Whether or not Goldthwait was influenced by Lindsay Anderson's 1968 film 'If', these two satires bear a striking resemblance.
Firstly, both are anti-Establishment. In the case of 'If', anti-British Establishment of public school, upper class officer caste, and Church of England as Conservative Party at Prayer (the CoE has changed a lot since 1968!). In the case of 'God Bless America', anti-Media Establishment which makes money by dumbing down & anti a wide scattering of Conservative America, including racists, homophobes, anti-Semites & the Religious Right. Trash Culture is the main target but this is slippery customer to pin down which is why the 'exploited retard' is gunned down at the end. Apparently, any desire for TV fame is fair game for Goldthwait.
Secondly, the main protagonists appear to be normal people who are driven to murder & mayhem by a profound sense of disgust at the values which are accepted as good by the majority. Cruelty in 'If' is encapsulated by the famous flogging scene & institutionalised bullying allowed by public school teachers as a way of controlling pupils. In 'God Bless America' we have media owners encouraging audience bullying of a retarded contestant. The protagonist, rightly, says this is on the same level as cruelties witnessed in the Coliseum. Heavy hints of American & Roman Empires in moral decline.
Thirdly, both films have surreal elements, probably to suggest that the violence & gore are a fantasy & nothing else.
Fourthly, both films end with a shoot out between the protagonists and the forces of Conservatism & Reaction. The violent end of 'If' seems a little out of place against the cloistered setting of an English public school & the only handle Anderson was able to use was the school's Cadet Corps which gave weapons training to its pupils. Goldthwait has no problem using America's love affair with the gun throughout 'God Bless America' & even uses one murder scene to throw in a quip about gun control politics. The gun dealer scene is very good indeed.
Fifthly, each film is a morality tale explaining Liberal dislikes of Conservative values, especially where these produce cruelty & injustice. Both are uneven in the writing. Anderson had a much narrower target in the British Establishment. Goldthwait has to take into account the wider complicity of the Great American Public in trash culture and, accordingly, a lot of ordinary people get wasted.
The idea of liberals using the gun to exact revenge is the thing that most jars with each film. Violence is the hallmark of the Right, antipathy to violence, that of the Left. Cinematically, shoot outs have much to recommend them. They end the films with a big emotional punctuation mark. Could better writing have produced better satires without the violence? Violence will attract more of the audience that Goldthwait is satirising but I doubt most of them would get it. Liberals like myself may be left feeling a little dissatisfied that he has to use banality in order to critique banality.
Action or words? At the end of the day, this is a matter of personal taste. There is a lot of fine writing in 'God Bless America'. For me, the best line in the film is, "Why have a civilisation any more if we are no longer interested in being civilised?" Films like this need to be made & fine writing alone is unlikely to sustain audience attention. However, it is a great pity that in order to critique the Right, the Left must indulge in the same narrative as the Right. Kindly people dishing out death doesn't really work.
Firstly, both are anti-Establishment. In the case of 'If', anti-British Establishment of public school, upper class officer caste, and Church of England as Conservative Party at Prayer (the CoE has changed a lot since 1968!). In the case of 'God Bless America', anti-Media Establishment which makes money by dumbing down & anti a wide scattering of Conservative America, including racists, homophobes, anti-Semites & the Religious Right. Trash Culture is the main target but this is slippery customer to pin down which is why the 'exploited retard' is gunned down at the end. Apparently, any desire for TV fame is fair game for Goldthwait.
Secondly, the main protagonists appear to be normal people who are driven to murder & mayhem by a profound sense of disgust at the values which are accepted as good by the majority. Cruelty in 'If' is encapsulated by the famous flogging scene & institutionalised bullying allowed by public school teachers as a way of controlling pupils. In 'God Bless America' we have media owners encouraging audience bullying of a retarded contestant. The protagonist, rightly, says this is on the same level as cruelties witnessed in the Coliseum. Heavy hints of American & Roman Empires in moral decline.
Thirdly, both films have surreal elements, probably to suggest that the violence & gore are a fantasy & nothing else.
Fourthly, both films end with a shoot out between the protagonists and the forces of Conservatism & Reaction. The violent end of 'If' seems a little out of place against the cloistered setting of an English public school & the only handle Anderson was able to use was the school's Cadet Corps which gave weapons training to its pupils. Goldthwait has no problem using America's love affair with the gun throughout 'God Bless America' & even uses one murder scene to throw in a quip about gun control politics. The gun dealer scene is very good indeed.
Fifthly, each film is a morality tale explaining Liberal dislikes of Conservative values, especially where these produce cruelty & injustice. Both are uneven in the writing. Anderson had a much narrower target in the British Establishment. Goldthwait has to take into account the wider complicity of the Great American Public in trash culture and, accordingly, a lot of ordinary people get wasted.
The idea of liberals using the gun to exact revenge is the thing that most jars with each film. Violence is the hallmark of the Right, antipathy to violence, that of the Left. Cinematically, shoot outs have much to recommend them. They end the films with a big emotional punctuation mark. Could better writing have produced better satires without the violence? Violence will attract more of the audience that Goldthwait is satirising but I doubt most of them would get it. Liberals like myself may be left feeling a little dissatisfied that he has to use banality in order to critique banality.
Action or words? At the end of the day, this is a matter of personal taste. There is a lot of fine writing in 'God Bless America'. For me, the best line in the film is, "Why have a civilisation any more if we are no longer interested in being civilised?" Films like this need to be made & fine writing alone is unlikely to sustain audience attention. However, it is a great pity that in order to critique the Right, the Left must indulge in the same narrative as the Right. Kindly people dishing out death doesn't really work.