Caos Americano

As a non US person seeing much good in either party I was hoping for something impartial, like the great film Fail State about the US tertiary education $y$tem. I will be fair the film did give voice and good unedited air time to a range of people and did not try to make them look stupid. I have no doubt the intentions of all involved were good and honest and it showed. I just don't think these same people were able to overcome the structural elephant in the corner that West and East coast elites (ie the people who made this film) don't experience the lives of those in the "fly-over states", which is the heartland of the country- these people once a middle class, now a country with so many 1 to 2 paychecks from a wipeout. I don't think they are mentally capable of grasping the answer to the questions they were trying to find answers for. Obama gave the same hope to millions that Trump did, different side of the same coin. Those people under Obama were left worse off, as I think those hoping Trump will deliver long the structural change will also eventually be worse off. The swamp is as Democrat as it is Republican and doesn't care for anyone but the elites, insiders and donors. I felt the film tried to give an honest voice, but never really wanted to find actual understanding. In that the techniques of propaganda and subtle mocking are still evident in this film. This is part of the problem. It seems to have been produced for fellow lefts/ Democrats. Stern would have done better to not make it so much about him. Louis Theroux would have done a better job. Less myopic, less inherently biased, and bringing no baggage From an entertainment perspective and struggling with these unavoidable biases I give it a 3. From an achieving its objective, even in a shallow kind of way I'll give it a 7 because I think the voices interviewed were entitled to be heard and it still commands a worthwhile place on the shelf of the conversation. If you really want to understand those who voted Trump read the book Deer Hunting with Jesus by the late Joe Bageant. There is a 10 year old interview with him on YouTube titled "LONGVIEW: Deer Hunting With Jesus" which does better in 7 minutes than this film does

Trump supporters are shown as idiotic zealots and he "just can't understand why".

This one sided presentation should offend both righties and lefties. He is just so confused....give me a break

Aside for a liberal, black professor, the sympathetic interviewer provides a veritable conveyor belt of one annoying, low-information Trump voter after the other - and encourages each one to express their own personal misconceptions. It's a bit painful to watch and resembled having to watch paint dry - or worse, having to read an Ayn Rand novel from the first page to the last.

Despite the best of intentions by the filmmaker James D. Stern, the interviews of poorly educated republicans - and one happy-go-lucky, rich and overprivileged Floridian fuddy-duddy (James Snot-Nose, the III) - fails to provide any actual 'Aha!' moments. If anything, it cements preconceptions that the presidential election of 2016 was not about wealth and income, but rather the level of education as post-election polls and analysis by FiveThirtyEight indicated.

People lacking a high-school education were the most likely to vote for Trump, while people with doctorate degrees the least likely. The pattern even held true statewide: in 10 of the best educated states Hillary won, while in 9 of the 10 worst educated states Trump won. To summarize, if you ever wanted to know what it looks like when a bunch of people climb up Dunning-Krugers' mount stupid, then have a look at this doc.

James Stern is an unabashed Obama loving liberal, and he does his best to understand the other side. Where he fails is in giving time to Conservative subject matter experts on policy. Conservatives are portrayed as fear mongering but it's hysterical to see throughout the movie all the fear Stern has if Trump were to win. This alone is worth the price of admission. Yes it's biased but it's the best once could expect from a left gone mad.

James Stern, to his credit, displays what a clueless liberal looks like. He is totally detached from the realities that most Americans face and the values they hold across the greater part of this country. He attempts to educate himself, but rather than "listen" as he claim, he cops a condescending attitude toward the religious hard working middle Americans that make up much of America. I though he actually had an "ah ha" moment when he talked to the rancher on Arizona border about the illegal immigration crisis and the realities of illegal border crossing but then defends those who would open American to those not invited or welcome here. People watching this video can, unexpectedlly, reaffirm that America made the right decision in 2016.