Enlightenment, camera, action? Perhaps. There are a number of films that somehow make it through the cracks in Hollywood every so often that can shed some light on the roots of discontent. They entertain, while at the same time showing us in vivid technicolor and surround sound just why we feel as we do. Some provide answers, others simply show characters who we can relate to. All are worth catching.

Roger & Me
A film by Michael Moore

The ultimate David and Goliath film about an Everyman confronting corporate America. If you've ever wanted to bring the big time CEO down to the level of the rest of us, Moore is your man. He has gone on to bigger and better things, but this is where it all started. Was the biggest selling documentary ever when it was released until his newest movie broke that record.
Office Space
A film by Mike Judge

Possibly the funniest movie about work ever made. A cult classic that even the most serious can't fail to laugh at. Judge so accurately pinpoints everything that is wrong with work in a way that is sure to have you repeating the lines for years to come. Everything your friends told you is true. See it! You'll be glad you did and you'll laugh for years.
The Insider
A film starring Russell Crowe

Few companies show more flagrant disregard for the public good than the tobacco companies. And few areas of the fight against corporations have been more successful than that against the cigarette hucksters. In The Insider, Russell Crowe portrays Dr. Jeffrey Wigand, an honest to gosh real life man who quit the tobacco world, became a teacher and used his knowledge to help take them to court and hold them accountable.
Wag the Dog
A film by David Mamet

These days even an 8-year old can see through how our leaders use marketing and the media to instill fear in us, create war and keep us constantly on edge. But, it wasn't always as obvious as Bush has made it. It used to happen behind closed doors. Wag the Dog gives one of the most hilarious satires ever written about the way our leaders our deciding what the public should do...backwards isn't it?
Pleasantville
A film by Gary Ross

A film of great visual beauty and wicked satire starring Toby Maguire, Reese Witherspoon, Jeff Daniels, William H. Macy and even an appearance by good ol' Don Knotts. The movie takes a look at our culture of conformity, its roots and the importance of being true to yourself. It illuminates the fact that all of us have a true self deep down trying to come out, if we only let it.
Network
A film starring Robert Duvall

This movie was truly ahead of its time. Winner of Best Screenplay in the 70's, it predicted prophetically the deterioration of television news into a virtual circus where ratings matter and real issues fall by the wayside. The movie's protagonist, Howard Beale, is a character for the ages and has given us some of the most hilarious scenes in film, capped by the ever-famous "I'm mad as hell and I'm not going to take it anymore" scene.
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