Great minds all agree a healthy dose of paranoia does the body good. But just like any societally induced psychosis, there are good kinds and bad kinds. Stephen King once said, “Perfect paranoia is perfect awareness.” So where does that leave imperfect paranoia? Somewhere on the corner of Capitol Hill and Jan. 6.
The half-cocked takeover of the U.S. Capitol is a great example of paranoia gone awry. Spurred on by internet forums and the rapidly deflating parade float of President Trump, thousands of QAnon sufferers and Pizzagate enthusiasts descended on Washington, D.C., to forcefully exercise their delusions in public. It was a sad day in American history, one that resembled the after-hours parking lot of a Ted Nugent concert more than a revolution.
Now, a mere 45 million seconds after the sordid events of Jan. 6, congressional hearings have finally commenced. And Congress is so ready for game day that they’re airing the whole thing live for all to see. In fact, every major news outlet is streaming it (except for Fox News, of course).
But can the excitement of unpacking America’s latest failed coup d’etat compete with the ratings of Stranger Things season 4? Or will the ultimate binge-watch about democracy-on-the-brink be a total dud like the rest of C-SPAN?
Whatever the ratings, one thing is all too clear: Airing the investigation into the Jan. 6 Capitol riots is like televising a football game. Because lamentably, there are only two teams and everyone already knows which side they’re on. So while we hope the truth scores a few touchdowns, we’ll be too busy watching these much more riveting movies about government paranoia to cheer. (But send us the highlights when the game’s over and let us know who lost.)
Cover Photo: Warner Bros. Pictures
6 paranoid govt movies Jan 6
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'The Parallax View' (1974)
Are there any honest journalists out there anymore? Or has a strange group known as The Parallax Corporation wiped them all out? See for yourself as Warren Beatty runs from the powerful shadow organization after digging too deeply into the assassination of a senator.
Loosely based on the real-life assassination of Robert Kennedy, the film borrows a little from the big set pieces of Hitchcock and the subversive dystopia of A Clockwork Orange. With a sprinting pace that just won't quit, you'll easily forget the political woes of your current day society as you root for Beatty to outrun his captors.
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'The Conversation' (1974)
Contrary to popular opinion at the time, Francis Ford Coppola's The Conversation was not inspired by Watergate. Instead, it borrows the intrigue of Blow-Up's photo session murder mystery and transports it to the medium of sound to great effect.
After a surveillance expert (played by Gene Hackman) is hired by an unknown client to record the conversation of an innocuous couple, he discovers his recording may contain a murder plot. As obsession consumes him, his paranoid mind begins to manufacture a distorted worldview. (Sound familiar?) Boasting one of Hackman's greatest performances, this classic is a heady reminder that someone is always watching. (Put down the ice cream.)
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'Blow Out' (1981)
If you think Blow Out is a blatant ripoff of Blow-Up and The Conversation, you're not just a paranoiac, you're absolutely right. It is. And yet, Brian de Palma manages to ride the auteur's town bicycle to great new heights. (It's one of Quentin Tarantino's desert island picks for a reason.)
Featuring Jon Travolta as a guy who happens to witness a car crash while out recording sound for a movie, Blow Out slowly churns out a government conspiracy plot about the killing of a presidential candidate that makes Jan. 6 look like Driving Miss Daisy. With stakes that high, a murderous John Lithgow as the baddie, and an ending that will leave you as despondent as 2022, what's not to love?
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'The Manchurian Candidate' (1962 or 2004)
Released in the midst of the Cold War, John Frankenheimer's thriller about a soldier brainwashed to become a Soviet sleeper agent still resonates today. For those who disdain the false patriotism wielded by politicians to snag votes and buy into the idea that every person in power has an entity backing them, this masterpiece of paranoia cinema is something to snuggle up with during your long, lonely nights of existential angst. Jonathan Demme's remake is no slouch either, shifting the brainwashing duties from Ruskies to big corporations in a way that feels right on the money.
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'They Live' (1988)
John Carpenter's most underrated movie is like a slice ripped straight out of Pizzagate. The story revolves around a nameless drifter who stumbles upon a pair of special sunglasses that allows him to see the truth: the ruling elites are actually aliens using mass media to manipulate all of mankind.
While neo-Nazis and unhinged conspiracy theorists can totes relate (for all the wrong reasons), the film is actually a dig at the economic policies of Ronald Reagan and the excesses of runaway capitalism. As depressing as that sounds, it's a really fun ride.
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'V For Vendetta' (2005)
No list of government overthrow movies would be complete without this modern tale about the rebirth of Guy Fawkes. (Even if you haven't seen the movie, you'll recognize the mask.) Based on the comic book of the same name and borrowing heavily from the tonal palate of The Matrix, this story of a naïve orphan falling under the protection of England's most wanted rebel is a strange mix of tragedy and triumph. It suggests that social victories need both a lone hero and a nation of people to come true. (So yeah, basically the stuff of fantasy.)
Despite author Alan Moore washing his hands of the film, the initially-mediocre voyage into dystopian states has somehow gotten better with time. Wish we could say the same for our sense of paranoia.
