|
|
|
|
|
|
|
What a surprise:
The Interpreter (2005)
Directed by Sydney Pollack
On its surface, "The Interpreter" appears to have some of the makings of a progressive film. Most notably, it seems to acknowledge the existence of suffering masses outside of the First World and to value efforts to eliminate their suffering. (The fact that any film that mentions any of the 900 million people living in Africa strikes us as exceptional says something about Hollywood.) However, not only does "The Interpreter" fail to advance the struggle of oppressed nation masses, it does them a disservice, both by repeating self-serving First World fantasies about violence in the Third world and by advocating apolitical idealism instead of political materialism.
(It also does the usual Hollywood thing, telling the story of oppressed people of color--or what it claims is their story--through an attractive middle-class white character.)
The interpreter in question is Sylvia Broome (Nicole Kidman) a white African who works at the United Nations and overhears a plot to assassinate Edmund Zuwanie, president of an African state in the middle of a bloody civil war. Years ago Zuwanie led the armed struggle to liberate his country--from what exactly is unclear, although there are hints that minority white farmers once exploited black laborers.(1) But now, so the story goes, Zuwanie uses genocidal violence to crush and divide his political opponents--again, exactly why is unclear, but the implication is Zuwanie craves persynal wealth or power for its own sake.
With the help of Amerikan Secret Service agent Tobin Keller (Sean Penn), Broome eventually exposes Zuwanie and helps bring him before an international tribunal for "crimes against humynity."
MIM will not deny that some Third World leaders who played a progressive role in the struggle against colonialism have gone on to become reactionary sell outs. But MIM does not subscribe to the implicit line of "The Interpreter" that power automatically corrupts--at least when that power is in the hands of a non-white leader. This facile idea is hypocritical and self-serving, because it ignores the realities of class struggle.
For starters, Western imperialism has made a conscious effort to buy off leaders of Third World states: it's called neocolonialism. For PR reasons, the more nationalist credentials the leaders has, the better. No sane discussion of political violence in Africa can ignore the past and current meddling of America and Europe in African political, economic and military affairs. By having the American Secret Service save the day, "The Interpreter" allows the imperialists to avoid responsibility for a mess largely of their own creation.
Furthermore, there is class struggle within each oppressed nation, between the oppressed and exploited peasants and workers and the national bourgeoisie, parts of which suffer under imperialism and want the "right" to exploit "their own" workers free from meddling. This is why a local capitalist who fought alongside the workers and peasants to oust the imperialists can cut a deal with the imperialists once they have lost overt control over their former colony. Thus, the selling out of the revolution is not inevitable, as suggested by "The Interpreter;" rather, it's a consequence of the class stance of the leadership. As such it can be struggled against and avoided.(2) For example, Mao Zedong criticized the bourgeois line of Deng Xiaoping and his cronies (who all participated in the revolutionary struggle against the imperialist-lackey Kuomintang), saying that if they ever achieved power, China would become a fascist dictatorship and the ravages of capitalism would return. He successfully led the struggle to keep Deng et al. out of power for over a decade.
Of course we shouldn't be surprised that "The Interpreter" gets the concrete details of class struggle and political violence in the Third World wrong, because "The Interpreter" wants to make timeless moral points about vengeance and forgiveness. Despite the fact that these points are dressed up as (fictional) African folk wisdom, they are the usual American psychobabble that amounts to accommodation to oppression, rather than commitment to resistance and the struggle for real change.
The side plot involving the apparent murder of agent Tobin's wife by a jealous lover deserves some mention here. Tobin's grief is affecting, as well it should be. But again, rather than directing Tobin's anger--or more importantly, the viewer's--against the patriarchal romance culture that makes such violence commonplace, the film focuses on Tobin's learning to live with his grief.
Finally: check out the product placement in this "high-minded" movie: for example, the superfluous exchange between Broome and the guy fixing her vintage Vespa scooter, who tells her they are making new scooters again. That's right, folks, you too can live the Sylvia Broome lifestyle, dodging secret agents on your limited edition scooter. Only 500 available! Act now!
To sum up, "The Interpreter" is pornography: it uses the image of Third World suffering to entertain First World audiences. It confuses feel-good individualism with action that achieves real-world results.
Notes:
1. This is one of several details that suggest Zuwani is a stand-in for Robert Mugabe of Zimbabwe. For example, the name of Zuwani's fictional country is Motobo, which is also the name of a national park in Zimbabwe (Boston Globe, 22 Apr 2005). As such, "The Interpreter" can be seen as part of a U$- and UK-backed campaign to discredit and overthrow Mugabe.
2. http://www.prisoncensorship.info/archive/etext/wim/cong/fascismcong2004.html