On the surface, John Boorman’s 1972 flick Deliverance is a twisted, turbulent tale about four Atlanta businessmen on an unforgettable canoe trip in the backwoods of Georgia. Like several movies made during that distinct decade in American history, however, the plot is mere camouflage for a scathing social commentary — much of which still can be applied to modern American society.
Nowadays, even the closest of neighbors can be enemies. Perhaps we have differing political views, or our differing methods of lawn maintenance have strained our relationship. Maybe there was, and still is, no neighborly relationship to be found. Deliverance explores these themes of disconnection and alienation by pitting a quartet of big city power players (Jon Voight, Burt Reynolds, Ned Beatty and Ronny Cox) against their rural Georgian counterparts.
The four visitors have decided to go on a canoe trip down the Cahulawassee River as it is about to be flooded by construction on a new lake and a dam. Prior to embarkation, the group stops at a gas station, where they greet their “lower-class” neighbors with heavy disdain. Condescending remarks fly, and both parties seem to know their places perfectly well.
These two seemingly different collections of people have more in common than they even know themselves, however. One of the most pivotal aspects of Deliverance is its uncompromising examination of the similarities between men at their most raw, natural states. What drives men to do what they do when surrounded by nothing but the bare elements — when politics and the front lawn are taken out of the mix?
As it turns out, the only real crucial difference between these Atlanta businessmen and their hillbilly compadres is modernization. Compared to their counterparts — still clinging on to the backwoods life of their ancestors — the big city men are made out to look almost like bullies. It’s their own ambition that is driving the Cahulawassee River to be flooded over — the dam is needed to power new air conditioners, and the lake is going to be a fun retreat for the Southern elite.
The river’s destruction ties into another focal point of the movie — the environment. The theme of man versus nature is complex — often too complex — to effectively convey on screen, but Boorman is up to the task here. The fate of the Cahulawassee is constantly in the minds of viewers and reflected in the violent fate of the men who travel along its banks. Here is where one of our four men is famously, violently sodomized and made to “squeal like a pig.” It’s where the quartet is confronted with a psychological Rubik’s cube about what to do with a dead body — a brutal byproduct of the sodomy.
Considering the fate of the Cahulawassee and the reasons behind its destruction, the rape scene is made to reflect other issues at hand. These metropolitans are contributing to the destruction of the natural world, and, as the movie progresses, nature takes its toll on these men as well. These critiques are still relevant today — look no further than Hurricane Gustav for evidence.
There are many engaging subtexts that lurk just under the surface of Deliverance — cultural clashes among neighbors, man’s journey down trauma’s whitewater river, our struggle with nature. You, as a reader and viewer, should actively engage and check out the film firsthand. Sure, Deliverance plays with your mind — it was made in the ‘70s, for goodness sake. It forces you to look beneath the bizarre storyline and examine what Boorman is trying to tell us about American society. In between frantic news coverage about the next tropical hurricane’s whereabouts, you could be in for a revelation.
Read More
The best albums of 2014
By Noah Zeidman | December 4, 2014Across genres, it has been a pretty great year in music.
Top 10 movies of 2014
December 4, 2014This has been an excellent year for film, offering everything from gripping blockbusters to innovative personal films.
Iggy Azalea is “Reclassified”
December 4, 2014It has become common practice among music artists to repackage their albums in an effort to simultaneously boost single sales and dish out new content by slightly renaming the album or slapping “Deluxe” onto the title.
