Jillian Turner Blog #8: I Wanna Be A Billionaire..

The film Billionaire chronicled the rise to fame of Larry Hillblom, the founder of DHL. During his time at UC Berkley, Hillblom delivered documents and had the idea to make a business out of it. His idea greatly led to the globalization of the late 20th century. Swiftly, rising to power, Hillblom became a regular on the small islands in the pacific. There, he frequented shops that offered young girls for sex. When Hillblom mysteriously died in what appeared to be a plane crash, however, multiple women emerged claiming that he was the father of their children. On the island of Saipan, in particular, a woman came forward alleging that her 11 year old son, Larry Hillblom Jr., was Hillblom's son. As more facts came out about Hillblom and the women he was sleeping with, a brutal legal battle was sparked that debated whether or not the children were actually Hillblom's and, if they were, were they entitled to the millions of dollars he left behind. Ironically enough, Hillblom had neglected to say in his will.

Billionaire addressed many pertinent issues of American culture as well as the culture of other nations. I couldn't help but be struck by the American Exceptionalism apparent in the film. It seemed as if the two men who fought feverishly to uphold Hillbloms empire and to keep his estate out of the hands of his illegitimate children embodied such exceptionalism. They repeatedly disrespected attorney David Lujan who represented the children in the case. It was apparent that the defendants didn't believe the people of the Micronesian islands were worthy of Hillblom's estate. Ironically enough, the women who Hillblom impregnated, and consequently the children he fathered, were the most in need. As explained in the film, the islands in question were home to a people that were separated by great economic disparities. The film itself also depicts the atrocities of the human sex trafficking as many girls were forced to sell their bodies to make money for their families to buy food.

In regards to the question of what is public or private in the community, Billionaire applies in many ways. For such a private man, Larry Hillblom's life became incredibly public. His property, donations to the Vietnamese government, and sexual escapades became common knowledge. This breach of privacy begs the question, when a person dies? As I sit here, living and breathing, I have a considerable amount of control over what is public or private in my life. But when I die, will that be the same? Does it fall on my relatives or successors?

In chapter 7, Anderson states "In a world in which the national state is the overwhelming norm, all of this means that nations can now be imagined." I can't help but believe that Larry Hillblom lived in an imagined community of his own, a world where flying without a pilots license and making secret donations of money to the Vietnam government were completely okay. It seems as if Hillblom couldn't help but beat to the sound of his own drum. His community reportedly switched between friends for each aspect of his life: business, law, leisure. As a result, he constructed different communities that each served a different function. But this community he created was no match for the investigation that ensued after his mysterious death. So I must ask, does privacy end with a person's life? Or can privacy be upheld after one's heart stops beating?