LIFE IMITATES FILM NOIR ART

The latest Lame Spin Award goes to several types for putting a happy face on the Film Noir future they have in store for us.

Our favorite Film Noir Genre type is sci-fi, starting with the 1982 futuristic movie, Blade Runner. It oozes a dark, dystopian foreboding that enshrouds the slow, but inevitable, decay of the human condition. The stifling bleakness is the inevitable result of the death of individuality killed by the institutions that have grown to control every aspect of life. Usually, the institutions are corrupt corporations but the subtext is always government facilitation.

Back to the present and the latest Lame Spin Award winners. First in line is New York Governor Andrew Cuomo who would banish large portions of the populous from his State if only he could. In a radio interview earlier this week, Andy Coma railed out against those whose beliefs differ from his. People who oppose abortion and gay rights but favor private gun ownership find no favor with the Governor. Labeling them extreme conservatives, Coma stated:

“[T]hey have no place in the state of New York, because that’s not who New Yorkers are.”

Who might real New Yorkers be? After all, New York is the quintessential American melting pot, rich in the diversity of culture and thought. But, diversity is not a plus if crushing individuality is high on your agenda. By all means, let’s have a political hack define what you can think and where you can live. Coma has yet to regain consciousness and apologize. Don’t hold your breath.

The next winner is the The New Yorker Magazine for an article more than merely well-stocked with Film Noir undertones. It also might be the most sycophantic ever published. Due out on newsstands Monday, but available on its website now, is“Going The Distance”, the obsequious offering to President Obama.

Sprinkled throughout the article, besides the over-the-top fawning, are spiteful denunciations of those with opposing political views. Favorites of the author are lines like the bigoted, “”the popular opposition to the Administration comes largely from older whites”. So, too, is Republican bashing. They are identified as reactionaries fueled by resentment. Of course, nothing good can come from them. It’s Obama’s way or the highway.

Last in line for the latest Award is Obamacare, America’s favorite whipping-post-of-the-moment. There’s just too much wrong with it to turn your back for very long. In a CNBC interview aired yesterday, Aetna Insurance CEO, Mark Bertolini, nailed the reason for anemic sign ups. Obamacare has not attracted the young or the uninsured because it has no consumer appeal. It offers one-size-fits-all policies with no flexibility or choice of programs making it a major turnoff to discerning buyers.

The lack of individuality may be the self-inflicted wound that finally fells the legislative disaster. If it does, life may not end up imitating Film Noir after all.