The Anarchist Cookbook
by Folk & Faith

The Anarchist Cookbook (2003) is a film brought to life from the 60's radical handbook by the same name, never mind whether or not the book really had anything to do with true anarchist theory or not, let alone whether or not the 'recipes' actually worked. The movie is an odd mixture or cross between Romper Stomper, SLC Punk, Fight Club and American History X.

It tells the story of a rag-tag group of anarchists that collectively run a co-op anarchist bookstore in Dallas Texas. They are used to protesting, cleverly debating people, tricking the local McDonalds into giving them free food so as to still eat the crap just not having to support the corporate chain itself, but have always remained absolutely opposed to using violence to try to solve anything.

Their motto is "We might not know what we are for, but we know what we are against!" Typical of many so-called "anarchists" I have met and typical of the thoughts one would expect them to have - being anti-capitalist, against globalization and imperialism, oh - and Starbucks of course. One hears and sees their idea of 'anarchy' being something of a Utopian society loosely thrown together around the concept of "Freedom", Free to do all the drugs you want, free from responsibilities, free from oppression, and of course free to have sex with whoever you want without the confines of "bourgeoisie society" and its impositions of morality, monogamy and typical man/woman relationships. These too are all part of the system which must be taken off of the backs of society. Not to have the reader think that it is all a joke, as there are some really good, albeit brief thoughts on anarchistic theory spread through the movie's beginning and here and there throughout the length of the film. One might be better off to perhaps go back and re-watch Fight Club for a better explanation of anti-capitalist theory or do some actual reading on their own. Like Fight Club, the movie is narrated through intra-personal communication by the main character Peter, or "Puck", his "liberated name."

The group of anarchists are somewhat ran by a leader, Johnnie Red, that was friends with Abbie Hoffman and other 60-70's era anarchists. He is a hippie generation activist and remains caught up in what one might call extreme pacifist leftist anarchism or 70's era activism, though his basic intentions seemed good. The bookstore anarchists run into a group of thugs playing basketball and simply can not beat them. They thugs use very forcefully basketball tactics and it is simply to much for the hippie and anarchist pacifists to muster to overcome them. Then comes Johnnie Black. Johnnie tells them that every game is part of a system. In order to beat the system, sometimes you not only have to play the game, you have to break all the rules.

Johnie Black is a young nihilistic anarchist that ends up putting himself into a more leadership oriented position within the commune and bookstore. The group had previously all objected to leaders because of course it is "un-anarchistic" to designate someone as a leader or to designate their self as such, but over time they seem to make an exception for Johnnie Black. He ends up taking charge of the rag-tag group of peace activist type anarchists who would never think about using violence as a way to fight anything.

After getting rid of lightweights, Johnnie strengthens his crew and starts asking all of them, "How far are you willing to go?" Some stumble on their words with replies such as "That's a tough question to answer" and other milque-toast wishy-washy responses before he tells them not to answer, just to seriously think about the question and answer it to themselves.

The movie goes on through some ups and downs in the plot before it finds most of the original crew, there are new recruits coming in to the commune or "squat" all the time, getting in trouble and being sentenced to jail time, community service, and house arrest for Puck. What ends up being some very soft times on house arrest for Puck includes playing golf with his dad, escorts by the local police to pretty much wherever he wishes to go and other 'punishments' of the sort. Though he has pretty much left the commune by the enforcement of the state, Puck tells himself that it is really he that makes the decision to rejoin them, and not Johnnie Black after running into one of the old crew. After being freed from an ever so-"oppressive" house through filing down the heel of his ankle to remove the ankle bracelet, Johnnie brings Puck home to the new house and new recruits.

Things have changed dramatically since Puck was on board. Johnie and the new crew have now found other ways to keep the commune alive, most of their ideas are pretty shady. Puck of course objects to all of it, and to what the commune has become. In the process he ends up hooking up with a good looking politically minded young female. The only problem is she's a Republican. She plans on helping him free himself from the commune and from Johnny Black and in them both taking internships at the Reagan Library in Wa Dc.

Johnnie begins telling Puck that what the old house was up to may have been fun, and they may have had a good time pulling pranks and getting their kicks in, it wasn't accomplishing anything. No one had been set free, no corporate conglomerates were shut down as a result of their protests, and point blank - nothing of any real substance had ever been accomplished.

Puck is given a brief introduction, along with others to a new game. Complete synthesis of all political ideas. An approach beyond left and right-wing ideas, and militantly opposed to the System that oppresses all. Johnnie begins telling all that are gathered that they all have their own issues, but are all opposed to the same thing - The New World Order! Puck simply can't fathom the idea.

Within the living room are gathered members from a local Skinhead chapter called the "Aryan Peoples Party", Billy Bob, Texxe and others from the NAFTA (North American Fire Arms Training Assoc.) as well as a local militia group. Puck refuses to go along with the idea and says that these types of people are the New World Order.

Johnny tells Puck, the Skinheads, and the Militia folks that this is the logical extension of all political ideas. The old school hippie fellow, Johnny Red, chimes in and tells Puck that this is what he had been working for his entire political life from the 60's days with Abbie Hoffman to the old commune, a real unimposed unity and ability to work with each other on certain projects even though disagreeing on other core ideas. A brilliant idea and one that The System would cringe should this cheesy movie plot ever become a reality!

A plan is made to save the endangered oak trees through this unity of radicals and extremists of all stripes. The Skinheads are to destroy the Malcolm X building on a college campus, the Militia folks will attack a Federal Government building and the Environmentalist anarchist collective will spike the trees and take out anyone standing in their way, all of which is to be done at the same time. Not without objections by Puck and by the Skinheads who proclaim that "it isn't a forest that matters, it is the people and the nation that form the state itself that matter. What good is a forest if the nation itself is dead?" asks the leader of the Skinhead crew. Johnnie Black proceeds to answer him, telling him that "it does no good to have races alive if there is no place left for them to live on." a brilliant idea and good questions on both sides of the fence.

Though the movie was lacking in a solid explanation of anarchistic ideas, and some of those that were expressed were done quite poorly, the one brief moment or two of all these people coming together on a project made me anticipate the day that such happen. Imagine, Anarchists, National Socialists, Militias, Environmentalists, and Libertarian minded folks all working together to Smash The System! Far fetched idea perhaps...what is needed even moreso though is to see the erradication of all old ideas of left, right and in between and the rising of an entirely new idea, one that encompasses all these ideas, a new movement and idea altogether!

Perhaps these few ideas are far better then the movie, but the potential was definitely there though little came of it. See the movie, and if watching with other politically minded folks, enjoy the few laughs and lightheartedness of it, but point out the importance of these ideas and that the movie of course seemed to portray that bad things happen to those that walk to far away from "safe" politics.