Frank Capra’s America

In the mid-90s, a mini-comeback of slasher films was ignited when Kevin Williamson wrote the screenplay for Scream. Rather than taking credit for reviving the genre, Williamson always insisted that he had actually driven the final nail in the coffin by exposing all of its tricks. See, we were the Blockbuster Generation, too savvy to be reeled in by the old conventions of horror movies. Everything had to be self-conscious, meta.

I wonder if the Culture of Patriotism is cyclical. I mean, have we become so aware of the soundbites, buzzwords, and media manipulations that we have permanently “wised up,” or is cynicism just a product of the time, easily wiped away as an era passes? I hope it’s the latter. As much as I love The Daily Show, Colbert and the like, I could deal with a little more shmaltz and a little less smirk from time to time.

I’ve been on a bit of a Capra-kick lately. That’s probably not all that unusual – Depression-era cultural symbols are pretty much staging a universal comeback. But Capra. Not Steinbeck novels or John Ford films. Capra.

Capra was a bit of an odd duck. He was a lifelong Republican whose films were accused by HUAC of featuring Communist propaganda. His screenwriters were Socialists or Roosevelt liberals; many of his stars (Jimmy Stewart, Gary Cooper…) were outspoken Right-wingers. And while his movies can be interpreted through just about any political lens, there are a few things about them that are tough to argue: 1) Americanism is an absolute good; 2) Greed and selfishness are the enemies of Americanism; 3) “The little guy” is of a higher moral quality than the elite; 4) Faith, family, community, and service are the antidotes to empty materialism and the only paths to happiness.

Even if Capra never voted for Roosevelt, his films were very definitely rooted in the ethic of the New Deal. But could it work today? Are words (and concepts) like Faith, Family, Service, and Americanism just too loaded to resonate with the New-New-Dealers? Maybe not. I mean, it only took one night – November 4 – for Grant Park to dissolve from its 1968 reality to its 2008 reality. That kind of patriotism – the kind that explicitly qualifies itself as “progressive patriotism” – made a very swift comeback. The non-political Capra-esque patriotism seems to be on an upswing as well. Maybe it’s my imagination, but people just seem nicer lately… more grounded or neighborly or something.

Last week, the Washington Post ran an op-ed by Michael Kazin titled “A Liberal Revival of Americanism” (Kazin also wrote A Godly Hero, the biography on WJB… coincidence… honest). In it, Kazin writes:

The revival of Americanism on the left is as unexpected as was Obama’s victory itself. Since liberals turned against the war in Vietnam 40 years ago, they have struggled to prove that they love their country even while opposing most of the policies of its government. Some abandoned the effort altogether, preferring to don a fresh identity as global citizens.

Global citizens. That was my instinct about the Huffington Post commenters who were critical of the House Populist Caucus and their advocacy of the Buy America plank of the stimulus bill. Many of them tried to make pro-trade arguments or draw parallels with Smoot-Hawley, but the criticism really seemed more cultural than economic. Liberals are enlightened, liberals are citizens of the world. Buying America has too much the ring of the redneck. Patriotism is for the rubes. Maybe I’m reading too much into it. Maybe I really did just stumble onto some comments written by The Economist reading Left.

Or maybe Kazin’s onto something:

…after decades in denial, progressives have finally realized that they cannot lead America if America does not hold a privileged place in their hearts.

So if optimism and Americanism can make comebacks, can the patriotic sentimentality of Frank Capra find a new relevance? I hope so. I’m getting bored with the cynics.