CSNY/Déjà vu
- Mike Gunn
- Sep 26, 2008
- Series: Film
A Documentary by Michael Ceres
"The poison that is war does not free us from the ethics of responsibility. There are times when we must take the poison, just as a person with cancer accepts chemotherapy to live. We cannot succumb to despair. Force is and I suspect always will be part of the human condition. There are times when the force wielded by one immoral faction must be encountered by a faction that, while never moral, is perhaps less immoral."
Chris Hedges[1]
I saw Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young (CSNY) in 1976 in Springfield Massachusetts. I loved their music, and was excited to see them only to be let down by idiot fans who booed them, and threw bottles when they changed their set to acoustic wiping out some of their great songs like Ohio, Find the Cost of Freedom and Chicago, all anti-war songs that resonate with many of us till this day. I think that part of their appeal for me was their desire to not allow the status quo to reign, especially when it related to war. I am not against soldiers and their heroics to defend our rights. My grandfather fought in WW 1 my father fought in WW 2 and my brother fought in Vietnam. I was too young, and warless! I have always found war both fascinating and devastating at the same time. I am torn between the knowledge of an evil world, and an over-worked conscience that screams the horror of any war. I believe that Hitler needed to be stopped, but I also believe that any war ought not be glorified, but only pitied. I agree with war correspondent Chris Hedges when he writes, "War exposes the capacity for evil that lurks not far below the surface within all of us."[2] War is a result of the collective evil we all possess.
I'm not sure what to do with this mental conflict. I look at the atrocities in Burma (Myanmar), the Sudan, Zimbabwe, and wonder if it is a western elitist opinion to believe that no one should do anything of any consequence in the midst of these current day horrors. I also know war and violence are not the panacea that Rambo III wanted us to believe. But there is that tension between allowing violence to reign because we are opposed to violence, and that obvious, devastating horror of war. I will go on record as saying that I have opposed the Iraq war from the beginning, although I am in total support of my good friend and many other brave men and women who have laid their life down in defense of their country. I say this all to say that I am deeply sympathetic with Neil Young's message, and the message of other anti-war artists such as U2, UB40, Bob Dylan, Bruce Springsteen, etc.
With that all said, I struggled with the movie because of its lack of freedom that I think it ultimately inspires, which is a bit funny since the documentary by Iraqi war correspondent, and former Vietnam vet, Michael Ceres followed the band on their 2005 "Freedom of Speech" tour. The tour was primarily the brain child of band leader Neil Young who wrote the new music (Much of it quite inflammatory like "Impeach the President" is a very cool song), and conflated old anti-war tunes like Ohio, Find the Cost of Freedom, etc. to make a 2 plus hour anti-Bush, anti-Iraq war rally at $200 a head. It could have been that much more powerful, if it allowed other credible voices into the film. It had it's obligatory conservative remarks, but they were straw man, and often inane.
If "Good" art is as David Crosby muses something that "Makes you feel something," then I would say that CSNY/Deja Vu was good art. But I think a documentary ought to be more than that. As much as I am sympathetic to their cause, the movie would have been more powerful if it were truly about "Freedom of Speech." I think that a good documentary tells a story, and makes you think about the issue with real bits of reality. CSNY/ Deja Vu was a good film, but it was propaganda even if it were the propaganda that you like. It was truly as Graham Nash said a "Story from my point of view." Is this what freedom is? Does it free us to think, or does this type of documentary tell us what to think? This is what truth finding is about; placing your truth out in the market place of ideas so that it can withstand opposition and criticism, and if it is true, it will stand the test. This documentary was almost as if it wanted to be heard, but not tested. Not in the exploitive way of Michael Moore's Fahrenheit 9/11, which is basically a dishonest, edited force-feeding. No CSNY/Deja Vu was more honest and pure, and truly the dominant perspective of Neil Young, and I can respect that, but I hope to see documentaries dig into the complications of their subject matter, and give an honest voice to its opposing opinion (Ala "Bigger, Stronger Faster" by Chris Bell) so that one can walk away informed and connected.
The film followed the band to concerts and political rallies, and exhorted you to feel the loss of the Iraqi war, and our responsibility to do something about status quo living here in the good ole' USA. Love your country enough to change it, sort of speak. The most interesting part of the film (And the only real conservative voice) came from their Atlanta concert, when they broke into "Let's Impeach the President." The previous appreciative crowd began to turn on them, and the chorus of boos became obvious. Much of the fan reaction was disgust, disappointment and for some, rage in the likeness of Tourette's Syndrome.
If you are a CSNY fan and want to see some good new and old mixes, and can put away your political badge, then this film is for you! It was kind of interesting to see sixty-something rockers take to the stage again. Heck, Crosby and Stills have the same haircut and mustaches they had in the sixties, albeit a bit gray and haggardly looking. However if you are a card carrying Republican, born on the 4th of July, this film is NOT for you! It will only anger you, and make you burn your "4 Way Street Album" you got in high school, and utter Tourette like epithets at the screen!
Personally I liked the film (B-). I think they could have done it better, but I began to wonder what films like this, and protest movements actually accomplish? Can they really "change the world, rearrange the world?" I know for sure, some have garnered some expansive societal changes, but has it stopped hatred in the human heart? Has it truly freed us from enslavement to bitterness and anger? Has it obliterated war? Maybe we need to assess the cost of freedom, and realize it doesn't come in protest, but on a cross far, far away! Now I'm preaching!
The film could be seen by most viewers, but there is some vulgar reactionary language!!
[1] Chris Hedges, "War is a Force that Gives Us Meaning," 16
[2] IBID, pg. 3
0 Comments | Login to Post Comments