In the 1950s, the world stared down the threat of nuclear annihilation as the Cold War kept everybody on their toes. Can you imagine living in constant fear of some faraway enemy striking us down like nothing? Probably, actually; remember our “War on Terror” when the Bush people had us believe that we were surrounded by mean people who hated us because we have freedom? Things have calmed down a bit, but we're still fed things to fear. Hell, they even remade Red Dawn for the modern day, replacing the Russians of the '80s with the Koreans. (Fun story about that: originally the bad guys in the remake were Chinese, but they changed it in post-production to be more pertinent, counting on us not to be able to differentiate one Asian nationality from another.) It may not be as bad as in the '50s, but there is still a lingering sense of fear in our country that we can be attacked at any moment.
See: this week's topic: How I Live Now, the new film by Kevin MacDonald, director of The Last King of Scotland and the documentaries Touching the Void and Marley (which, by the way, I highly recommend). Saorise Ronan is Daisy, an American girl from a broken family sent to live with her aunt and cousins in England. There, she calms down from her angst, meets a boy, and finally feels at home – until the country is attacked and war is on. The lovers are split and now must undergo a terrifying journey to reunite with each other, their family, and their friends.
How I Live Now is currently playing at Village 8 as part of the Louisville Exclusives series. It is scheduled to run until this Thursday, November 14. Further theater information and showtimes can be found at the Village 8 website.
Image: Internet Movie Database
