Politicians with Playing Cards

"The Manchurian Candidate" (the 1962 version, not the 2004 re-make) is an extremely disturbing film, and the macabre side of me grows fonder with this Cold War classic each time I view it. It is definately one of those edgy films that doesn't pull any punches, beginning with the mind-bending Ladies Botany Club Meeting in Maoist China in the 1950s and culminating in assassination, suicide, and betrayal. From the perspective of 2005, there are quite a few things in this film that make modern audiences howl (either in laughter and/or horror at the extreme political incorrectnesss):

- There is an extreme anti-Asian bias in the film. Asians are either portrayed as sneaky villians or as stupid "Fu Manchus" (coined by the Sinatra character). American stereotypes of Asians have morphed over the years since "The Manchurian Candidate" came out, from the stupid/sneaky stereotype of the 1960s to the studious/smart stereotype of today. Personally, I have grown sick and tired of Hollywood stereotpying Asians. I can understand when it was done in the 1960s, but it still happens today! Unbelievable.

- The portrayal of the women characters as either evil witches or as dumb bimbos is unbelievable from the vantage point of 2005. Angela Lansbury (Mrs. Iselin) is a truly evil and manipulative character in the film. She is basically Hillary Clinton on acid (my apologies to any strong Democrats rooting for Hillary in 2008...).



- There is a line in the film where the Raymond Shaw character (played by Laurence Harvey) tells his new wife Jocelyn Jordan (played by Leslie Parrish) to "make like a housewife". Try telling this to a modern American woman in 2005, and you have just issued "fighting words" that will get yourself into a doghouse that you will never emerge from anytime soon.

- Frank Sinatra is great in the main role of Captain Bennett Marco. In the film, Frank Sinatra always appears to be kind of dirty and grimy. In real life, Frank Sinatra took four showers a day. I am not making this up...