Six Films to Watch After the Election

Three old and three new, covering topics of Fascism, Genocide, Revolution and beyond.

As of writing this, the election has no winner. It is 5pm, the Sears Towers is lit a dual red and blue, only visible in intervals when the clouds thin. It is raining, cars coast through the intersection, displacing water that has pooled onto the road. It is election night, and normalcy reigns.

This whole list is inspired by this tweet and some of the suggestions, but with my own twist which is the first three films were not made during the Biden Administration but I think are important to watch either way, be it for historical or social commentary.

The Old

Between these three films you will find the fire of revolution, both of the mind and of society. I will attempt to link any of the films I find on Tubi for easy of access, but just know you can also find these on DVDs from UIC and local libraries.

1) The Battle of Algiers (1966)

The Battle of Algiers is a docu-style film about rebel action during the 1954-1964 Algerian War, where the colonized peoples fought back against the French Regime. Highlighting the use of torture by French paratroopers in response to the Algerian rebels use of guerilla tactics. The film's guerilla tactics are also said to have inspired many real world liberation movements, spanning from the Jammu Kashmir Liberation Front, the Black Panthers, and the Palestine Liberation Organization. A perfect example of the united struggle under colonial oppression.

2) The Conformist (1970)

Set in Fascist Italy, The Conformist is the story of Marcello Clerici, a member of Mussolini's Secret Police and newly married, a model Italian citizen. Marcello is tasked with killing an old professor of his who now lives in France due to staunch anti-fascist beliefs. Once arriving with his wife Giulia, Marcello finds his loyalty to both his wife and country tested upon meeting the professor's wife Anna. The heart of this film is how fascism and trauma works on the mind, convincing you that to fit in you must sell out your allies if it could even open the possibility of letting you conform to societal standard.

3) Battleship Potemkin (1925)

Battleship Potemkin holds a special place on this list. It is the story of revolution, but it is also the story of camaraderie, and it is something to take to heart in the coming years. Set in 1905 on a Russian battleship anchored off the coast of Tendra, Battleship Potemkin starts with a revolution, and ends with a revolution. Divided into 5 acts, the narrative follows sailors that rebel against their oppressive superiors and follows that rebellion as it spreads to the island until it is met with the Tsar's men. Brutality at the hands of these authorities is turned towards the people of revolution, to what end?

The New

1) Oppenheimer (2023)

Christopher Nolan's historical epic about the life of J. Robert Oppenheimer is subject to much debate. Weather you love it or hate it, I think it is very easy to agree that it is quite the example of America's thirst for world power. Demonstrated across characters like Truman and Groves and in general the attitude towards the Bomb.

2) Killers of the Flower Moon (2023)

Martin Scorsese's Killers of the Flower Moon is about how America continued it's genocide of indigenous people beyond manifest destiny and the early colonial days. In the 1920s, the Osage people of Oklahoma were subjected to a series of murders by white settlers to steal their wealth and lands, motivated by racial hatred and capitalistic greed. The film highlights how the American legal system was built to transfer the wealth of Osage to white settlers, as law required white guardians to manage money of many indigenous people, making them reliant on their oppressors to live within this new society.

3) The Zone of Interest (2023)

The Zone of Interest follows the life of Rudolf Höss, commandant of Auschwitz and his family in their grand house next to the concentration camp. Focusing on the proximity and contentment of the Höss family to the genocide happening on the other side of their garden wall. The film won two Oscars (sound design and best international feature) and had a notable acceptance speech from director Jonathan Glazer concerning the legacy of genocide and dehumanization.

I hope you are able to watch even one of these films, as they are all important with the history they show and the ideas they bring forward. I have a Letterboxd list with these plus some recommendations from early versions of this list and a few from my own watchlist.

Letterboxd List with more recs