Appraisal: This is my second viewing. Upon my first viewing I was quite enthusiastic about this documentary, considering it a fascinating anthropological study. I cooled down a little upon my second viewing, as some of my old thoughts were, I think, induced by the film's self enhancing discourse. This is not to say that I did not have fun watching it. I did. And, as for anthropological implications, they are interesting too, no doubt about that. But some of the interviewees gave the impression that they were striving for weirdness, and that is not cool. As for the "authentic" ones, my reductionist theory is that they identify with the militaristic aspects of the series. The US. have, after all, become a militaristic country, as of the sixties (or earlier), and that shows in pop culture too. Even the clothing fixation has to do I think with the military mind. Uniforms are an essential part of the military world. There is also a religious characteristic to the whole thing that shows in the collecting obsession (many religions place great value on objects and images). So I would say that it all boils down to some kind of militaristic religion, and that is all about the US. In a way, it is more representative of the real American culture than, say, Christianity. I wouldn't be surprised if it completely replaced Christianity in, say, a couple of hundred years.
Anyway I am downgrading this film a little and removing it from my list of favorite movies of 1997, of which it was the 25th.
Rating: 67
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