200 (1975) by Vince Collins
Symbols of Freedom and Their Fast Approaching Obsolescence
(Runtime: 3:17)
200 by Vince Collins is a short film commissioned by the United States Information Agency (USIA), a now disbanded government agency responsible for international and domestic production and dissemination of propaganda.
I am a fan of Vince Collins, he was in the same camp as Sally Cruikshank in their philosophies on the medium and how animation can be used more abstractly and expressionistically than was the norm at the time. This is important to remember about Collins, and in the future I plan to highlight some of his other films in a more focused capacity. But unfortunately interpretation is a product of context, and context is a product of reflection. Seeing as how 200 was commissioned for the 1976 Bicentennial of the founding of the United States, and that we are now upon the Semiquincentennial, or America250 as it is being called, it is impossible to view this film for exclusively aesthetic purposes.
This film is not offensive in its content. It does not age poorly in its depictions of communities or cultures the way things of this era have a tendency to. In reality, this film says nothing at all. It is a superficial celebration of the symbols intrinsic to the American identity (not sure what the clown is about though) and nothing more. But symbols, as pointed out by Timothy Snyder in his book On Freedom, are dangerous things to cling on to:
“We say that a symbol stands for something, but all too often a symbol merely stands in for something. The American flag is supposed to stand for freedom, but it can very easily stand in for freedom. In singing the anthem, we treat its values as permanent, or as if they were enacted by the song. But praise is not practice.”
It is a crucial distinction that is far too often overlooked. The ideals of freedom have become inextricable from the American identity. The basis of this interrelation is well founded in vital elements of America’s originating aspirations. However, this ideal has become co-opted as intrinsic to the identity of America to the extent that Americans look for the definition of freedom through their actions as opposed to their actions being justified through an alignment with the definition of freedom. This corrupts the definition of freedom, bending it to the whims and fancies of those in power as they provide a default and half-assed account for their historically tried and true instances of global overreach or domestic stifling of dissent.
It is through the invocation of such symbolism and rhetoric that has enabled grifters, oligarchs, charlatans, war criminals, and white supremacists to exploit sovereign nations, immigrant communities, and the American working class. Trump’s blatant violation of international law through the kidnapping of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores is just another step in this long march. Unlike his predecessors, and some of his sycophants desperate to maintain a veneer of legitimacy, Trump barely even goes so far as to invoke the purposes of freedom and democracy building in his justification, and is quite honest – if nothing else – in his goal of re-privatizing Venezuela’s oil.
So now we are here, 50 years after 200, not even bothering to rely on superfluous symbols. Were the government to fund an equivalent film for this upcoming 250th anniversary it may as well just contain images of oil wells and Scrooge McDuck-esque bacchanals of the enriched elites.
With all that said, Vince Collins is great and this film can still be enjoyed for its alluring visual style and classically 70’s energy. Also this is a Bench Collective exclusive restoration, so that’s nice too.
Pat on the Bench