Last weekend I got to see “Charlie Wilson’s War”, courtesy of my new roomate, who keeps DVDs in a big book open to the public. By far my favorite actor in the movie was Philip Seymour Hoffman, who was nominated for a golden globe for his role as a CIA agent. This movie deals with America’s involvement toward the end of the Cold War when the U.S.S.R. was invading Afghanistan. Whenever I see an all-star cast movie that deals with politics I expect to see a lot of leftist jokes that make me smile and throw juvenile “victory” punches in the air. I love that this movie deals with the Cold War, but almost constantly references our current foreign situation. I guess because the two incidents have a lot to do with one another. My favorite part of the movie is a short episode when Tom Hank’s character, Charlie Wilson is being investigated by Rudolph Giuliani for questionable sex and drug incidents. They totally made Giuliani sound like a chattering pig, without really introducing his character. Gotta love Hollywood for sticking it to the Republicans now and again. There were other references to the current situation too. For instance, the movie ended abrubtly when Charlie Wilson tried to get support for aiding rebuilding in Afghanistan after the war. This was a veiled criticism of politics under the Reagan and Daddy Bush administration for being at fault for our current crisis with the Taliban. As a graphic designer, I’ve come to terms with the fact that I’ll never be rich or powerful enough to have much sway on American Politics but it’s always very entertaining to me to see how events unfold that deal with each of us. One man can make an enormous impact on worldwide situations. Charlie Wilson was one of those men.