El Che – Iconic Revolutionary
Che Guevara was a pretty cool dude. Inspired by the poverty and hardship suffered by others. He became a revolutionary to improve the lot of his fellow man. How many of us can say that with any degree of sincerity. I watched the documentary, ‘El Che’, on the life of the iconic revolutionary, Ernesto Che Guevara de la Serna (1928-1967).
Telling the story of his life and struggles, from early days as a student doctor, the moving and life changing motorcycle journey through South America. His revolutionary days in Cuba, differences with Castro and finally his demise in Bolivia.
The motorcycle journey through South America shattered his world view and changed his life forever. Until that time his vocation was to be a doctor. On his journey he encountered such poverty he didn’t know existed. He read Marx, and other political theories. He met other socialists who were discussing the possibility of another way and of implementing Marx’ ideology. So affected by the abject poverty he encountered, he felt compelled to act.
The documentary is a well researched piece, containing original TV news and film news footage. Newspaper reprints and excerpts. It contains extensive interviews with comrades, and witnesses present during key moments and historic events.
Such events include the invasion of Cuba, guerilla warfare, the Cuban revolution, failure in the Belgian Congo, and his capture and final moments before his murder in Bolivia.
After his capture a local school house was used as a makeshift prison to hold ‘El Che’ till the CIA hierarchy and the Bolivian Government decided what to do with ‘El Che’.
A young schoolteacher recounts the morning she heard shots ring out from the remote village school house. She tells how she ran over to see what had happened and found his blood covered corpse laying outside adjacent to the entrance door, moments after the shots ring out.
About 49 minutes Elapsed Time, in the documentary, one point hit me like a Mike Tyson sucker punch. After taking Cuba and setting up a new government, Guevara’s enthusiasm for his Marxist ideals and his Communist views were evident. They were victorious, having won the struggle, but it still was not enough. Che’ views and beliefs hardened. There was a look of horror on the faces of his comrades when he stated publicly: “The revolution had not gone far enough”. His Cuban comrades could not share his view. for they did not feel his zeal and fervour. Revolution did not and could not douse the fire burning within Guevara’s heart.
As the narrator recounted Guevara’s strongly held beliefs and views, I realized his zeal, was misplaced. His Utopian ideals would remain forever unrealized, no matter how many revolutions he participated in. What he was searching for in revolution, he would not find. What he was looking for, was religious experience. When you recall that Marxist ideology, saw religion as poison, this appears to be an insane statement. It isn’t. The religion that Guevara looked for in revolutionary struggle, and never found, is not the religion of the common man. Although it is available to the common man.
This is not the religion of the masses. This is not the religion of Christianity, Judaism or Islam. The three Abrahamic religions are the religions of the masses. Carl Jung explained that organised religion, (Christianity, Judaism, Islam) exists to prevent religious experience. How strange. Is that not the whole point of religion? To experience a break-out of my normal mode of existence? To go beyond the norms of my curtailed existence. Beyond the boundaries of my limited consciousness.
I guess Marx was fighting against the somnambulism that organised religion induces. How odd that this was the medicine that the main exponent of his political ideology badly needed to cure his ills.
After watching this documentary, I watched Che Part I, starring Benicio del Toro, directed by Steven Soderbergh. Though its a good film, I found it somewhat lacking having watched such an excellent documentary. Skip the movie and go straight to the documentary.
Runtime: 88 mins
Highly recommended.
Go watch it.
Originally Posted: July 26th, 2009
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Posted by Patrick
