By Will Cade

When I first came to Europe, I was amazed by how much my Erasmus friends knew about the U.S. I was even more amazed at how almost all of them who spoke English as a second language used more American slang than I did. When my friends started asking me questions, though, I discovered why. “Does everyone at American parties really drink out of red plastic cups” they would ask, “like in the movies?”

The American film and television industry spreads my native tongue across the continents, where the majority of countries just add subtitles to the original American English. Along with my favorite linguistic nuances, the industry also spreads a commercialized, well-packaged image of American culture. But this culture consists of more than red party cups, gas guzzling cars, and gun fights in the street: it has a darker side which rarely shows itself in the blockbusters exported to the rest of the globe.

Before seeing the prescreening for “An American Crime,” due out in Spain on June 13^th, I didn’t know anything about the film. Judging by the name, I expected another American cop and robber caper flick, slam-packed with hot blondes, fast cars, and catchy one-liners. It wasn’t until I saw “Based on the State of Indiana vs. Baniszewski (1966)” on the screen that I realized I was in for a totally different ride.

Two sisters, Sylvia and Jennie - whose parents are traveling carnival workers - are left to live with a poor mother of six, Gertrude Baniszewski, just outside of Indianapolis, Indiana during the mid 1960s. Mr. and Mrs. Likens may be traveling with the carnival, but Sylvia and Jennie find themselves in the middle of a circus. Instead of lions to tame and rings of fire to jump through, these sisters have to navigate a dysfunctional family overflowing with sickness, teenage pregnancy, and sexual perversion, topped off with a Baptist’s penchant for shame, repentance, and punishment. A few teenage misunderstandings take place, and gradually these horrendous tendencies snowball into one of the most emotionally disturbing films to have ever come out of the North American Continent. The physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual torture is as upsetting as “Schindler’s List,” yet it takes place within a family and a small town instead of an entire nation.

This family, however, represents many of the heinous tendencies underlying the glamor and success of American culture. This may not be obvious at first glance, but if you pay attention to some of the symbols in the film - like the basement and the coke bottle or the bibles and the cigarettes - it might become more clear. Just bear in mind that throughout its history American culture has been struggling with the same conflicting forces that originated from its first two colonies: Jamestown and Plymouth Rock. Essentially, Jamestown was an experiment in Capitalism, while Plymouth Rock was an experiment in Christian Extremism. Up until today, most political and social issues in the U.S. have strong traces if not direct links to these same cultural forces, sometimes intertwining in extreme and grotesque ways.

In any case, this is most definitely not a date movie, but if you want to stomach the inner demons of American culture for a few hours, never again able to see the U.S. in the same light, than I admire your courage - and if it weren’t for the weak American dollar, I might even buy you a ticket.