘And end up a hunchback like  my old man (who tried to pass on his legacy to his son)? If you think I’m crippled you should’ve caught him at the end of the day.’ His father was broken by his destitution as a lifelong shoe shiner. ‘My old man spent 14 hours a day down in that subway. He’d come home at night with two, three dollars worth o’ change stained with shoe polish. Stupid bastard coughed his lungs out from breathin’ in that wax all day. Even the faggot undertaker couldn’t get his nails clean. They had to bury him with gloves on.’ Well Rizzo trims the loose ends of Buck hair to make him look sharp and finally Buck is refashioned as a cowboy stud. One should take a look at how proud Rizzo is as he watches Buck check out his new clean image. ‘Not Bad. For a cowboy. You’re ok.’ They now try and get clients for Buck by stealing the details of an appointment from a gentleman service for high class ladies. Rizzo’s deft hands come into use here. They now feel that they have struck gold and Rizzo’s dreams of Florida come to the foreground as Buck makes his entrance into the hotel to meet the high class lady. He dreams of living life in the clean opens spaces of Florida, running along the beach for instance, with everything at his beck and call particularly the ladies. He will also be able to enter large groups with his skills as a cook and play bingo all day and so on. As Rizzo says ‘I think we struck gold.’ Buck makes a fool of himself and Rizzo’s dreams of Florida come crashing down yet again. Buck grabbed the lady’s behind in the lobby of the hotel room and was in too much of a haste to get things going and was thrown out in the street by the various hotel attendants. As Buck is thrown out onto the street so is Rizzo thrown into the pool by a group of old women in his dream.  The film remains consistent here as the ideals/ dreams of both characters crumple in the face of reality. As a man born in destitution one can only dream of riches as the carrot is dangled in your face and as street smart as Rizzo is he cannot help but dream sometimes of a better life than this drudgery of the mechanized city processes.

The dream is temporarily shattered and Rizzo and Buck have to return to an increasingly cold, condemned building as winter approaches. With no heating appliance they are bound to suffer and we hear the eerie passage of the howling wind outside their window. Time is also running out for just next door construction workers seem to sifting through the remains of a now demolished building as there will be a new development and the construction companies as a result of investment will soon be turning their sights on the condemned building in which Rizzo and Buck reside. The increasing chilly weather seems to be aggravating Rizzo’s lungs and his cough becomes heavier and we understand clearly why he wishes to go to Florida where ‘the sun keeps shining through the pouring rain’. After they see the construction workers next door they take to the streets so as to avoid detection. On the streets we see a striking shot of the two with backs against the wall braving the chilly weather and it is clear that they cannot afford the coats which are necessary to keep warm in this time of year. The grey texture of this shot suggesting the winter chill and the rain is memorable because this shot captures the struggles faced when one is alienated in the great cities of the world. Back in the apartment we see the water trickling in the pipe turn to ice as it is announced: ‘ The temperature right now is 28 degrees and the weatherman says its going down.’ The two have to dance so as to keep warm. It might seem like a joke to some viewers calmly tucked away in their suburbs but this is reality and it is no laughing matter when you have to brave such elements without sufficient protection. The two try and make it funny however as they dance to tune of the commercial ‘orange juice in ice.’ It is made clear in the commercial that the oranges are from Florida. The carrot is being dangled again through this radio and Buck eventually sells his radio for a paltry $5 as the winter is too trying a experience and they need some source of light either in the form of gas for the stove or to keep the candles burning. He will no longer be continuously dangled with the carrot by the ever invasive media, a mere source of propaganda of the bourgeois class. Without the radio we see Buck singing ‘I gotta telephone call from Jesus’ as Rizzo coughs his lungs out along with the howling of the wind.  It is moving although those sitting comfortably will regard it as a mere joke and will miss its significance. The isolation in such a situation is a great burden on the majority that have to experience such alienation. The organ of the bourgeois class: the media chastised the occupy Wall Street movement by saying they should get a job and stop complaining. They said the people were wasting time and that they should conform to the principles of the division of labour by seeking the worst paying jobs as the petty bourgeois and the even mightier members of their class sit comfortable satisfied with their positions and that they have the luxury to even write such articles.

When a revolution hits the petty bourgeois class is usually the first to go; vanquished and condemned to be forgotten never to resurface. Nothing special comes out of such a class. The petty bourgeois will never understand the burden of urban alienation. The burden of the proletariat is not their burden as they continually exploit the labour power of this class that, through repeated cycles, is continuously broken by destitution and ignominy. As they sit comfortably and jeer with the police officers and their baton sticks and men running around in bat suits pummeling them with fists.  Nothing special comes out of the petty bourgeois class. As the Gordian knot tightens Buck heads back to 42^nd street to ply his trade as a midnight cowboy. This scene is one of the  best in the film as Buck observes the various members of the surplus population which do not include only the prostitutes but the homeless beggars and drug pushers. In one particular instance Buck observes a woman who is is possibly a prostitute or a junkie. We watch her move to and fro, through Buck’s eyes, and she seems lost as most women do in such a position. Buck gets a reprieve by getting money ($9) by donating blood at a blood bank. When he hands the money to Ratso who has just stolen a coat buck in idealistic fashion still wonders where he stole it from. In any case they get a slight reprieve although Rizzo reveals his dissatisfaction at Buck being at 42^nd street which he sees as a faggot haven. This is Rizzo’s moral limitations like Buck who cannot understand why Rizzo is such a thief. In situations such as this the two are trying to build an empire and when an empire is being built a moral consensus is usually required for it to function. It seems as if the construction workers are moving in because they are now beginning to pry the doors open prior to demolition as they seek to discover what’s in there. They visit the grave of Rizzo’s father  and in a funny moment he moves the flowers from another grave to that of his father’s. He then says ‘He was even dumber than you. He couldn’t even write his own name. ‘X,’ that’s what it oughta say on that goddamn headstone. One big lousy X. Just like our dump: condemned by order of city hall.’ Buck tries to console him by relaying his own story: ‘My Grandma Sally Buck she died without lettin’ me know.’ The haunting choral note begins to play and we see Buck sitting outside his grandma’s dilapidated house in a flashback. This is just another reminder of his legacy of destitution or back breaking poverty.

The Journey Ends as it Continues: Exiting the City and Entering the Country

The conversation goes thus: ‘It all depends on what you believe in,’ says Rizzo. ‘Like sometimes your spirit goes up, sometimes it goes other places. This whole kind of thing is spiritual…spiritual matters.’ ‘Oh now you’re talkin’ priest talk,’ says Buck. You’re talkin’ priest talk now.’ ‘I ain’t talkin’ priest talk, I’m talkin’ about what people believe in. Some people believe you can come back in another body.’ ‘Well I hope I don’t come back in your body.’ ‘I ain’t asking you to come back in my body, but you can come back as anything. You could come back as a dog  or a president.’ ‘ If I had my choice, I’d come back as a President. I aint that dumb. What do you think?’ ‘Maybe you gotta think about those things for awhile.’

Two hipsters wandering through the diner where Rizzo and Buck are speaking looking for eccentric characters invite Buck to a party. Buck takes Rizzo along obviously however it is clear that Buck was chosen for his cowboy outfit  for when they enter the arty house there are a lot of eccentric personalities there and this is testament to the bourgeois illusion of enjoyment that some people in the underclass such as Joe Buck aspire to. One nut  dressed as a primma donna says ‘I love everything in the theatre. I would like to die on the stage.’ Another freak says ‘My hair is fur, you know it’s tendrils reaching out into space sometimes. I’ve watched it touch many stars.’ ‘It’s like heroin. Death is like heroin.’ Rizzo accurately concludes: ‘Wackos. They’re all wackos.’ Buck does not care since he has bought into the illusion especially after they took his entrance upon his entering. They are allowed to have anything they want including food and beer. These parties are a means to entice the proletariat and to continually dangle the carrot before their eyes thereby keeping them in line and make them aspire to this sort of lifestyle. The meaningless characters who are mere ‘wackos’ also suggest that this class of individuals have nothing to aspire to with their posturing. Their inability to do anything meaningful is on full display here. Even Rizzo gives in with all the free food on display and we know by now that his condition is worsening and this would explain his spiritual talk with Buck. This notion of enjoyment is accurately described by Karl Marx in The German Ideology. Marx says about this enjoyment promulgated by the bourgeois class after it has become the dominant force in society. Note that this also applies to ruling classes of earlier epochs:

‘The philosophy of enjoyment was never anything but the clever language of certain social circles who had the privilege of enjoyment. Apart from the fact that the manner and the content of their enjoyment was always determined by the whole structure of the rest of society and suffered from all its contradictions, this philosophy became a mere phrase as soon as it began to lay claim to a universal character and proclaimed itself the outlook on life of society as a whole. It sank then to the level of edifying moralizing, to a sophistical palliation of existing society, or it was transformed into its opposite , by declaring compulsory asceticism to be enjoyment.’

This would explain why Rizzo is fed up with the wackos and why the idealist Joe Buck is consumed by the moment.  Rizzo’s worsening health is also a factor in his realization of the hollowness of this sort of enjoyment. Buck does meet a woman named Shirley who he takes back to her home. Prior to all of this Rizzo acts as mediator in determining the price which ended up being $20. He collapses also and this has Buck worried for it is the first time he realizes that Rizzo’s situation is life threatening. Rizzo did collapse as they were about to enter the building but it was not as significant as when they were exiting as he fell down the staircase.  Rizzo eventually goes home with the burden of his ill health as Buck has finally hit the jackpot. Rizzo’s health becomes another reality countering his new found ideas and so the film remains consistent. When Joe fails to perform initially with Shirley he is taunted about his sexuality and it could be see that he has homosexual leanings. Another interpretation could be that Rizzo’s worsening condition affected Buck and so his new found enthusiasm was quenched and so this joy was not really based on the reality in which he lived but on a mere illusion. He finally performs sexually for Shirley but only after great effort. When he returns he sees that Rizzo is a state of oblivion despite all the goodies he brought home. Rizzo claims that he is unable to walk and Buck is upset for just when things are going right for him Rizzo’s illness had to strike. His inability to walk has Rizzo scared that he will be sent to Bellevue in a state of ignominy and so he is desperate to go to Florida.  He then discovers that he has to help Rizzo fulfill the dream of exiting New York to go to Florida although he was promised an appointment with one of her friends  but he cannot wait long enough because it seems he wants to reschedule the appointment which would be later in the week on a thursday.  He has to get money for the journey however and so he decides to hit 42^nd street to get a customer which he finds in another masochist from Chicago. In this case he is an older man or an older representation of the student he met earlier by the name of Townsend P. Locke who would like to be called Towny who is there as a result of a ‘paper manufacturers convention’ and wishes to have some fun. He attracts Towny after he is seen playing target practice with a fake gun like a little naïve boy in the arcade.  It seems as if Buck’s fortunes really are changing for before he had to go in search and now people are seeking him. It is not fortune but a part of the trade as various individuals are drawn to others for various reasons; Buck seems to attract the masochists .Towny initially wishes to have dinner but corrects himself by saying that there will be no time for that and so they must go to his room. It does not seem as if he and Buck have done anything for we see Buck practicing, while towny is on the phone with his mother (reminds one of the student earlier), how he is going to roughly ask for money on behalf of his sick child. After Towny’s conversation with his mother Buck asks him what he was brought up here for. Towny cannot seem to come clean. He even immaturely states that he ‘loathes life’ which is only an expression for his inability to state what he really wants especially as a Buck seems to be a lovely person. He gives him a chain representing St. Christopher the patron saint of all travelers after Buck says he cannot see him tomorrow as he is going to Florida. All his interactions with towny are reinforced by separate images of Buck helping Rizzo get onto a bus to Florida. Buck demands money and is handed $10 and he becomes specific when he demands $57.Towny states that he does not have anymore but Buck has learnt from experience with the student that there is no time for sympathy in the city. He hits him and tries to reach for the drawer but Towny is adamant in his defense as Buck tries to remove his grip from the drawer. He uppercuts Towny and his false teeth fly out as he collapses on the bed. He takes the money from his wallet. It is clear he is a masochist for he tells Buck thank you as he prepares to leave. Buck even forces the receiver on the telephone down the throat of Towny as he hears the operator on the line and he probably feared that Towny would have reported him to the police. It is unlikely that towny would have reported him because he was a masochist who relished the pain. Joe’s violence is justified not only because Towny is a masochist but because it is a source of rebellion against his highly praised lifestyle of prostitution and the corruption of city life. It is made more apparent because time is running out on Rizzo.

He gets Rizzo in the bus to Florida and it will take 31 hours to reach there. Rizzo is disappointed because he is worried that he won’t make it. Rizzo is already at death’s door and the fact that Joe has to carry him suggests that the dream is over as far as he is concerned. When they reach Florida Rizzo is in a state because he wet himself but Buck makes him see the funny side as he starts to cry about it by saying that he  took a rest stop that was not on schedule. When the actual rest stop does come we see Buck by some new clothes and shed his cowboy attire which is the first mature step he has taken as he is finally cognizant of the illusion that he is engaged in. He even dresses the helpless Rizzo in Florida garb which is typified by palm trees. We also hear the return of the famous theme song suggesting that this is a new beginning. The palm trees abound like a true paradise. Buck says his final words to Rizzo and it is a expression of his maturity. ‘Y’know Ratso. I mean Rico.  I got this damn thing all figured. When we get to Miami, what I’m gonna do is get some sort of job, y’know? ‘Cause, hell, I ain’t no kind of hustler. I mean there must be an easier of makin’ a livin’ than that. Some sort of outdoors work (Maybe construction). What do you think? Yeah that’s what I’m gonna do. Okay Rico?’ Rizzo is dead and he would have been proud of seeing Buck, his protégé, become mature. His dreams also remain unrealized yet again although he landed on the shores of Florida. Even in death he has to keep moving and he remains unsettled, broken by his legacy poverty. The petty bourgeois cannot hope to understand the trials of the underclass. Buck makes the driver aware of the situation who tells the other passengers that there is nothing to see. The notes from the theme song play as the bus resumes its trek on the pathway to Florida with a dead Rizzo and a Buck who must push on and stay steadfast in his new found maturity  as he attempts to become settled.