• About

affecognitive

~ religion, film, affect, academia

affecognitive

Monthly Archives: July 2016

Patriotism and Capitalism: Our Kind of Traitor

12 Tuesday Jul 2016

Posted by mghamner in Uncategorized

≈ Leave a comment

our-kind-of-traitor-2016-movie-poster  There is simply not much to say about this film, though I suppose it points to a telling and true feature of our world. Our Kind of Traitor (Susanna White) is the new John Le Carré flm and it is as uninteresting as a Harlequin Romance. Like the trade paperbacks, we all know pretty well at the beginning how it’s going to end. The film’s plot is sadly straightforward and predictable, though there are a few moments when erotics and marital discord interrupt (or should I say distract) the spywork.

The image from the film I would have preferred does not seem easily available off the Web. It is the image of a corporate meeting table surrounded by British MPs and European dignitaries, all signing forms to release mafia money into private Swiss accounts. The goal of all of this staid penning is to open a bank that, I assume by trading on the NYSE, will somehow effectively launder that Russian mafia money into clean global currency. I’m not sure I understand how that really works, but it seems salient that the film need only gesture to this nose-bleed height of wealth and corruption to get its message across: today the financialization of capital and the greed of the very wealthy usurp every other human and non-human concern.

Is this message undone by the putative victories over life and money wrought by the British Secret Service? You might be able to argue that it is. All I can say is that I wasn’t convinced. The plot’s lack of closure is probably more palatable than any other ending, but it does give structural and rhetorical weight to corruption and murder, not their prevention.

Share this:

  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • More
  • Print
  • Email
  • Reddit
  • Tumblr

Like this:

Like Loading...

Subscribe

  • Entries (RSS)
  • Comments (RSS)

Archives

  • January 2021
  • November 2020
  • October 2020
  • June 2020
  • May 2020
  • April 2020
  • March 2020
  • February 2020
  • January 2020
  • November 2019
  • October 2019
  • August 2019
  • July 2019
  • April 2019
  • March 2019
  • February 2019
  • January 2019
  • December 2018
  • October 2018
  • September 2018
  • August 2018
  • July 2018
  • June 2018
  • May 2018
  • April 2018
  • March 2018
  • February 2018
  • January 2018
  • December 2017
  • September 2017
  • August 2017
  • June 2017
  • April 2017
  • February 2017
  • January 2017
  • December 2016
  • November 2016
  • August 2016
  • July 2016
  • June 2016
  • May 2016
  • April 2016
  • February 2016
  • January 2016
  • November 2015
  • October 2015
  • September 2015
  • August 2015
  • July 2015
  • May 2015
  • April 2015
  • March 2015
  • December 2014
  • November 2014
  • October 2014

Categories

  • Uncategorized

Meta

  • Register
  • Log in

Blog at WordPress.com.

Cancel
loading Cancel
Post was not sent - check your email addresses!
Email check failed, please try again
Sorry, your blog cannot share posts by email.
Privacy & Cookies: This site uses cookies. By continuing to use this website, you agree to their use.
To find out more, including how to control cookies, see here: Cookie Policy
%d bloggers like this: