God Bless America (2011) – A Parody of Rebellion dir. Bobcat Goldthwait

God Bless America plays like a parody of Natural Born Killers—except there’s no love, no sex, just two strangers united by sheer disgust. Frank (Joel Murray) is a walking stress headache: fired, divorced, and diagnosed with a brain tumor. His breaking point is a reality show brat throwing a tantrum over the wrong luxury car. He pulls the trigger, and instead of condemnation, he gets an unlikely fan—Roxy (Tara Lynne Barr), a teenage nihilist with nothing better to do than join him on a killing spree.

Together, they take aim at the worst of America: reality TV idiots, political loudmouths, and movie theater texters. But like all great American rampages, their wrath is misdirected. They kill the screaming 16-year-old, but the Viacom execs who created her are untouched. They shoot a hate-preacher, but the networks profiting from his sermons are still broadcasting. Their war is against symbols, not systems.

The movie is 14 years old but the sentiment is still fresh for Luigi Mangione, who assassinated UnitedHealthcare’s CEO. Like them, he saw a rigged game and chose a single target to destroy. But killing a CEO doesn’t dismantle an industry—just like shooting a talk show host doesn’t make America smarter. The machine grinds on, indifferent.

God Bless America understands this tragic joke. The world hands us carefully curated villains, entertainment designed to enrage, all to keep us distracted. Frank and Roxy think they’re rejecting that system, but they’re just another spectacle—another episode in the endless feed. By the end, the Viacom executive is still counting their money, and the insurance company just gets a new CEO.

Goldthwait isn’t subtle, but he gets one thing right: in America, people don’t just snap. They’re produced. And when they do, they don’t storm the castle. They shoot at shadows.

If God Bless America is a lesson in anything, it’s the futility of misplaced rage. Frank and Roxy think they’re dismantling a broken society, but all they’re really doing is giving it another spectacle. Mangione thought he was striking at the heart of a corrupt system, but the machine didn’t even flinch. They’re not rebels. They’re just content.

Now, what does this have to do with your career? Everything. Most people, whether in their jobs or in life, spend their energy fighting the wrong enemies. They blame their toxic boss instead of the system that enables them. They rail against their company’s “unfairness” while ignoring that the whole industry plays by the same rules. They think their problem is this job when in reality, it’s their entire career trajectory.

Frank, Roxy, and Mangione all made the same mistake: they focused on the most visible villain rather than the actual source of their frustration. Sound familiar?

If you’re constantly job-hopping, blaming terrible managers, or feeling like your career is rigged against you, maybe it’s time to stop shooting at shadows and start thinking bigger. What’s the real enemy? The industry? The economic structure? Your own patterns of self-sabotage?

More and more often, people come to me exhausted from fighting the wrong enemies. Some have spent years battling their boss, others their profession, and some are at war with themselves. People think they need a new job, but in reality, they need a new direction. And until they see the full picture, they’ll be like Frank—trying to shoot everyone who irritates them instead of changing the game.

The key lesson is - aim strategically. If you’re going to start a rebellion—against bad work conditions, a stagnant career, or an industry that no longer serves you—make sure you’re not just another distraction in someone else’s system. Because while you’re busy taking down your latest target, the real power players are still cashing their checks.