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Rollerball (1975)
7/10
"There aren't any rules at all!"
1 September 2012
Warning: Spoilers
Watching "Rollerball" today provides an interesting perspective if you've been around say, since the 1950's or so. Every time I see a picture that has relevance to the present day I have to wonder whether the film makers were making a futuristic statement or were simply reacting to their times. When this picture came out in the mid-Seventies I would never have given a thought to the threat of globalization by a handful of dominant world bodies like the U.N., or corporate entities like RCI Energy, the company depicted here sponsoring the Houston rollerball team. But here we are, and the threat of statism and global governance has never been more palpable.

At the core of the story is Jonathan E's (James Caan) fierce determination to find out why he's being forced out of his starring role with the Houston team. As his team owner Bartholomew (John Houseman) makes clear, the elites at the top make global decisions for the greater good. That greater good requires allegiance to an authority that keeps the masses subjugated by means of a classless society whose attention is diverted by a game in which the rules constantly change. Jonathan E poses a threat to a society in which individual effort must be extinguished and never rewarded. It sounds a lot like liberals versus conservatives to me.

Rod Serling took up this theme in a number of his Twilight Zone episodes, and those were done in the late Fifties/early Sixties. I'm thinking of a couple of stories that tread on similar ground - 'The Obsolete Man' and 'Eye of the Beholder'. The whole idea of conformity and group think is one that just drives me crazy and yet we see it every day with stuff like reality TV (which isn't) and the growing chasm between the major political parties. The film that really makes the point came out a little over a decade later, and if you want a real good two and a half decade sneak preview of where we are today, check out 1987's "The Running Man".

One quick observation before I close with this film. In the opening minutes of the picture, the scoreboard for the first rollerball match is shown being set up for the game between Houston and Madrid. You don't know that at the time, and all you see are the graphics 'HOU MAD'. By the time the story's over, I had to think, 'HOW MAD' indeed.
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