h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Wednesday, February 23, 2000

This evening my parents and I sat down to watch "The Rainmaker", a film from a couple of years ago starring Matt Damon, Danny De Vito and Jon Voight. Dad had rented it from the Video Ezy in St Agnes a few days ago, on my recommendation. I had rented it last year when I was living by the beach, and watched it twice in one day before I had to return it. I didn't rave about it to my folks - I'm careful not to shape their possible perceptions regarding movies - but I did note that they may find it entertaining.

I've always said I dig courtroom movies, prison movies and school movies, and this was no exception. I love the intelligent way lawyers are able to apply the law, although I am simultaneously disgusted when they abuse its intention. If only we could be less legalistic as a society and look more toward motives.

I see this in political correctness a great deal. An editorial in our newspaper ("The Advertiser") here in Adelaide the other day related a few examples of the stupidity of modern political correctness, where we are afraid to help others or even speak to others for fear of litigation and loss of reputation. The laws are existent, I guess, because everyone measures morals differently, even in small degrees, and so we need to have an agreed set of rules by which we can abide so (ideally) we know how the next person is going to act in any given situation.

I see this breaking down in two ways. Firstly, of course, people choose to break the law, and we do it in an infinite number of ways, often justifying it, but always contributing to the general havoc. Secondly, we stick too closely to the law and forget about human emotion and motive and feeling and the way different minds work. I think that is sad, much sadder than the first reason. It's inevitable that we will continue to break the law - we are far from perfect and sin is inherent. But the fact that we hav created rules, and then we misinterpret *our own rules* and bind ourselves by them - well, that just brings me down.

There is such a thing as freedom within the law. And I cried a few times during the film.