I wish they'd given me a more comfortable chair

Image by mtsofan via Flickr

When you leave one job for another it naturally calls a person's loyalty into question, but is there such a thing as loyalty left in the business world?

Not too long ago workers committed themselves to one employer for a lifetime and their employer in return would guarantee job security and attainable rungs of the corporate ladder. This is no longer the case. Business got too big and the people got lost in the growth. Employees are assigned employee numbers, and are identified as such on paperwork, in their logins, and in the barcode on their security badges. Their salaries are now expenses, and when the black line falls these expenses are the first to be cut. The gold watch appreciation days have been retired, an achievement so many aging workers now struggle for, regardless of the hue of their collar. Workers are expendable. We are an exhaustable resource, and most of us have settled into the concept far too easily.

The American worker is made to feel lucky to have a job and, out of fear and a degradation of self-worth, we cling to the mediocre and the menial wages. We're scared and timid and alone. We've given in, content to be nameless and faceless because we are also hopeless, having replaced our dreams with cable TV and goals with late night drive-thrus. Most unfortunate is that the hardest workers are the slowest to learn. Those men and women have yet to discover that there is no reward for quality and no acknowledgment for outstanding diligence. They don't accept that early starts and late stays aren't recorded in their files. They can't grasp that management will no longer be hired from within. And they'll be shocked when they're replaced for half the pay by a pre-conditioned college grad with no experience.

Corporate America asks us to keep personal lives out of the workplace because from the managerial side the concept is already well established. When a loyal employee is fired because of cutbacks or any other term meant to strip humanity or blame from the occurrance, it is still personal. So why is there no rioting? Why aren't the millionaires who initiate these mass layoffs pulled from their mansions and beaten?

Examples should be made. Warnings should be issued. Fires should ignite!

The abandonment of emotion is our biggest problem as people and the reason for this perpetual and accepted atrocity of hollow, heartless industry. A job is still a very personal thing. A career defines you and where you work speaks to your ethics and beliefs. An array of emotion is expressed in the office. We get angry and frustrated. We have pride in our success. When we are forced to leave it hurts.

Years of mistreatment and disloyalty from enterprise giants have created a workforce that is just as expendable and indifferent as they're expected to be, and maybe one day this weakened foundation will cause the tower to fall. Until then or until we awaken from our pacification there can be no notion of selfish behavior. Loyalty can no longer be questioned as anyone who wants to achieve must only do what is best for them. Anyone who wants to stand out and move up has to be a self promoter. If you work hard, make sure everyone knows it and demand compensation. Don't be afraid to quit.

I have been given an opportunity for growth in my particular industry and it means leaving my current employer. The work I've done has not been unrewarding and my employers have not been unkind. None the less, I'm taking my own advice and doing what I think is best for me. I can't possibly know how this decision will turn out, but I'm not afraid.

Movie Snob Review: District 9

District 9, from virtually unknown director Neill Blomkamp, already has a good following at theaters and all around favorable reviews. Blomkamp has a visual effects/3D animation background so it's not unexpected that his first major solo feature length film would have aliens, explosions, fictional tech gadgetry and other opportunities to display CG prowess. That said, it's good to stick to one's strengths and Blomkamp does a more than fine job at integrating digital characters and effects into the film's South African landscape.

District 9 is an expansion on Blomkamp's short film Alive in Joburg (YouTube video on the left) from 2005 and is backed by equally unknown production companies QED International and Key Creatives. The only recognizable name in this whole movie, actors included, is Peter Jackson who backs as a third producer with WingNut Films. (aside: For all of you who think PJ is flawless go back and take a look at King Kong again if you dare. For bonus confusion dig deeper and watch Meet the Feebles. Based on that movie alone I still don't know how he got to do Lord of the Rings.)


Synopsis:

After almost thirty years of the aliens' residence in District 9, an eroded relationship with the locals and the overall indifference of mankind results in delegating alien affairs to the private company Multi-National United, a group only interested in exclusive rights and mastery of alien weaponry. Wikus Van De Merwe, (I know) is a doting husband and dedicated employee of MNU, seemingly unaware of his own evil nature and disconnected treatment of the alien species as living organisms. After he is exposed to a physically altering substance, Wikus becomes ostracized from his family and colleagues and goes on the run, hunted by both his company and a gang of Nigerian thugs who see profit and power in his mysterious transformation.

The movie is a blend of documentary and regular cinematic story telling that is interesting but results in a loss of cohesion. I realize the documentary style would have been hard to continue through the particulars of this expanded story and may have lost some of the audience, but I would have preferred Blomkamp had been dedicated to one style only. Even with Alive in Joburg's effective all documentary style, the difficulties of both believability and compelling story capture when shooting exclusively first person are enhanced with feature length films. I think for District 9 a complete abandonment of the documentary style from the movie would have been more favorable.

The supporting cast is mediocre and give little depth to their world or their people, both human and alien. No actor besides Sharlto Copley (Wikus) really stands out. Copley does a great job with a character who starts off very two dimensional and then is forced into emotional extremes throughout the film, especially as he has to explore cross-species compassion during his desperate struggle to remain human. The lead alien Christopher Johnson has his own emotional range and, especially when interacting with his young son, shows us that there might be something worth protecting and saving with these creatures. However, even with the cruelty to the collective aliens and Johnson's "performance", I don't easily feel a yearning for their survival or escape. The explanation that most of the aliens are drones and only carry out orders gives reason for emotional vacancy from the majority, but it doesn't help me root for them. It also doesn't help that Johnson's face doesn't easily convey his feelings and his digital eyes appear as just that.

Despite the alien experimentation in the movie, it is humanity that is ultimately under the microscope for the audience. There are early highlights of generosity and sympathy toward the shipwrecked alien group when district 9 is constructed as a "temporary" camp that provides food and medical care for the other worldly refugees. However, as time passes and the story unfolds, the key human characters are shown as heartless, angry, and eager to destroy the alien minority, only after greedily extracting their useful technology. There are parallels to real life district 6 of Cape Town, South Africa which involved forced relocation of 60,000 non white inhabitants from the area during the time of apartheid. I guess this is supposed to be obvious to a largely uneducated American audience, but this historical analogy falls short in its efforts at transference to a completely alien race. District 9 is basically an action and gore film, and does well in both areas, but its attempts at anything deeper in character or plot fall short and fizzle. I'm sure it will continue to do well in theaters however, and find equal success with other action films of this summer. If you were satisfied with Terminator 4 then you'll probably enjoy District 9 just as well if not slightly more.

Rating:
6 out of 10

Blomkamp was also reportedly set to direct the upcoming Halo movie, also to be backed by Peter Jackson. They collaborated on some Halo shorts which looked to solidify the partnership for the full length movie but I'm not absolutely sure this is still concrete information. However, with the already successful release of District 9 I don't see why this agreement would go unfulfilled.

Goodbye John Hughes

Image by MacQ via Flickr

I knew I had reached a point of no return in my stealthy maturation when I began consistently refusing every new offering from the youth fueled media and clothing industry. I cannot connect with teens of today. Lawful restrictions aside, I fail to establish any intimate understanding of teenagers or their interests, outlooks, styles, and actions. This landscape however was one in which film legend John Hughes could stroll through comfortably and confidently, despite his handicap of being an adult.

Though he had a limited directing career, every movie he crafted was a comedic and dramatic gem. Like early Spielberg, Hughes knew how to get an emotional depth from his actors that made them more than just characters. He embraced his audience and catered to them, feeding my generation bittersweet spoonfuls of our own angst and humor. As a writer I admire Hughes' ability to tell great stories, build memorable characters, and construct dialogue that can be both endearing and hilarious.

I don't know if current teens appreciate or are even aware of John Hughes and his cinematic canon. I don't need to list his accomplishments, as the people who know, know and the people who don't, don't matter. The mostly thirty-something fans who can join me in fond memory of Hughes feel his loss the most. We may not connect with the teens of today, but when viewing any Hughes masterpiece we can connect with the teens we used to be.

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