Rambo Inspires Change

I loved the new "Rambo" film. I wouldn't necessarily call it "Citizen Kane"-quality, or even "Transformers: The Animated Movie" quality, but it perfectly captures the 80's-action mentality with some post-modern nihilism; plus there are a heck of a lot of exploding heads.

According to a Reuters report, "Rambo" might be doing more than lighting up the box office. It's also inspiring the embattled population of Burma! The film is apparently such a hot topic amongst the population that the Myanmar government has banned the movie in fear of an uprising.

Police in Myanmar have given DVD hawkers strict orders not to stock the new Rambo movie, which features the Vietnam War veteran taking on the former Burma's ruling military junta, a Yangon resident told Reuters on Friday.

Despite the prohibition, pirated copies of the movie are widely available on the streets of the former capital, where it is fast becoming a talking point among a population eager to shake off 45 years of military rule.

"People are going crazy with the quote 'Live for nothing, die for something'," one resident said, referring to the tagline of the fourth Rambo installment, which opened in the United States this week.

Even though it received lukewarm reviews, it is likely to be a sure-fire hit with opponents of the junta, with some even hoping it could spur a change of regime in the impoverished southeast Asian nation.

"This movie could fuel the sentiment of Myanmar people to invite American troops to help save them from the junta," one Yangon resident told Reuters by e-mail.

Now Rambo needs to make movies about him kicking the crap out of the Iran, North Korean, and Venezuelan governments and we'll be set!