Back to the USSR

The Americans (Seasons 1 - 6; 2013-18)

The Russians and the Americans have had a love-hate relationship for a mighty long time. It probably dated back to a time before the 20th century when the Americans had the first taste of imperialism after the winning over the Spanish mighty naval army in the Spanish-American War and annexation of Texas as well as California. This gave them access to sea routes over the Pacific as well as the Atlantic Oceans; the only nation with such an enviable capability.

The Russians claim that the Americans, through their Jewish proxies, had a hand in the fall of the Romanov Dynasty and the plotting of the Bolshevik Revolution. Now there are allegations that Leon Trotsky and the Marxist regime is an American construct! Trotsky was paid by Jewish-Americans to jumpstart workers' revolt. Under cover of humanitarian aid by the American Red Cross, financed the 1917 People's Revolution against the monarch. 

The paranoia has traversed all through last century, and the heat does not seem to be simmering. For a brief moment of time, in the world wars, they were comrades. The Russians feel that they have been taken for granted. They had to fend for themselves when Germans attacked, and it is only wit and resilience that turn the Second World War the other way around, no thanks to the Allied Forces. It was the Russian's Red Army which marched into Berlin and stormed the Fuhrer's bunk.

The Russians feel shortchanged. Even their earth-shattering feats are downplayed by the American media. They are portrayed as the evil nemesis of freedom and liberty. The animosity has not ended even today. They are accused of rigging the Presidential elections and are charged with taking control of American uranium mines through back door deal.

This addictive TV miniseries with 6 Seasons (13 one-hour episodes in the first five season and 10 one-hour shows in the sixth) tells the secret lives of two KGB officers who live incognito amongst the Americans to carry out espionage and executions. If one ignores the believability aspect of the whole setting - the makers want us to believe that it is physically possible to plot and execute a murder in the wee hours of the night while preparing breakfast and sending their teenage children as if nothing happened.

Nevertheless, the exciting part of the whole series is that it is set during the tumultuous times of the early 1980s when the US-Soviet Union relationship goes through a significant jolt. The dream of a utopia where workers' struggle can solve existential problems goes pear-shaped. The Americans with their capital seem to be winning the Cold War.

The spies, Philip and Elizabeth Jennings (their pseudonyms), were born in Russia and were paired as a couple to live among ordinary people like everyday Americans. They begot a daughter and a son. Philip and Elizabeth, despite all the near misses and the agony of exposing their cover to their neighbour who happened to be an FBI agent, they come out tops in their assignments. The subplot involves the Russian Cultural Centre employees, who are covers for KGB activities, with their complicated affairs.

Growing up during Stalin Russia in poverty and fed with nationalism, Philip and Elizabeth are genuinely patriotic and see clearly the vision set by their communist forefathers. They soon realise that their children, after growing in the comforts of the capitalistic world, are worlds apart from them regarding values and character. That seems to be a challenge.

Unlike most American productions, this one stays away from giving a lopsided biased account of the greatness of the capitalistic system over communism. They hint that human values seem to take a back seat. It is interesting that they compare Christianity as a form of smokescreen that deceives the mind from the real problem and conveniently dumps it on an invisible God for solace.

An interesting watch. Try to catch all those hallmark events that happened in the 80s. No, it ends before the collapse of the Berlin Wall, but there are episodes on the Nicaraguan Contras movement, Russian's involvement with anti-apartheid movement, bioweapon, the Star War project, David Copperfield's disappearance of Statue of Liberty and Gorbachov's graceful exit from politics,

https://asok22.wixsite.com/real-lesson 

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

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USA: promoter of entrepreneurial capitalism?

America: Imagine the World Without Her (2014, Documentary)

Director, Written: Dinesh D'Souza, John Sullivan

At a time in our country when leaders from the ruling party tell non-dominant races of the nation, the so-called 'newcomers', not to comment on the political running of the country but to just continue paying the tax without raising an eyebrow on the turn of events, I thought this documentary was an eye-opener.

Only in America an immigrant who still remembers his time in his original country and after 30 years of residence in his newfound country writes and makes documentaries about the greatness of his new home but condemns the opposition to the concept of America. He further goes to prison for hurting the people in power. This is Dinesh D'Souza, the filmmaker known for making political documentaries and of one of the highest grosser in the history of USA. His previous flick, 2016: Obama's America (produced 2012) remains the second highest grossing political documentary of all time after 'The Inconvenient Truth'.

Most non-Americans view the Democratic Party as the liberal party sympathetic to the plight of minority, immigrants and the economically challenged whereas the Republican portray a gung-ho nationalist group hellbent on allowing gun usage and spreading xenophobic attitudes. Unfortunately, life is not so simplistic. After all, Abraham Lincoln was a Republican when he fought for the abolition of slavery.

From the turn of the 20th century onwards, USA has always been painted as the good guys fighting for the greater good of things against the evil fascists and communists. When the Berlin Wall collapsed when everybody thought there would be peace on Earth, nothing like that happened. Instead, what we have is the tarnished image of the USA who is viewed as the epitome of everything evil, from being a theft of lands to the manipulator of world regimes among others.

D'Souza disagrees. He feels that America is the land of free where dreams come true. It allows individuals to write their own script of life, to live their dreams and be free. He gives himself as an example, becoming successful as a writer and a filmmaker, which he would have never dreamt of being if his parents had decided to stay back in India some 30 years previously.

He goes on to dispute many of the firmly held beliefs around the world. To conquer and dominate had been going in human history in time immemorial; the Huns, the Egyptians, the Persians, the Europeans, they all did it. Even before Columbus landed in the New World, various Native American tribes were already killing and displacing each other.

He takes the famous historian, Howard Zinn, someone often mentioned in the mainstream media and Hollywood, to the task. The Mexicans still long for the day when the part of Texas and California that they lost to the USA which they fondly named 'The Lost Providences' can be reclaimed. Surprisingly, no Mexicans who migrated to the USA wants to return, and more are yearning to leave Mexico for greener pastures. The 'Lost Providences' had undoubtedly prospered under America. Imagine what would have happened if they had still been under the mafia-controlling, corruption-plagued, unsafe Mexico.

CJ Walker 1867-1919
American first female self-made millionaire.

America promotes entrepreneurship. This virtue seems to be better than being a slave, a slave-owner or living life looting (off other people's hard-earned earnings). Slaves lack the motivation to progress in life as they see the future bleak. Their owners, on the other hand, become lazy and unimaginative.

D'Souza looks at the time when America had slaves as something which was the norm for that era. Many labour intensive industries all over the world relied on slaves and indentured labourers for survival. The only difference is that America fought a war to abolish it. In fact, in the 1800s, it is recorded that even freed black slaves (e.g. William Allison) became slave-owners themselves as it was lucrative. Then there was a Mdm CJ Walker who, through her own effort became a millionaire, a philanthropist and a political activist.

To the accusers of the USA being a conqueror of small nations and puppet master of corrupt regimes, he has this to say. America's brand of entrepreneurial capitalism creates wealth, not pilfering. Without US' creation of wealth, the world would be engaged in wars over wars as they had been doing all the time in the history of humanity.

The most scathing accusation that the author makes is in the radical stance of the Democratic Party. They appear to be liberal, but it is all a facade. He alleges Hillary Clinton to be influenced, in her formative years, by a communist sympathiser, Saul Alinsky. Alinsky drew his inspiration from the mobster Frank Netti and, believe it or not, Lucifer. He goes on to demonise Obama and denounce his plan to develop America as robbing from the US coffers to impoverish the country and destroy the fundamental of which the country was built.

This documentary was not received cordially by the media people. Many nasty reviews have been written. After all, the media is supposed to be liberal as the Democratic Party does make themselves to be, and D'Souza tries to dispute. 

Welcome to the New World!

The Founder (2017)


Everyone has his passion for something. He has obvious ideas on how he wants to develop his baby to showcase to the world with so much pride and joy. He may be committed to his course and would sacrifice time, effort, sweat and sleep over it. But sadly passion alone is insufficient to take his brain-child to a higher level. Others may not share his madness and may fail to see all the excitement, and the endeavour would just fizzle out as swiftly as the revelation materialised.

It takes a kind of something to bring the idea to town. That is where the role of a ruthless loud mouth jack-of-all-trades makes an impact. The type who could promise the moon and the stars and could sell ice to the Inuits. Even though on the surface this kind of practice may be frowned upon, at the end of the day, these kind of ruthless people are the ones who rock the world. They make things happen. They move the world, not the Mr Nice Guys who worry about hurting another and living right to his words; keeping true to a gentleman's handshake and not bending the truth.

These mammoth movers, at the end of the day, after their giant feats for humanity are not only forgiven but are put on a pedestal and feted for the innovativeness and boldness for their unconventional wisdom.

This is the story of how the biggest franchise in the world came to be. Initially started by an unknown duo, the McDonald brothers, they were fighting an unwinnable battle to make patrons like their brand of fast food. Dogmatic on how they wanted their products to be sold, they fared poorly in repeated attempts at expanding their business.

In comes Ray Kroc, a down-and-out travelling salesman. He sees the potential in their business and single-handedly 'hoodwinks' them to include him as their partner. We see the seemingly ugly uncompassionate side of American capitalism which emphasises more on profit, appearances, statistics and megalomania rather than human values. This is the new world. Money is the new God. Compassion and being nice is so yesterday.