Modern America's TOP 100 Culturally Significant Movies: #100

Directed by Alan Parker and written by Roger Waters, R. Martin Basso submits PINK FLOYD THE WALL as #100 on his list of the most culturally significant movies impacting, influencing and molding all that constitutes 21st Century modern America.

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OVERVIEW ..........

In 1982 I was fifteen years old.

Looking back, one of my few memories of the 'young lust' (pun intended) of teenage adolescence, was standing in line to purchase admission into The Wall. Teenage adolescence implies, almost by its mere sophomoric design, a certain sense of impatience. In my immaturity, I remember wondering why Pink Floyd's album had taken such a "long time" to have been translated to film.

The movie's arrival had taken a full three years after The Wall's initial 1979 musical release. To a fifteen-year-old, those three years amounted to about 20% of my then life-to-date so, yeah, it was quite a big deal.

Using that same ratio today, it would be like me waiting a tad over eight years.

Reflecting back today on that night, almost 30 years ago, I remember being transfixed upon the screen as the life and the events of mythical rocker Pink unfolded in Scarfe's trademark dizzying array of flavors and colors.

Once the experience was over, while walking from the theater, I became immediately aware of just where those three years went and why it took as long as it did to translate The Wall to cinema.

With the millions of hours credited to cinematic history to date, these 96 minutes are epic.

Based upon Pink Floyd's 1979 musical album of the same title, Pink Floyd The Wall chronicles the rise and fall of supposed British rock-n-roller sex symbol "Pink," played to immaculate perfection by Boomtown Rats lead singer, and Live Aid coordinator, Sir Bob Geldof.

Set in the cinematic duality of both ‘real life' and animated caricature by renowned political cartoonist Gerald Scarfe, PFTW uses both mediums to interweave Pink's collection of neuroses, addictions, childhood abuse, fears and desires.

Once the money-making potential of Pink becomes realized by those in his life who stood to in some way profit, Pink ceased being a human and became a cash cow for various parasites feeding from his talents.

Pink finds acceptance of himself, as well as the visage of managing his empty and ill-spent youth, through traditional escapism vices: alcohol, sex and narcotics. As Pink collapses inwardly, he realizes that in order to find himself he must confront his fears and extricate himself from the addictions to which he's become addicted and grown "comfortably numb."

PFTW is brilliant in its horrifying multiple realities, it's complex music and the beautiful blending of various visual mediums. With Pink Floyd (the band) holding so many milestones throughout their 45 year career, THE WALL is their perfect crowning achievement graciously acting as contribution to and celebration of themselves.

SO, WHY IS THIS MOVIE CULTURALLY SIGNIFICANT TO MODERN AMERICA ..........

PFTW was a bridge between echoes of our cultural past and a visionary glimpse of the supposed future. PFTW is an example of the powerful imagery and the moving beauty that actual hand-rendered artwork can command.

Amongst varying art and music societies and committees, PFTW is largely regarded as the last truly great, truly iconic hand-created animation super movie, much along the lines of it's ground-breaking Beatles-infused cousin, Yellow Submarine of the late 1960's.

As personal computer animation, stop frame animation and Henson-oriented character puppets began to saturate 1980's movies, the cultural significance of PFTW is that is officially ushers out handcrafted movie art, stepping aside for the CGI revolution witnessed today.

This film is epic and arrives as modern America's 100th most culturally significant movie.

Next installment (#99) Coming Soon... What is it? Here's a Hint: #99 is the only "Made For Television" mini-series on the list ... And, no, it's not "Roots" or "The Thorn Birds."

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THIS MOVIE IDENTIFIES MOST STRONGLY WITH THE FOLLOWING SOCIETAL THEME(S): Religious Identity, Sexual Identity, Political Affiliation, Escapism, Creative Ingenuity, Social Consciousness.

THIS MOVIE EXEMPLIFIES THE FOLLOWING HOLY VIRTUE(S): Humility.

THIS MOVIE'S PERSONIFIES THE FOLLOWING DEADLY SIN(S): Lust, Greed, Pride, Wrath.

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WHAT IS A 'SOCIETAL THEME'?: The author recognizes seven 'Societal Themes' which bind our civilization together; sort of like the "glue" of our culture, so to speak, which constitutes our modern American society.

These seven themes are: (1) Religious Identity, (2) Sexual Identity, (3) Political Affiliation, (4) Escapism, (5) Creative Ingenuity, (6) Social Consciousness, and (7) Financial Soundness.

As the author believes, we all encompass at least one of these seven societal theme elements in that which makes us who, individually, we are. Of course, we more than likely are comprised of several themes blended together. If we look at where our Modern American culture stands today, we can see anything from any one of these societal themes, up to all seven collectively representing Modern America in the most pronounced medium that represents our culture: Cinema.

Cinema is the only medium capable of delivering all other supporting creative mediums - art, dance, music, drama, comedy - that tell our respective 'stories' all at once. Any of these individually come close to defining our species, but only cinema is capable of melding all together at once into one collective sensory experience.

As a tool to gauge a society's progression and development of self, the author uses Societal Themes as one of three guages (the other two being the traditional Seven Deadly Sins and Seven Holy Virtues) by which the significance of each film on this list is evaluated for inclusion into the Top 100 Culturally Significant Movies Influencing Modern America.

There are Seven Holy Virtues which both religious tradition, and later Western idealism, recognize as being facets of our human condition: (1) Chastity, (2) Temperance, (3) Charity, (4) Diligence, (5) Patience, (6) Kindness, and (7) Humility. The Holy Virtues are the second of three tools used to gauge a movie's placement or inclusion, as well as exclusion, on or from this list..

The third gauge used to evaluate each movie on this list is the Seven Deadly Sins. These are our respective Achilles' Heels, as a species, to which we are all subject. As with their cousins, the Seven Holy Virtues (which exault the goodness in humanity), the Seven Deadly Sins do essentially the opposite; they reveal our dark side. Initially published as religious doctrine, these 'sins' have today evolved far beyond mere religion and have equally come to represent humanity, or in our specific case, Modern America.

The Seven Deadly Sins are: (1) Lust, (2) Gluttony, (3) Greed, (4) Sloth, (5) Wrath, (6) Envy, and (7) Pride.

For more on R. Martin Basso's EVALUATION STANDARDS: http://hubpages.com/hub/List-Evaluation-Criteria

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© 2008 - R. MARTIN BASSO & 3 Doves Media

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Pink Floyd images, artwork and photographs cited in this article are used with the implicit intent of promoting Pink Floyd The Wall with no financial gain whatsoever by the article's author. All imagery, artwork and photographs from Pink Floyd The Wall cited and used in this article remain the exclusive copyrighted property and material of MGM/UA and Roger Waters/Pink Floyd management. Any breech is unintended.

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