The early- to mid-1990s was an interesting time for the United States. The world was moving on from the Cold War as the Soviet Union had collapsed. The economy began shifting from paper to digital. Globalization was becoming the chief economic policy, leaving behind factories in Middle America. The tenets of wokeology were being planted in public policy. A sequel to the forgotten man of the Great Depression and a precursor to the forgotten man in a MAGA world, one motion picture encapsulated the situation of many Americans at the time: 1993’s Falling Down, starring Michael Douglas.
Falling Down: A Summary
William Foster (Douglas), a divorced and unemployed defense engineer, is frustrated, perturbed, and fed up with the oppressive Los Angeles heat, his fellow man, and life’s circumstances. Stuck in traffic and without an air conditioner, Foster abandons his vehicle in bumper-to-bumper traffic and travels across the city on foot.
As Foster attempts to attend his daughter’s birthday party, he encounters a diverse array of characters: A Korean convenience store owner who refuses to give him change to make a phone call. Two Hispanic gang members who try to steal his briefcase. A white homeless man who hassles him for money. A fast-food restaurant that refuses to serve breakfast shortly after switching to the lunch menu. A neo-Nazi white supremacist who owns a military surplus store. A couple of rich old golfers. Foster also stops at a construction site, accusing the team of performing superfluous work on a road to justify their inflated budgets.
The film ends near the Venice pier, where he sees his ex-wife and daughter. The officer in charge of his ex-wife’s restraining order against him, Martin Prendergast (Robert Duvall), reveals that he understands Foster’s feelings about being “not economically viable” anymore. But he insisted that a violent rampage was not the answer. In the end, Foster is shot dead by Prendergast. From start to finish, there is not a moment to breathe as the director Joel Schumacher (before his take on Batman!) grappled with everything from crime to consumerism in a smart, satirical, and non-preachy manner.
‘Not Economically Viable’
If this picture were made today without Hollywood executives trying to be woke or appeasing the leftist mob, it would likely be the same film, exploring and tackling the comparable subject matter.
When Donald Trump was elected president, he seemed to have tapped into the thoughts and feelings of tens of millions of Americans concerned about being forgotten by society. The production laborer in Indiana or Ohio, the suburban mother of four, and the college graduate blamed for all of life’s problems for being born with the wrong skin tone and genitalia. As Corporate America, Wall Street, and Main Street repeatedly attempt to appease a vocal and vicious minority, the majority is left confounded and irked.
[bookpromo align=”left”] Like Foster, the forgotten man of post-2016 is misconstrued and misrepresented. Instead of being described as a vigilante, disregarded Americans are classified as racist, sexist, or homophobic.
There is a great scene in Falling Down in which the main character is invited to the neo-Nazi’s private stash of World War II memorabilia, including a Zyklon-B container and bazooka. “I’m with you. We’re the same you and me. We’re the same. Don’t you see?” says the white supremacist. Foster replies, “We’re not the same. I’m an American. You’re a sick a–hole.”
Is he a perfect man? Of course not. But it still does not negate the troubles he had faced until that day.
We All Fall Down
In the end, Falling Down is about one person who could not take it anymore. He is not racist, does not want to hurt children, does not desire to steal from businesses, and does not dream of partnering with some crazy neo-Nazi. Foster, wearing a 1960s outfit and eyeglasses, is fed up. And he is not the only one. There is a point in Falling Down when Foster sees another man, not different from himself (even wearing the same clothes), rejected for a loan and protesting in front of the bank. The individual, who is arrested and tossed in the back of a police car, tells Foster: “Don’t forget me.” This is the impetus behind the forgotten man: He shall be forgotten no more – hopefully like this picture.
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