I finally caught The Trial of The Chicago Seven and, before I give you my capsule review, I should inform you that I am: a) a huge Aaron Sorkin fan, b) a huge Sacha Baron Cohen fan, c) a huge political junkie, and d) a huge fan of the early Chicago albums before they went treacly; which may seem a tenuous connection, until I tell you that …
The first album I ever bought with my own money was Chicago Transit Authority, the debut album from Chicago. It was only with Chicago II (they did the whole Roman numeral thing before those Super Bowl copycats) that they shortened the band name from Chicago Transit Authority (or CTA, as we hip 12-year-olds called them) to Chicago. I believe the LP (look it up kids) cost me $3.99 at Montgomery Ward (look it up kids).
“So what?”, you understandably ask.
So this. On the album’s side four (Chicago was very into the double album thing) was a sort of mini opera dedicated to the Chicago riots at the heart of the Trial of the Chicago Seven. Remember item “c” above? Well, as an eleven-year-old I remember watching with horror as Martin Luther King, Jr. was assassinated, followed only a few months later by my waking up the morning after the California primary. I was in the bathroom brushing my teeth, getting ready to go to school when my mom appeared in the doorway and told me that Bobby Kennedy had been killed the night before. I had gone to bed after an evening of watching the returns come in knowing that Bobby had won the primary, unaware that he would be gunned down minutes after I turned off the TV.
I remember that moment distinctly, a chill enveloped by body and I felt the blood drain from my face. At school none of my friends, except Randy Harris, seemed fazed by the news or even aware of it. But I do believe I could feel the collective sorrow of the teachers, especially Mr. Barellie and Mr. Knapp. It was palpable. Even to a fifth grader.
In any case, side four of Chicago Transit Authority starts with the chant heard on the streets as members of the Chicago Police Department (not all of them to be fair, but enough) were tear gassing anti-war protesters at the Democratic National Convention, cracking heads with glee and abandon, even ripping off their badges and name tags so they could attack with impunity.
That chant: “The Whole World is Watching.”
And they were.
That scene is brilliantly recreated in the movie … oh, my capsule review? Engaging, enraging, inspiring, depressing, riveting, brilliantly acted, written and directed. Side bar– why are British actors so damn good at playing Americans? Sacha Baron Cohen, Mark Rylance, Alex Sharp and Eddie Redmayne are astounding, completely disappearing in their roles. Hugh Laurie is, of course, the gold standard for this. Even though he wasn’t in this movie, he deserves a nod just because he is Hugh Laurie. In any case, if you haven’t seen it, see it.
But why?
Beyond the extraordinary artistry and the torn from the news drama, it is because it must be seen by as many Americans as possible. Now.
Yes, it is eerily reminiscent of what’s going on today … or in more accurate terms what happened last summer, that's true; but I’ll tell you another reason I think it is oh so relevant.
In the movie, as in real life, the trial is “presided” over by a judge that, were the stakes not so high and the egregiousness of his behavior not so appalling, would be a great comic character. I will not detail the many transgressions of this “judge” but, as expertly portrayed by the great Frank Langella, he is someone who instantly rankles. Over the course of the film that initial dislike devolves to utter contempt. Pun intended.
Here’s the thing. There are repeated demonstrations of this man’s bias toward the defendants, barely hidden racism, disdain for anything that might prove their innocence, and believe me there are many such instances including an especially sickening one involving Bobby Seale, co-founder of the Black Panther Party. During all this the courtroom audience remains silent. Absolutely silent.
This struck me. Why did no one stand and call out the judge? Why no disorder in the court? Was everyone concerned about following courtroom etiquette? Was everyone scared of being brutalized by the police? These people, for whatever reason, sat silent while blatant miscarriages of justice were being carried out in front of their eyes.
Fast forward to our divided nation today. Let’s be honest, many of us sit by as miscarriages of justice are carried out every day. For sake of argument, let us take the Capital Insurrection and the lackluster effort show by Republicans to make those responsible pay for their actions. Let us also take the Big Lie, as a majority of Republican leaders (and I use the term very loosely) supported the outrageous, unsubstantiated charges of a rigged election despite the facts, and despite the fact that this lie was disproved over and over and over and over again.
We heard an echo of “The Whole World is Watching” during the election as American friends and foes around the world anxiously waited to see whether we would once again stand as an inclusive democracy and a key player on the global stage, or if we would continue to isolate ourselves, insulting our friends while embracing the enemies of our state.
I believe the whole world is still watching and I think the whole world is still not sure where we stand as a country today, because we don’t stand as a country today.
Those silent members of the courtroom remind me of the silent constituents of these Republican senators and representatives. These elected officials who, despite their sworn oaths to serve the people, mostly serve themselves at the altar of the false idol they worship. Even an immensely popular and much needed program to directly help people battered by the pandemic, to raise half of our children out of poverty, to help get small business and farmers (even Black farmers!) back on their feet; even the greatest combination of stimulus and relief since the New Deal and supported by over 70% of the population (yes, even Republicans!), even that was not enough to get them off their collective ass and stand up for those whom they were elected to serve. Why? Because they fear their fearful leader? Because they didn’t understand the math involved? Because they mistook the stimulus package as targeting only those with erectile dysfunction? Because they would rather their constituents go hungry and jobless than vote for something the Democrats crafted? Who knows?
But not a one showed the backbone to do the right thing, even when the right thing couldn’t have been plainer if you named the bill: H.R. 1319 – Doing the Right Thing Act.
To me the courtroom audience and those who keep putting these craven power-hungry supplicants into office strike me as sharing many unfortunate similarities. There is injustice before their eyes, yet they do nothing.
We are not a monarchy, we are not a dictatorship (no matter how much the last guy wanted that), we are a democracy, and we effect change by voting. So as long as the Mitch McConnells, the Kevin McCarthys, the Matt Goetzes, the Rob Johnsons, the Devin Nuneses keep getting voted back into office the whole world will still be watching, but not for the reasons we may think.