05-10-87 - Man Facing Southeast

On May 10, 1987, I saw the film Man Facing Southeast directed by Eliseo Subiela.  In a journal entry from that evening I described it as the finest film I could remember - not because of cinematography, special effects, or acting, but because it performed a true service to society.  It pointed out our insanity. 

The main character, Rantes, was either an alien investigating western psychosis, or a man with the gift of compassion.  As an alien, he professed to respond to the needs of others on a purely rational level.  A man was cold so Rantes gave him his jacket.  A family was hungry, so Rantes telepathically provided plates of food.  He understood that music pleased people and obliged with Bach!  He didn’t come to Earth to provide wealth to the poor or technological insights to scientists.  Instead, he helped those he met and consoled them by identifying with them and demonstrating that someone cared.  As a man, he had abandoned the selfish pursuits of capitalistic society to address individual problems on a one-to-one level.  Regardless of his humanity, he provided the things that people needed most.  He took responsibility to meet people’s needs rather than leave it to the uncertain discretion of bureaucratic institutions.  He made it his duty to help where he could when he could.

It seemed to me at the time that our collective insanity was rooted in selfishness and that by demonstrating selfless behavior, Rantes showed us a path to sanity.  Rather than compete for material things and horde what could be accumulated, Rantes freely shared.  Rather than turn the other way, he showed compassion and cared for people where he could.  In hindsight, I think that Subiela’s portrayal of Rantes demonstrated behaviors consistent with being human, not alien. 

Fast forward twenty-five years and a quick survey of our society suggests that general trends are more “alien” than human.  Material satisfaction for wants, not needs, drives the economy.  Compassion, in the form of health care is a major debate, not a given.  We continue to foul the environment and our attention quickly turns from the BP catastrophe in the Gulf to Dances with the Stars.  We continue to prevent women from controlling their own bodies.  The list of craziness goes on and on and it seems to me that on a macro scale we’re still largely out of touch with what is important.

Hopefully we’re doing better on a micro scale.  Can you disentangle yourself from the commercial definitions of importance?  Are you able to slow down and decide for yourself what it is that brings joy and happiness to your life?  Are you able to balance work with the equally important aspects of living?  Are you living a life that makes you happy?  Are you doing what is important to you?

I hope so.  It’s never too late to start.