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mark said:
INT. OPERATIONS – ANGLE ON HUDSON
looking decidedly stressed-out. He grips his rifle
tightly, AIMED RIGHT AT CAMERA.
HUDSON
(intense)
I say we grease this rat-fuck
son of a bitch right now!
THE GROUP is gathered around Burke who sits in a
chair, maintaining an icy calm although beads of
sweat betray intense concealed tension. Only a few
minutes have passes and everyone is still buzzed on
adrenaline, as if the whole group is charged with
high voltage.
HICKS
(pacing)
I don’t get it. It doesn’t
make any Goddamn sense.
This scene reminded me of the footage where the Romanian army had the Ceaucescus in late 1989 and, after hearing Elana’s pleas that “you are all my children”, a tribunal officer sort of sez “fuck this” and leads them out to be shot.
I remember it because it effectively raises a few questions about justice and closure. In the case of the Ceaucesus and Mussilinis, the public spirit was so full of hate that immediate retribution was required; yet after their quick execution there were many who asked: “It’s over? Where’s the payback? Why weren’t they made to suffer?”
In recent times we have seen the same sort of thing. Saddam, for example, was pretty quickly executed (by a US influenced kangaroo court, which obviously didn’t want him ranting and raving about double-edged US foreign policy circa 1980-1990), while Milosovich – who was arguably a greater mass murderer – was given a full run in the Hague (to the point that he was able to mock witnesses in ridiculous cross examinations). Then there was the death of Bin Laden, who was unceremonioulsy dumped at sea, and Gadaffi, who had a bayonet shoved up his arse by an angry street crowd before being snuffed.
Personally, I don’t believe the people of Italy, Romania, Iraq or Libya were given full closure with the way their despots were quickly desposed of in the name of justice. They should have all been given a full bells and whistles trial before being executed, just so the people who were affected by them could watch them suffer. Also, I’m sure the rapid elimination and disposal of Bin Laden broke a few hearts and left a few desires unanswered.
Which gets back to this scene in Aliens. The spur of the moment greasing of Reisner would have made us all feel a little happier, and goodness knows he deserved it. But it was better that he was forced to meet his fate (albeit brief) knowing that he was being punished for his sins. In other words, we popcorn eaters got some closure because he died at the hand of the aliens rather than at the hands of a kangaroo court.
And no, I have seen neither version of I Spit on Your Grave, although I didn’t argue against the microwave scene at the end of the Last House on the Left remake. My only gripe was that Tony Goldwyn did it all just a bit too quick.
# 15 April 2012 at 12:00 am

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