Movies about American Socialism & anti-Capitalism

[Chomskyan]

Anybody have any movies about the history of Socialism in America or movies critical of Capitalism? (Those don't have to be "American", movies about sweat shops in China are okay too.)

Because next year, I plan on establishing a Young Socialists wing at my College and one of the things I'm supposed to do as an organizer is screen movies.

From the top of my head:

The Wobblies (1979) (I'm watching it as I type this :))

Reds

Capitalism: A Love Story

Are some movies I can think of. Can we begin a list of movies one can use to inculcate some Socialism and anti-Capitalism in people who are unfamiliar with these things?

Thanks!

[The Feral Underclass]

Have you seen the film Reds? It doesn't fit your criteria exactly and is a fiction film, but it is interesting from a historical point of view.

[Chomskyan]

Have you seen the film Reds? It doesn't fit your criteria exactly and is a fiction film, but it is interesting from a historical point of view.

Just started it. I'm half way through it.

Bump.

[consuming negativity]

michael moore movies should be taken with a grain of salt

they're not bad but they're not entirely truthful and they come from a pretty different perspective than we do

[Hermes]

You could probably include Salt of the Earth.

[motion denied]

A list by Libcom (https://libcom.org/library/working-class-cinema-video-guide).

[Creative Destruction]

Hostel

[Chomskyan]

Movies like Supersize Me! and Food Inc. would also be included in what I'm looking for.

[Creative Destruction]

The Corporation, Raya Dunayevskaya: Biography of an Idea, Harlan County USA, The Take, The Weather Underground, The Murder of Fred Hampton.

[consuming negativity]

"the baader meinhof complex" was pretty good and is about the RAF. not sure if that counts.

you can watch "earthlings" which is about capitalism and animals in industry online for free, but it's pretty graphic and will make you cry for hours

[Zoroaster]

Micheal Moore is a social democrat, not a socialist. The part of that movie I like anymore was Tony Babino's cover of "The Internationale". I hate to be rude, but it's the truth.

[Illegalitarian]

The entire premise of Capitalism: A Love Story rests on the assumption that capitalism = unregulated markets and the alternative is more socialism which of course = more regulation.

A good and informative movie, sure, and anti-capitalist to a degree, but it's not really giving the right message.



Living Utopia is a good documentary about anarchist catalonia. Food Inc, The Corporation etc highlight the worst symptoms of capitalism, as well, but the message of the former is the typical liberal sentiment of "vote with your dollar" and the latter implies that the answer is full nationalization.

[Chomskyan]

Micheal Moore is a social democrat, not a socialist. The part of that movie I like anymore was Tony Babino's cover of "The Internationale". I hate to be rude, but it's the truth.

You're right, I only mentioned it because I remember reading somewhere that different Young Socialist chapters have screened it before.

I don't love Michael Moore by any means. He's a capitalist, even though he "hates" capitalism.

[DDR]

Try the grappes of wrath. It's set in the US during the grand depression.

Noveccento is good, but also weird as hell. It's the history of Italy from 1900 all the way to the end of WWII.

Chakravyuh, it's a commercial indian action film about the naxalite guerrilla. I enjoyed it very much.

Other political films that comes to the top of my head are, october, potemkin ship, the wind that shakes the barley, land and freedom, the founding of a republic, the founding of a party. But probably most o them are either polemic or weird as fuck.

Other films that are not political but has a lot of politics on it are, they live, total recall, robocop, toxic avenger I & IV, rambo III, in time, elyseum or spartacus.

I hope it helps.

[TheBigREDOne]

For some more fantastical(and entertaining) films, try They Live, Robocop, and V for Vendetta.

[Creative Destruction]

The original Robocop is good. The new remake is complete crap. Robocop II is a little bit on-the-nose with its criticism. V for Vendetta, for the political message, is better as a graphic novel.

[Manic Impressive]

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[Chomskyan]

Rosa Luxemburg (1986)

Bump.

Classical Socialism is okay too, but American Socialism is the emphasis.

[GiantMonkeyMan]

Cradle Will Rock is a pretty amusing film about leftism and theatre in the US and the state's attempt to crack down on the supposed threat of communist propaganda. The Spook Who Sat by the Door is a cool film about black militancy and urban guerillaism. The House I Live In is a very informative and damning look at the US prison system. The Black Power Mixtapes is a film about black militancy using some previously unseen footage and is well worth the watch. Modern Times is Charlie Chaplin's classic critique of modernism and is also hilarious.

None of these are explicitly about socialism but are all well worth the watch.

[Red Son]

Inside Job - the complicity in the 2008 crisis of everyone from the banks to the insurance companies to the supposedly impartial academics and how stumped they get when they're confronted with evidence of that complicity. One of the best docs i've ever seen..also throw in Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room..if these two don't help make a case against capitalism, idk.

[GiantMonkeyMan]

Another that I forgot is the documentary Seeing Red... which is about the rank and file members of the Communist Party USA. Got some really good interviews and it seems obvious to me that the members involved were genuine socialists fighting for a better existence for the working class.

[The Idler]

Marx Reloaded (2011)

[RedKobra]

Whilst not overtly leftist Office Space is a pretty irreverent look at work, work-life balance & work & personal relationships in the neo-liberal, micro-management era. The values of the main character hint at being an awakening of some lefty ideas. Its also just general a pretty entertaining film.