A Clear Eyesight

I stared at a dollar bill the other day so that I could try and discover the significance of an object that drivers our American society. The bill weighed nearly anything, and the unappealing design seemed Greek like. I noticed three major characteristics on the piece of paper. The bill featured George Washington, the phrase, "In God We Trust", and in bulking letters, The United States of America. I didn’t think much about these characteristics or the dollar bill for that matter. I knew that the note had little value, and was merely a tiny feature in a world economy. I knew that if I tore the bill into hundreds of tiny little pieces that nothing would happen. I wouldn’t hurt anyone or anything, and I wouldn’t cause damage to my environment by committing the act. The bill seemed pretty arbitrary, unrealistic, and powerless, as I thought about destroying the piece of paper.

But then I began thinking of the bill in a way that society taught to me to think about the currency. The bill is more than a note, but rather a symbol. Society trained me to think that the piece of paper is a key to freedom. The bill would get me anything and take me anywhere; so long as if I worked hard for it, I could have it.

I then began to look past my societal training, and I tried to look even deeper. I discovered that the piece of paper is more than a piece of paper, although, the note does not symbolize freedom. In fact, it’s meaning is entirely opposite to the autonomy that our society strives for. The bill oppresses us, and the three features that I had noticed re-enforces our oppression. The bill is an illusion that we come to depend on, and the illusion masks us from seeing the back-ally deals by the higher-powers. The higher-powers, or aristocrats, control these bills, and they use their power to take natural resources from the oppressed, because the resources generate more power. The faces on the bill, such as George Washington, protect the higher powers’ interests, and the oppressed are left with no resources, and a misinterpreted reality.

Robert Redford directed the film, "The Milagro Bean Wars", in order to change the public’s consciousness on our disillusioned reality. Redford uses long, wide-angle shots in order to capture lands that are usually overlooked by society’s false reality. He also creates a reality where relationships in a small town are far more important than the building of a new commercial business. Redford displays a rural town, and humble people with little material things. However, these people see past material objects, and they work just enough to get by. They take from the land and it’s resources in order to survive, and nothing more. Redford’s characters are a rare group in an American society that look past society’s illusion, and see the world with clear eyes.

The plot evolves around Joe Monragon, and his defiance against the New Mexican government, as he plants a bean field with water that is not his. Joe is one of the last remaining locals whom haven’t sold out yet to the town’s aristocrat, Ladd Devine, and his bean field demonstrates that he and his family aren’t going anywhere. The bean field stirs lots of trouble for the town, as the locals go to war with Devine’s government officials. The town becomes split, as they contemplate on whether on not to become part of a modern society. But, each person thinks of each other in the town as family, and they remain loyal to one another in the fight against Devine’s government officials.

The story ends on a good note, as the locals throw a party in Joe’s bean field. However, the audience is left knowing that the war with Devine and the government will be ongoing. But, Redford’s story does more for the audience than just entertain. The story shows a group of people that refuse to be oppressed. The film demonstrates people with a real consciousness; a community that doesn’t let money obstruct their views on natural resources, their traditions, or their culture. Redford demonstrates that enough people with the right sense of reality can stand up for their rights, their lands, and their beliefs. He shows that just because a modern society thinks something is right doesn’t make it right. Redford points out our flaws in the western views on life, but he leaves room for the possibility of a real consciousness. He shows a consciousness that will allow us to see the world and it’s people as living organisms that give back to society, rather than objects that can be used. He shows that we can live free from the oppression that money and western society bestow upon us, but we must develop a clear eyesight first.