Made in the U.S.A.

The modern age is a fractured experience. Mass communication moves popular culture all over the globe in an instant. As the youth of the world orients itself to the latest fad another emerges to momentarily replace the current rage destined to be replaced by the one vanquished two steps back. It is a cycle that has been spinning for decades while political intrigue drastically reshapes the world seemingly unnoticed by the culture slaves. In the 1960s, the sequence was foretold as a strengthening wave of the future. Pop artists put the trend into museums and Jean-Luc Godard put it onto celluloid with his little known feature, Made in the U.S.A.

Finally getting a theatrical run in America 40 years after it was made; the film is required viewing not only for any fan of Godard but also because it is still relevant to life in the 21st century. The famous rebel flaunting cinematic convention while honoring the history of film, Godard hits the mark with Made in the U.S.A. Awash in pop culture’s kodachrome glory, the movie follows a skeletal narrative form. Anna Karina plays Paula Nelson, a detective embroiled in a murder mystery she only vaguely cares to solve. Scene to scene she appears in the latest fashionable clothing occasionally obscured by a Bogart inspired trench coat she wears when she feels like playing the detective. The plot itself is almost impossible to follow; which is precisely the point.

The clothing, books, and music serve as a distraction. The important pieces of the narrative are lost through Nelson’s infatuation with the trivial. She admits, “Fiction overtakes reality,” as her interest in finding the truth behind the mystery continues to wane. Eventually, Nelson concocts a contrived conclusion to the story and leaves town, seemingly oblivious that anything of importance has occurred.

Made in the U.S.A. should feel familiar. With more and more competing for our popular culture attention, it is easy to forget the forces forging the world around us. The news pops in and out of our cognitive minds becoming just another piece of entertainment, a fad. Our attention fractures as Natalee Holloway becomes Laci Peterson who turns into Jon and Kate Gosslin wearing skinny jeans downloading the latest app to our iphones playing musical distractions from General Motors and Kim Jong Il and we wonder if any of it is of any importance.