This film is presented as being about how a plantation owner in the 1800's is having difficulty making money and keeping his slaves in line. He has hired an expert to bring in as a consultant because according to some other plantation owner that this consultant has helped in the past, he has excellent results in getting the slaves to behave and work harder.
The film is presented in this context but if you can see past the clear very low budget and sometimes critically poor acting, there is a very important message inside.
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In all honesty, this was not what I was expecting. I had thought I was going to be watching a biopic about Jonestown or the Jim Jones cult / massacre. If someone knows about a good film that has been made about that, please let me know because I would like to see it.
This film is about slavery, but it isn't the usual "slavery is bad" sort of thing that has been done a ton of times. Instead, this is about how the society that we live in today is still slavery, the "plantation owners" have just gotten a lot more widespread and intelligent about how it is that they keep their workers in line.
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When Mr. Jones' cotton plantation fails to make money over several seasons it is determined that they need to bring in a consultant that has done wonders for other plantations. When the consultant named Mr. Smith turns up and happens to also be black, the plantation owner is surprised and initially doesn't want to work with him. Smith promises that he will get results or he will give Mr. Jones $100, which at the time in question would have been a huge amount of money.
According to online sources, the actor that plays Mr. Smith was a last second addition and I think it was a wise one because otherwise the movie would probably get mischaracterized as being racist.
You see, in the end this movie isn't about the time of slavery in USA at all. Instead it is allegorical and is attempting to let us see that a lot of the societal controls that they refer to in the film are actually things that are happening right now and have been happening for all of our lives and well beyond.
It includes having a charter that "everyone follows" even though the ruling elite don't actually follow it, having a flag that they are all supposed to be proud of and swear allegiance to, having regimented punishment for violations that only apply to the poor (in this case the slaves), and even false-flag operations committed by the "protectors" that are meant to keep the citizens afraid to be anywhere else except on their plantation. The slaves are paid for their work, which makes them very excited because they are now "free" only now the plantation owner pays them in their own currency that as they say "isn't worth a thing, its not even worth wiping your ass with."
They control the stores and set the prices, so the people will work harder without being coerced so that they can acquire goods to "make their lives better." They are free to not work if they so choose but because the now "freed" slaves can work harder to improve their own lives they choose to actually work harder than before in order to improve their own lives. The only problem is that the system is designed so that the "free men" get just enough of the scraps from the table in order to keep them in line, but no more.
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The also touch base on elections and how a lot of us kind of feel like we are being presented with two very bad options and at least here in the United States we kind of feel this way about most of the Presidential elections. They also touch base on 3rd party candidates who technically have a chance at getting elected, but never really do because they are forced out of the conversation by the ruling class who are actually both on the same team even though they merely pretend to not be.
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They had very little budget to make this movie and I can't even find an accurate representation of what that might be. I have read that it is as little as $100,000 and well, it kind of shows. Very few people in the cast are actually even what I would call "decent" as actors, but if you can get past that, there are some pretty important messages in here.
Should I watch it?
Well, it depends on if you are a bit dissatisfied with the governance of this planet. This film could be seen as being a bit preachy and it definitely is that. It also is pretty terrible quality as far as production value is concerned and I suppose that can be expected with a film that has the equivalent of Leo DiCaprio's on-site wine budget for their overall bankroll.
I do think that the message is something that is something that should at least be heard though, if you feel as though you can make it through a rather poorly produced film.
I normally steer away from films that feature political propaganda, but I also don't feel that this is that because it isn't taking any side as far as any government is concerned, it is basically just attempting to point out that the government, basically globally, doesn't really have the "slaves" best interests at heart. If you can make it all the way through this one, I think it might make you think a little bit about the world around you, and that is probably a good thing. To others though, they might find it a little too slow, which it definitely is.
The only legal way to watch this film is directly from their website but as usual, there are other ways