Wild Wild Country
I was not going to watch this. But after flipping around from one lauded comedy series to another and being unsatisfied I tuned in.
And got hooked.
It’s six hours. Three yesterday, three today. It gave me something to look forward to, we all want something to look forward to.
And I don’t know whether I’m at the advent of something bigger, like the hubbub surrounding “Making A Murderer,” or whether the sheer volume and pace of this documentary means it will get little traction.
What do I know about the Rajneesh? Weren’t they the ones with all the Rolls Royces? Or was that Maharaj Ji. Or both? Who knows, I’ll never join a cult, I’m a skeptic, not a seeker.
But so many are.
The sixties were all about standing up to the establishment and our elders. But the seventies were about personal fulfillment, EST, the Me Decade. And to tell you the truth, this didn’t penetrate my consciousness, I had to read about it to know about it, no one I knew was going to a seminar or joining a cult, that’s what happened in California, before I moved there.
And Hollywood has a big part in this saga.
But before that…
All those people going to India… They were unhappy, looking for something more. And there are always people with answers, always. When someone tells you they’ve got the way out, to spiritual happiness, to fulfillment, beware, they’re usually charlatans.
Was Osho a charlatan?
I think so, but I’m not sure. That’s the game of modern documentaries, they don’t take a side. Well, the political ones do, but after “Capturing the Friedmans,” the progenitor of this genre, you’re usually left leaving the theatre wondering…were they guilty or not?
Same deal here, only instead of ninety minutes it takes six plus hours. That’s one bad thing about Netflix. Used to be a flick had to be viewable in a theatre, in one sitting, on Netflix it can go on FOREVER! Why does every documentary have to be “The Sorrow and the Pity,” the four and a half hour story of France during World War II. That film could justify its length. I’m not sure “Wild Wild Country” can. At some points it’s like watching paint dry, it’s so slow, but you can’t turn it off, you not only want to know what happens, you want to know who is at fault.
So the Rajneesh move to nowheresville Oregon and the residents, all fifty of Antelope, freak out. People are suspicious, they can’t handle the new, they’re afraid of losing their way of life. Kinda like what’s going on in the country now, those damn foreigners are gonna take over and ruin it for all of us.
Only in this case maybe they are. Were they taking over the town in reaction or was that always the plan, you’ll never know.
But the more the Rajneesh are oppressed, the more they strike back, to the point of illegality.
And I’m not giving anything away when I say the government wins, the U.S. and Oregon governments, not the Rajneesh one that ran their town, that’s history.
And speaking of history…
We’re in a new era. You see there’s VIDEOTAPE, DOCUMENTATION! It’s no longer left to speculation, you can view the footage itself. This presages today’s security cam world.
And it’s hard to believe I lived through the eighties, which seemed so modern and up-to-date at the time, but we were disconnected then in a way we will never be again.
And this doc does a good job of showing the inhabitants of Oregon. Live long enough in L.A. or New York and you think everybody else is subservient and paying attention to you, but life goes on outside the metropoli, and smart, educated people are doing honest work.
And speaking of work…
The Rajneesh lawyer was the number two litigator at Manatt.
And Al Ruddy’s ex-wife joined the cult. And got immediate attention because of her “Godfather” money and connections. You see fame and cash opens doors everywhere.
And where did all the cash come from?
And what did everybody do to survive?
On one hand it looks like a utopia. Free sex and love.
On another it looks like brainwashing.
We all want answers, we all want enlightenment. Hell, Pete Townshend wrote about it:
I’m a seeker
I’m a really desperate man
But that was back when rock stars were looking for answers, when the Beatles went to India, when we looked up to musicians, before they all pledged fealty to God, as if he had anything to do with their success, and focused first and foremost on cash. What if cash is no issue?
That’s what it was like in the sixties and early seventies. I know it’s hard to believe, but you could make it on minimum wage. So you were looking for something more:
I’m looking for me
You’re looking for you
We’re looking at each other
And we don’t know what to do
I look for my answers in art. I try to form my own opinions. But God help me if they contradict those of the mob. With the concentration of the world via technology we’ve gone to mob rule, the edges have been burnished off.
And sometimes the edges are whacked, like the Rajneesh.
And sometimes they’re the path to enlightenment.
So if you’re part of the Netflix cult, if you’re willing to go down the rabbit hole, if you lived through this era and were oblivious, thinking the Rajneesh was a far off cult in Oregon…
You should watch this.
To see how people age. To see how smart people fight. To see the power of the government. To see the fear on the faces of the townspeople.
To see…
People come and go but concepts remain.
What is the meaning of life?
Damned if I know.
