Fraggle submitted The Goonies to BJ's compilation of films which illustrate Georgist principles.
The plot is the usual basic 'evil developers vs noble Homeys' plot, but there are three perverse twists:
A ruthless crime family calling themselves the "Fratellis" have somehow escaped from jail and are now hiding in a town of Astoria, Oregon. Home of a secret kid society known as "The Goonies", their leader is Michael "Mikey" Walsh, and they are enjoying their last weekend together as a system of contractors have bought their neighbourhood (1) and are considering on transforming it into a golf course(2).
However Mikey, stumbles upon a mysterious map to a treasure of a famed pirate "One-Eyed" Willie. So, The Goonies embark on an adventure to find the treasure and save their neighborhood. However, they also came across the Fratellis. So, The Goonies have to stay one step head of the Fratellis and find the treasure while avoiding a system of traps(3).
1) The heroes' parents have sold their homes to the golf club, no doubt they held out for ransom payments on top, so what are they complaining about? The normal plot involves the evil developer frightening and bullying Homeys off their land and/or trying to buy it at undervalue.
2) Most 'evil developer vs noble Homey' films involve a developer putting land to a more profitable use, i.e. a block of flats in place of a bungalow, a shopping centre on some fields etc. It would make no commercial sense to replace housing with a golf club (or in the instant case, extend a 'country club') because you can simply make more money from fifty acres of land used for housing (with a few hundred family homes) than from fifty acres of land used for a golf club (with a few dozen members). Remember that in the UK and probably in the US, the amount of land used for housing is approximately equal to the amount used for housing.
3) In Homey mythology, what is on or under your land belongs to you whether you created it or not. The hidden/lost pirate treasure is only accessible via the Fratellis' house, ergo the treasure belonged to the Fratellis anyway.
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1 comments:
I should probably say at this point that I actually really like The Goonies as a film (it's a kids adventure film first and foremost), it's just that I thought of it when the whole 'devs v homeys' thing was being discussed, because that happens to be the backdrop to the film.
It appears that the plot summary has mislead you slightly though. During the film Mikey's parents are yet to sell (they may even be the last holdouts, if I remember correctly). The last scene involves the father tearing up the contract he was about to sign after they realise they have some of the treasure, so they don't have to sell after all.
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