Watching #TheMission (1986) in light of the current AI crisis in #HigherEducation.

The other day I happened to re-watch this 1986 #film by #RolandJoffé. I had last seen it 40 years ago when it came out. It has aged quite well. The depiction of the indigeneous #Guaraní people is embarrassingly superficial. And the idea that the Jesuit order was a benevolent force is of course laughable. But as a story of an institution that willingly sacrifices its purpose and moral integrity in a power game, the film works.

I can't help drawing parallels to the current AI corruption of higher education.

In Cardinal Altamirano (played by the excellent #RayMcAnally), we see the manager who knows that his action destroys the very rationale of his institution, yet he does it. The two priests (Jeremy Irons and Robert de Niro) are the ground-level staff who stay true to their calling and fight, in different ways. They vanish. Years later, the manager has the luxury of regret.

#StopTheAICorruption

Robert De Niro, Jeremy Irons – The Mission (1986)

Auch wenn Sie ganz und gar nicht katholisch sind, ist dieser Film von Roland Joffé ein sehenswertes Stück Monumentalkino aus den 80er Jahren. Eine brutale Geschichte über Kolonialismus, globalen Kapitalismus, Realpolitik und das gewaltsamme Ende einer Utopie – mit Ennio Morricones Soundtrack für die Ewigkeit.