The First Annual Not So Humble Film Festival

Today is the anniversary of the first Cannes Film Festival (which I did not know going in to this, so thank you Bing), but that just makes this all the more appropriate.

The other day I was reminiscing about some of the films of my youth, and I realized they all had one thing in common: an unabashed, almost pornographic devotion to the glorification of American exceptionalism. Now, I’m not talking about your garden variety American exceptionalism like you might find in your typical John Wayne film or something somber and serious like The Right Stuff. I’m talking the kind of over-the-top, in your face, “America! (Fuck yeah!)” kind of American exceptionalism that was so aptly parodied by Team America: World Police. I had an idea, a delicious, awful idea, and I called on my friend Dr. Pat for help. (I should note Dr. Pat has an exceptional memory for pop culture that exceeds even my own, which made him perfect for this.)

I wanted to put together a list of films that fit the category of “American Exceptionalism Porn”. The criteria were that the film in question had to not only celebrate American greatness but had to do so in such a way as to be either over the top, in your face, utterly shameless, or patently ridiculous. We talked about it for quite a while, and I have to say I’m quite gratified with the results. While the list is dominated by action movies (and the rest of the films have at least some action in them), that’s not exactly a surprise, is it? If the theme of the festival was “Best Anime EVAR” you’d expect to see a lot of Miyazaki movies. They span 15 years, which is a bit further than I was expecting. I am not at all surprised that the bulk of the films are from the 1980s, although whether that has more to do with the nature of the times (height of the Cold War, post-Vietnam energy, etc.) or simply the fact that Dr. Pat and I are both children of the 80s and those are the movies we best remember is an open question.

Regardless, if you are interested (or just morbidly curious), here are the entries in the first annual Not So Humble Film Festival, “American Exceptionalism Porn”:

Uncommon Valor (1983)

Missing in Action (1984)

Red Dawn (1984)

Rocky IV (1985)

Rambo: First Blood Part II (1985)

Top Gun (1986)

Iron Eagle (1986)

Heartbreak Ridge (1986)

The Rescue (1988)

Navy Seals (1990)

Toy Soldiers (1991)

True Lies (1994)

Executive Decision (1996)

Independence Day (1996)

GI Jane (1997)

Air Force One (1997)

Armageddon (1998)