20 films about fighting the system

“Fight Club” is about fighting the system…or is it? The movie is about some guys (give or take one guy) fighting against commercialism and capitalism and each other in the titular fight club. However, David Fincher’s movie is seemingly sort of poking fun at these guys? Is Tyler Durden cool, or is he deranged? The whole thing is thorny, which has led to many exhausting takes on “Fight Club” but also made it a cult classic.

It makes sense that, turn of the millennium, there would be movies with big picture ideas about fighting “the system.” In the case of “The Matrix,” though, the system is The Matrix, a fictional world created by machines that use humans for energy. At the time, “The Matrix” was a massive cultural sensation, and there have been three sequels. With the passage of time, though, we can admit “The Matrix” is pretty silly and doesn’t make any sense. The action is still great, though!

There are plenty of biopics about fighting the system. After all, people who have stood up against “the system” make for good underdogs. Especially if they are a brash single mom who dresses a little trashy (not an insult). Julia Roberts won Best Actress for playing Erin Brockovich, who sued a major energy corporation over water contamination. Thanks to the power of movie stardom in the year 2000, a movie with that plot was a huge hit.

This is, perhaps, still the quintessential “fight the system” movie. It’s about one of the most-famous events in American history, the Watergate scandal that led to the resignation of Richard Nixon. Specifically, “All the President’s Men” focuses on Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein, Washington Post reporters who broke the whole story. Though the film is about guys doing newspaper reporting, it’s utterly compelling.

Attempts to fight the system don’t always go smoothly. Jeffrey Wigand wanted to blow the whistle on the tobacco industry. CBS producer Lowell Bergman wants him to do it on “60 Minutes.” Neither is a perfect vessel, though, nor is “60 Minutes” correspondent Mike Wallace. Michael Mann usually makes more action-forward films, but he’s always interested in professionalism and process, and that’s all there in “The Insider.”

It’s a movie about fighting against religious oppression, about fighting for the freedoms provided by the first amendment, about taking your convictions all the way to the Supreme Court, and winning at that. Also, the person doing all that fighting is one of the most-infamous pornographers in history. Larry Flynt, played by Woody Harrelson in this film, was the publisher of “Hustler” magazine, the porn publication known for being, shall we say, more direct than “Playboy.” However, that makes Flynt a compelling protagonist for a movie. Even if you don’t like him, you might root for what he fought for.

Terry Gilliam built his career on taking social structures to darkly comedic extremes. Also, trying to make a movie based on Don Quixote. “Brazil” is his best film, a surreal sci-fi comedy about freedom fighters in a dystopian future built on oppressive bureaucracy. For example, Robert De Niro plays a folk hero who goes around fixing people's HVAC systems. “Brazil” is bizarre, but it is a fantastical ride into a mordantly-dark possible future.

There is nothing subtle about “Fury Road.” It’s pedal to the metal, and if anything the quibbles you can have with it is that it is a little too obvious, and that everything is a little too spelled out. The plot to George Miller’s epic is nothing to write home about. The action? It’s as impressive as anything, well, in the history of film.

John Sayles has two Oscar nominations for screenwriting, and is well-known for telling stories with a political bent. So, naturally, his first movie was “Piranha,” the “Jaws” ripoff directed by Joe Dante. Okay, that was Sayles getting his start through Roger Corman, which used to be business as usual. “Matewan,” which Sayles both wrote and directed, is a dramatization of a coal miners’ strike in 1920s West Virginia. It’s a small film, but a powerful one.

If the Empire isn’t “the system,” and if the Rebels aren’t fighters of the system, then none of this holds water. “Star Wars” is a quintessential sci-fi film, and a quintessential blockbuster. However, it’s also the most-popular movie about fighting the system. It just doesn’t always feel like that since, you know, it takes place long, long ago in a galaxy far, far away.

“They Live” is a cult classic from John Carpenter, but it is one of those cult classics that has permeated the culture such that even people who haven’t seen it have probably seen references to it. Specifically, Shepard Fairey was quite inspired by the film. Roddy Piper, the professional wrestler, played an unnamed drifter living on the streets who becomes aware of a grand conspiracy only revealed to you when you wear special sunglasses. It was never going to be more than a cult classic, but it deserves that designation.

Stanley Kubrick was still early in his career and not yet minted as a legend of film when Kirk Douglas tapped him to direct “Spartacus.” Dalton Trumbo, the screenwriter, was blacklisted at the time he wrote the script. Douglas stars as the titular Spartacus, who led a slave revolt against the Roman Empire. The film was a hit, and it also won four Oscars.

Speaking of winning Oscars. “One Battle After Another” proved a critical darling, and also became the highest-grossing film in the career of Paul Thomas Anderson. Leonardo DiCaprio was the ostensible headliner for the movie, but he’s really at the forefront of an ensemble story. From venerated actors like Sean Penn to newcomers like Chase Infiniti, “One Battle After Another” is funny, gripping, and a story about different ways of fighting oppression.

Mohandas Gandhi needs no introduction. He spent much of his life fighting for Indian independence from the British Empire, and he did it through peaceful means. In the end, his efforts did indeed help India earn independence. “Gandhi” is an old-school sweeping epic with hundreds of thousands of extras. It won Best Picture at the Oscars, which makes all the sense in the world for 1980s Oscar voters.

Frank Capra was a conservative, but “Mr. Smith Goes to Washington” is a movie in the vein of “Politics in Washington is corrupt and what we need is a decent everyman to stand up for what’s right!” Jimmy Stewart, a natural pick for such a role, plays Jefferson Smith. Smith is tapped to be a senator because everybody assumes he’s naïve and will be easy to push around. Instead, the opposite happens.

Ken Kesey was a counterculture figure, so he was exactly the sort of guy who would write a novel about a mental institution infiltrated by a man hiding out from criminal charges who is something of a counterculture figure himself. Then, he finds the system is corrupt and needs to be shaken up, starting with the sinister Nurse Ratched. The film adaptation of the novel wisely makes Kesey’s story more coherent and the characters’ plight more sympathetic. Also, Jack Nicholson was cast as the lead, and “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest” went on to win the Big Five Oscars.

Considered by many one of the best movies ever made, one of the main characters is a freedom fighter on the run from the Nazis. Of course, the character at the center of the film is Rick Blaine, a nightclub owner who, on the surface, acts as though he’s just trying to get along. Deep down, though, when the chips are down, he’ll do what’s right to fight against oppression.

“Norma Rae” is about a down-on-her-luck factory worker fighting to unionize, so it’s pretty easy to be on board with her plight if you’re pro-labor at all. Plus, she’s played by Sally Field, which also helps make her easy to root for. Field won an Oscar for “Norma Rae,” though this isn’t her “You like me” speech. That was for her second win.

What system is more relatable to the average moviegoer than the corporate superstructure? Whether it’s TPS reports or being asked to wear more flair, there’s a lot to be found in “Office Space” that viewers can recognize. Peter Gibbons emerged as a hero for many by simply taking to his office job on his own terms. Of course, in 1999 few people felt this way, but “Office Space” would go from flop to cult favorite soon enough.

There’s an entire series of “Hunger Games” movies about fighting the system. It’s all dressed up in convoluted character names and ridiculous costumes, but in the end, it’s about an oppressive regime and those fighting to stop it. In fact, the whole existence of “The Hunger Games” within the world of the films is built upon trying to tamp down rebellion. Tell that to Katniss Everdeen, though.