The Worst Movie Ever

Experts used to say that the worst movie ever made was GLEN OR GLENDA, but when we became gender neutral, the title of worst movie shifted to BIRDEMIC, a serious but loony tribute to Hitchcock. BIRDEMIC contains immortal dialogue. When one character asks another where his girl friend went, the reply is, "She's taking a shit." Caught in a squat in a field, the girl's being pecked to death by stuffed birds.

But here's a category many might not have considered. Critics agree that the worst film made by a genius is Antonioni's ZABRISKIE POINT, which we watched last night. This film is an Italian attempt to portray American student radicals in the 1960s, badly written by Sam Shepherd and poorly acted by nonprofessionals but with an explosive ending. The lead male in this film went to prison a few years later for robbing a bank in an attempt to fund another movie. In prison he died in a weight-lifting accident. The lead female married and divorced Dennis Hopper and then became a psychologist.  

I was active in the sixties, and I can say that the issues raised by this ancient anti-system film are almost exactly the issues of today, including the argument that African-Americans should lead the progressive movement. I'm looking at history repeating itself. 

The disputes are the same. The anger and misunderstandings are the same. As time passes, our brains run on biases, apparently, while we believe our fuel is reason. That's how we are built. That's why we spin in circles.