God's away on business.

[constance]

I've got a list of films, and three days of empty calendar ahead of me, and I'm determined to see as many of them as I can before I return to real life. And tonight I watched the first on the list. Enron: the Smartest Guys in the Room. And God, I'm glad it was first; now I've still got days to wash the taste out of my mouth before I get back to work, and I'll need them.

All of it was simply sickening. Obscene. The arrogance, the smugness, the cronyism, the greed, the complicity -- I just sat through all of it thinking if there's anything bigger or more destructive wrong with America, I can't think what it is. A bunch of rich men getting richer at the expense of people who trust them, then disingenuously denying knowledge of any wrongdoing. It's always happened, of course, but the stakes are bigger now. More people steamrolled. More lives ruined.

You know the worst part of it? Knowing that those guys, the guys who ran Enron, the guys who profited, they're still out there. Yeah, Ken Lay's dead and Jeff Skilling and Andy Fastow are doing time. But what about the traders whose quotes are peppered through the film? Or the ones who weren't working at Enron at all -- but don't see anything wrong with what went down at Enron? Who only wish they'd been a part of it all? Because they're out there. They're running businesses and political systems and they're waiting for their chance, or they'll forget themselves and get caught up in the moment. And it will happen again.

There's an old Enron commercial that the film showcases: in it, Jeff Skilling claims, "we want to change the world." You know what my impossible dream is? That Enron does change the world. That next time this starts to happen, someone remembers Enron and its aftermath and stops it all from happening again. That one day, everyone will be appalled by stories like this.

:::

Next on the list: something fictional and frothy. I'm thinking Casino Royale.

Comments

OT

[dahlia-777.livejournal.com]

Hi sweetie. Just wanted to let you know I posted your present on Monday. If it doesn't arrive soon let me know. The post around here has been *terrible* lately so I sent my Christmas parcels off with rather more hope than confidence.

I enjoyed Casino Royale! It's not a great movie but it's a great Bond movie.

Re: OT

[tofty.livejournal.com]

I got it!!!!! It was waiting for me today when I got home, and luckily, Leory-the-Mail-Eater hadn't got to it first.

I'm so excited about this! I've never seen the series, but it sounds like absolutely the kind of thing I like, and about bookstores, hooray! (I've never dared to watch the one bookstore sitcom we have here, which is a Pamela Anderson vehicle, of all things.)

Thank you so much, Dahlia! You are too generous, honestly -- but I do love your presents. :D

Re: OT

[dahlia-777.livejournal.com]

Oh good, I'm relieved you got it! Bernard Black is the rudest bookshop owner in the world, so I thought you'd get some vicarious enjoyment out of it.

Thank you for generously continuing to host my website. It's much appreciated. *Hugs*.

[amelia-eve.livejournal.com]

Oh gosh, you have just articulated why I think I may never find the right time to watch that film and stomach it.

I am all for seeing Casino Royale in the theater. Lots of luxe settings that deserve to be seen in detail, and emo Bond is very, very sexy. Plus, exciting chase scenes, witty banter, and big explosions!

[tofty.livejournal.com]

Well, I will say that although Enron was a strain to watch -- there were times during the watching of it that I was literally shaking with rage -- I don't regret seeing it. I doubt you would either, but yeah, you do have to pick your moment. :/

I never did get round to seeing Casino Royale this weekend, and even though I saw plenty of other things instead, I'm regretting it now, because you're absolutely right: Bond films are best viewed larger-than-life. I hope it's still showing on the weekend, and if it is, I vow to you that I will see it.