Define Revolution

We’re kind of surprised it took this long but now after “The Motorcycle Diaries”, the Che’ floodgates have been opened. Steven Soderbergh’s two-part Che’ biopic, “The Argentinian” and “Guerilla”, played at Cannes and “Chevolution”, a look at the mass marketing of the iconic Che’ image have been making the festival rounds… no word on when they are showing at your local suburban multiplex – check your local listings.

As “The Motorcycle Diaries” focused on the pre-Cuba Che’, Soderbergh’s movies will be the first to depict Che’ as what this article calls “the legendary Argentinian-doctor-cum-internationalist-revolutionary.” It is noted, they neglected, “Head of Cuban Prison System”, “Castro’s strong-man”, “murderer”, “common thug” and “most-likely rapist”… hey, if the Left can gloss over some inconvenient truths about their man then certainly we can take some dramatic license with his life and accomplishments, as well.

Anyway, so what are we to make of the marketing of Che’ and the supposed irony of Che’ being co-opted in total by capitalism? Are we to take some solace that his Maoist reputation has been permanently soiled by the taint of green (the other “green”) or should it trouble us further that his “brand” which ultimately represents the restriction of free trade and commerce and repressions of liberty, thought and speech, has gone Main Street?

Frankly, it’s a lot of both so we remain torn. We love the fact that “Che’” has become the ultimate sell-out and Madison Avenue shill but we remain discouraged that through the years and with increasing frequency and vigor his actions and motives have been entirely glossed-over and worse, hailed as virtuous.

So until such time when we can come up with an equally market-viable and intellectually and morally empty response to all that is Brand Che’ we offer only, “Revolution..? We got your Revolution right here, pal.”. Oi!