Threads

I just watched a film that had quite a profound effect on me at the time when it first came out somewhere around 1984, ‘Threads’ by Barry Hines.

First time round I still had some faith in people though even back then hardly any in politicians, governments, the military and their concept of ‘authority’. I naively thought that the ordinary people would eventually see through the charades, the corruption, the lies and deceit and that things would change. What was my excuse you may ask. Well I was young I suppose and knew very little of history.

Now  though with a historical perspective and having had more than 20 years to see first hand how useless, contemptible, self-serving and basically evil politicians, governments and especially the military continue to be and how incredibly blinkered and credulous the voting public still is, this time round it had perhaps an even greater effect on me.

First time round the scenes and causes depicted in the film did actually seem possible, but because I was young,  single, with no kids I wasn’t that concerned. I of course would have survived, after all I had read the Nuclear Survival Guide cover to cover and had a sharp knife and some string.

Now though being older and seeing the americans and brits STILL thinking and acting like they own the world and still inventing justifications for their political games and still conferring upon themselves some sort of divine right to police the world it seems more than possible we might one day be reduced to having to work for food that is being witheld by those very people, following some unquestioned and unfathomable tradition, we appointed to shepherd us. Baaa! Even more so in consideration of the fact that US politicians and those short sighted people who keep voting them in all seem to hold a fervent belief in  what I find to be a frightening concept of nation and a terrifying belief in an invisible bronze age sky daddy in which they trust and are directed by.

Sure it might not be a cataclysm like the NBC attack in the film, it might just be economic  tension brought about by the thieving banks, or, if you believe such a thing actually exists, international terrorism or maybe civil disorder resulting from the panic after the importance of some minor and inconsequential epidemic has been blown out of all proportion by the government and media. Either way it was never really even the human tragedy depicted in the film that affected me, we all get to die one way or another,  it was and is the thought of the high-handed arrogance of the, at that point,  culpable and even more unnecessary government to take possession of emergency powers, ruling by the threat of violence rather than because of mandate and creating more and unnecessary misery in an already miserable situation that had and has me spitting venom.

I have seen for myself in the years since 9.11 the new and unjustifiable powers the governments have been allowed to give themselves on the basis of a perceived but wholly fanciful threats, and my appreciation of the reality value of the film has changed somewhat.

 Anyway, enough of my waffle. It’s a film that really is worth watching. It’s a bit slow in the beginning but worth the wait.    

http://retrovision.tv/freevideo/threads-1984