There Will Be Blood

This took a while to digest. It was arty and beautifully made. It was long and fairly slow. But it gave me plenty of time to think. It made me think a lot about Capitalism and socialism. I think Daniel was a kind of paragon of capitalism. He was attempting to be the most inventive, creative oil man in the business so that he could make the most money. Every one else was only viewed in terms of how they related to that pursuit. His relationships with everyone centered around the business and there was nothing else. The conclusion, which I thought was really interesting saw him finally eliminating the last thing that had been gnawing at him, the humiliation he had felt in one of his prior experiences. Then "I'm done." He had finished everything. I thought it was cool. Also, on capitalism and socialism, I think, or at least I am drawn to think by this movie, that Capitalism extolls the importance of the individual, who will be the best, the most creative, the most innovative, who will find the way to better the competition. But, this leads to the exploitation of everyone else when taken to its limits. Noone else matters, only the pursuit of being the best, and, in turn, the wealthiest. Socialism extolls the value of the group, working together as a team for the value of the whole. This can be criticized as eliminating the individual, turning them into faceless masses. However, it places the value on the progression of the whole, which in fact, means every indivdual is important. Everyone has value. It seems paradoxical and I like it. And, I liked this movie.