Hidden City: Looking for Hugo

"So help me God," they all recited, with such stirring conviction I forgot to grimace at the ever-present specter of the church in state proceedings. Then INS field-office director Robert Hodgson stepped to the podium to remind everyone that the United States admits more than a million legal immigrants per year -- more than the rest of the world's countries combined -- and I got this weird burning sensation in my chest. Took me a minute to identify it as pride.

The feeling lasted until the end of Hodgson's speech.

That's when he directed the audience's attention toward a big video screen. "We would like to present a film to you now," he said, "that depicts the greatness of this nation, coupled with the singing of Lee Greenwood with his rendition of 'God Bless the USA.'"

"God Bless the USA." A sickly-sweet country-pop anthem that distills every patriotic cliché to its brainless essence. No wonder it's been unabashedly co-opted by the American right wing since it first hit the airwaves in 1984. Ronald Reagan chose it as the theme song of his second presidential campaign. In the wake of September 11, George W. resurrected it as the unofficial soundtrack for the war on terrorism. And now, at a supposedly nonpartisan court proceeding, 3,500 new citizens were forced to endure this song while giant images of waterfalls and wheat threshers were burned into their retinas. Many movies feature brainwashing sequences like this. A Clockwork Orange. The Parallax View. Scary movies about corruption.

The song ended, and the ceremony continued with a lovely rendition of the national anthem. On the way to the parking lot, a group of partisan activists urged new citizens to register to vote. The Republican was yelling the loudest. The Green Party guy wasn't yelling at all.

--Rico Gagliano

Das Iliad

"Wolfgang Petersen has signed on to direct and produce the epic Troy for Warner Bros. Pictures and Village Roadshow Pictures. Production is slated to begin in spring 2003 . . .

'Of [the] two projects I have developed at Warner Bros., I had hoped to make Troy first and am pleased that the scheduling worked out that way,' Petersen said. 'I'm looking forward to directing Batman vs. Superman in the future.'

Troyis an adaptation of classic The Iliad, a story set against the Trojan War and the rivalry between Achilles and Hector. The studio will likely focus first on casting Achilles."

--Daily Variety, August 13, 2002

Tobey or Vin? Tobey or Vin . . .