We'll Always Beat Them With Star-Spangled Freedom: Mr. Freedom

by Francis Colo



Decades before the invention of Stephen Colbert and Freedom Fries, there was Mr. Freedom fighting to spread the good word of “freedom” for the U.S. of A. Sent by Dr. Freedom to stop the infiltrating communists in France, Mr. Freedom’s patriotic pursuit is a razor-sharp political satire that magnifies the absurdity in our reality.

Made in 1969, Mr. Freedom has the wildly imaginative DIY look to match its outrageous story. Mr. Freedom (John Abbey) is a superhero dressed in obnoxious red, white and blue football gear. Marie Madeleine (Delphine Seyrig), his sexy sidesick, is a tongue-in-cheek bimbo with puffy red hair. And with names like Corporal Dick Discount and Johnny Cadillac (and a cameo by Serge Gainsbourg as Mr. Drugstore), Mr. Freedom’s crew is a group of freedom fighters who fund their underground movement with a prostitution ring. His supposed ally, Super Frenchman, is a huge balloon who refuses to have Mr. Freedom interfering with France’s affairs. His Soviet nemesis, Moujik Man, is a sleazy communist in a fat suit. His other enemy is Red China Man, another enormous talking balloon. In one of the film’s funniest scenes, Mr. Freedom visits the U.S. Embassy in France - a Wal-Mart-like supermarket with a group of skinny female dancers following Mr. Freedom and the U.S. ambassador. On the surface, Mr. Freedom looks like a nightmarish fairytale, but its underlying message cannot be any closer to the truth about America’s consumer culture.

Mr. Freedom is filled with hilarious one-liners. “Wrong is red, and right is… red, white and blue!” and “Right is might, and might is Freedom - Our Freedom,” are mottos that would make George Orwell chuckle. In a speech to his crew, Mr. Freedom reminds them that the Reds and the Blacks are endangering the “White Wall of Freedom.” The hypocrisy of America, rattled by the Vietnam War and the Civil Rights Movement, is brutally ripped apart throughout the film. While these events are seemingly dated now, Mr. Freedom is as relevant as ever. Like Mr. Freedom, the United States is protecting its so-called freedom by liberating another country with its bombs. It is scary to see how Mr. Freedom still rings true today. Sadly, it is even scarier to realize how little American Imperialism has changed over the decades.