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TheHeretic -> Seeing 2016: Obama's America (film) (8/25/2012 5:23:57 PM)
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The theater was packed. Twice, I had to tell late arrivals that yes, the seat next to me with the soda in the cupholder was taken. It was a smaller house, than where we saw the latest Batman movie on opening weekend, but the crowd density was just as high, if not a little higher.
The new film, based on the research and writings of Dinesh D'Souza, takes the viewer on a journey through the early life of President Obama, much of it taken directly from the President's own words in his book, and provides much insight into the development of a man who, again in his own words, ran as a blank canvas that people could paint their own visions on. It did well in limited release, and has now gone nationwide.
I sat in the little eatery's corner, sipping a caffeine slushy, waiting for Dad, amusing myself by guessing who people were, and which movie they were seeing. The community served by that particular multi-plex is white/brown/black, but the ghetto is primarily served by a $2 theater, less than a mile away. Don't get me wrong, you can still get stabbed in the head with an icepick* in this one, for saying something to somebody yapping on the phone, but it's still the more upscale place.
Two little old ladies, dressed up for the occasion. Had to be Rush Limbaugh fans, and this might have been their first movie in years. The good looking couple, who sent the 3 tweenagers off to Batman in I-Max to the right, had a room booked at the nearby motel, to make full use the 90 minute run-time of 2016, compared to the nearly 3 hours of Dark Knight. The obscenely fat middle-aged man with a cane, who kept scowling at everyone, was a full-time internet leftist, only going to see the movie so he could tell people what was wrong with it. The guy with the skinhead tattoo under his ear, and the morbidly obese woman with the even more whalish teenage son, were there to get their hate on. The people coming in and heading left were mostly white, but not all.
There was something else, though. I'm 6' 2," at the high end of normal, for an American. This was a tall crowd by my standards, and broad shouldered, as well. Purposeful looking people. "Test pilot," got used up fast.
Dinesh D'Souza had previously taken heat for writings which suggest that the President we elected was very much "other," to the American norm of worldview. With this film, he is doubling down on that.
And yes, there is a question to all this rambling. When a political film, a propaganda film, comes out, do you decide to see it based on whether it aligns with your ideology, or will you see an influential film from any point of view, to better participate in the larger discussion it generates? Farenheit 9/11, for instance, can be talked about by any number of conservatives, who saw it for just that reason.
Or is it much easier and cheaper to trash D'Souza?
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