Pirate Radio

Flying back from a great but tiring weekend, I watched Pirate Radio on the flight home. Admittedly wasn't expecting much but found the film surprisingly wonderful.

The story takes place in 1967 off the coast of England on a ship that is broadcasting pirate content--pop music--which at that time was not allowed to be broadcast in Great Britain. The DJs and crew live a bohemian existence that reminded me of our days at Wheaton, in what I now look at fondly but was a bit wild and crazed at the time.

As I'm getting older, the character "Quentin" inspired and reminded me a bit of myself. He's played by Bill Nighy and is the guy who runs the ship and keeps things going with a minimalist approach to management and a maximalist approach to hedonism within boundaries.

The inspiration came from a group of loosely organized libertines who figure out how to live together and manage their internal disputes whilst battling the British government, which is adamantly working to shut them down. It reminded me of The Church of Reason with our own minor publications (the scrolls in red crayon posted on the Forum Board and The Icecream Socialist) winning the hearts and minds of many friends but ultimately loosing to an administration who was worn thin with time.


to love liberty
requires that you allow
things you do not like