Thursday, October 04, 2012

ants!

(1977) **

When it's either this or the first Presidential debate, I've got to go with . . .

The entire movie takes place at a construction site for a new resort for stuffy rich people to pass their time while the working people suffer the consequences of their frivolous decisions.

Main rich characters include a buyer and his "business" "partner" looking to buy up all the nearby bed-n-breakfasts like it's a Monopoly board, a stuffy elderly woman who owns said B&B, and her daughter. Main working-class characters include the poolboy and the men working on the construction site. And while I'm usually pretty keen on names, I didn't bother with ants!
What I DO remember is this kid's name is Billy.
Seeing that the ants affect first the working people, suffocating them and releasing a paralyzing poison preventing them from living to their true potential -- before moving up the classist ladder where the wealthy are affected and finally decide to find a solution -- I think it's safe to say that the ants are an analogy for the economy.

After the halfway mark the characters do what they should have done the entire time: consult an expert, who provides an abundance of knowledge not only about his field but also a typical philosophy needed to be heard/explored in the sub-genre of Man Vs. Nature: "We force them to live in a toxic world -- why should we be surprised when they fight back?" he says as he pushes up his glasses.
Entomologists orders can't be wrong, right? Right?!

8 comments:

Octopunk said...

I kept watching pieces of the debate and then leaving the room in a snit. I can't watch Romney, he's got that same frat boy smirk that W had.

This passage is excellent: "...suffocating them and releasing a paralyzing poison preventing them from living to their true potential." Those goddamn ants!

Thanks for sussing out another "!" title.

50PageMcGee said...

"Seeing that the ants affect first the working people, suffocating them and releasing a paralyzing poison preventing them from living to their true potential..."

here's my question: if the ants were still in adolescence, would you encourage them to follow their dreams?

50PageMcGee said...

wait -- i read that wrong. you're saying the working people aren't able to live to their true potential.

oh well. i still want an answer to the original question.

Octopunk said...

How many times do I have to tell you that ants aren't people, dammit!

But to answer your question, adolescent ants only dream about rolling around in hollow balls of sugar, like on American Gladiators. It's bad for the colony.

Catfreeek said...

This is what happens when good ants go bad, please join my cause to fight against ant gangs...

Sorry, the overwhelming flood of causes on Facebook is getting to me.

Johnny Sweatpants said...

Ants! was the perfect antidote to that infuriating debate. I wish the handsome rugged guy was running for president.

DKC said...

I skipped the debate, I know who I'm going to vote for anyway and I don't need the aggravation.

Exclamation point titles always make me think of Octo. Excellent review, Crystal! Stupid classist ants.

AC said...

i'm delighting in the very high review quotient here (quality of review/quality of movie). even so, great call skipping the debate. i hung in for about 5 minutes.

Malevolent

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