2016: Obama's America

I saw this movie tonight with my father, and was slightly skeptical. I half expected it to have an in your face approach like the conservative talk radio hosts always seem to have. I can say that as a 20 year old that considers myself to be somewhat more of a moderate than a conservative, I really appreciated what this movie brought to the table.

It was very informational about who Barack Obama is and where he came from; as well as where his parents came from and how their views were shaped and molded. From what I learned in this movie, President Obama's views are simply a consequence of his upbringing and he completely holds true to his father's ideals. Unfortunately, those ideals seem to have connected him with some "shady" people, including communists. I definitely learned some startling statistics and first hand accounts of his life from friends and family members that have shaped my opinion about this man.

I would say that this movie is quite obviously going to be popular with the conservatives, but it worthwhile to see even for a liberal voter. None of the facts or stories in this movie seemed to be fictional and were fairly presented.

"obama is an anti-colonialist." that was the main accusation of the film--which takes its sweet time getting to the point. ironically, our nations founding fathers were anti-colonialists, hence why they rebelled against the British, who used to be our colonizers... also thrown into the film--of course--the obligatory pro-colonialist, feel-good belief of "maybe if whites were still in control over indigenous people, they would be better off." along with some inaccuracies...

supposedly obama will do nothing to stop Iran from acquiring wmd... i guess dinesh didn't catch the news about assassinated iranian scientists, and repeated hacking of their nuclear facilities... i bet dinesh was one of those guys with the "osama loves obama" bumper sticker on his pickup truck in 2008. and lets not forget the folks who were salivating at the thought of sticking it to the hippies once wmd were found in iraq!

oh, and supposedly obama wants to sabotage the USA by getting us into debt... funny, dinesh didn't make this accusation against bush, when he set our current economic trajectory. in fact, obama has slowed the increase in government spending when compared to bush, whom dinesh probably voted for twice.

the films main message is: "let our government take care of your country." and this is coming from the guys that say government cant do anything! this movie is a tome of wisdom for its key demographic, but comes off as a comedy to the informed viewer.

This is the kind of movie that enrages or excites depending on partisan leanings, as evidenced by the helpful liberal who decided to interrupt by reminding everyone in the theater that it's "propaganda." However, I am neither a Democrat or a Republican, so I feel I have a fairly objective view of this movie.

First of all, it's absolutely fascinating. Obama came out of what seemed like nowhere with incredible charm, but most people don't know much about his life story. This movie describes the type of people and places he grew up in, and interviews experts who have an idea of what kind of thinking drives the 44th President. The subjects covered should be fairly familiar to anyone interested in politics, but the movie explores these a bit more in-depth than the talking heads on cable news, without being histrionic.

Dinesh D'Souza states that we carry elements of the past into the future, but it's also apparent that he carries unspoken assumptions into his work. If you share his assumptions, as I think many Americans do, then you'll probably find Obama's presidency more disturbing, because he doesn't fit neatly within the nationalist and individualist ideology that is typical of U.S. Presidents. D'Souza also appeals to the unconditional support for Israel and nuclear weapons. If you're outside of his assumptions, as I am, then it will be difficult to end up with his conclusions.

While I've never really trusted Obama and still don't, I came out of the film liking him a bit more, which was probably not the intended effect. In any case, it was interesting and I felt it was worth my time watching, just to get a clearer picture of the man in the White House.

After seeing how polarizing the reviews for this film were, I prepared myself for the possibility it would be akin to some radical, Michael Moore-like conspiracy theory. I was pleasantly surprised when it wasn't.

There is no doubt what side of the political spectrum Dinesh D'Souza is on, but i feel like he made sufficient effort to support his theories and conclusions with actual facts and further, he did it using President Obamas own words. His assessments are fair, though at times he seems to be reaching. D'Souza chooses snippets from Obama's book and his speeches and other documented clips selectively to support his claims, but nonetheless, the evidence is there. To be honest, it's really sort of frightening when you see it all laid out in front of you.

Bottom-line is go see the movie. Keep an open mind. And please, try not to pay much attention to some of these clearly biased, misinformed reviews and critics. If you're even slightly interested in politics, watch the film, and decide for yourself.

That I cannot recall a serious documentary film made about a president who was still in office at the time of the film's release, at least not a film with a wide theatrical release (can we count the propaganda laden Fahrenheit 9/11?), speaks volumes about this film's importance. That no president that I have ever studied in school has been shrouded in so much mystery and controversy speaks volumes about the legitimacy of a documentary investigating who he is and what he has come from. 2016: Obama's America explores the history and influences of our current president Barack Obama, from as much an objective standpoint as I think one could take without simply saying nothing. While lacking the flashiness and polish of a Michael Moore film, director Dinesh D'Souza wisely goes straight for the facts, tossing aside all the propaganda, assumptions, theories and pretty motion graphics of more famous documentarians. How can I say "fact"? How do I know? Because much of the film explores the writings and quotes and interviews from Obama himself. It's straight from the horse's mouth. Much of it is alarming, I don't know how it could be seen any other way by anyone who loves this country. Much of it also puts away petty arguments about things that don't really matter when it's all said and done. D'Souza affirms that Obama was born in Hawaii, which I'm sure will anger some people. But there are bigger issues at stake in this film, which is about our very real state of affairs here in the United States of America. While it does naturally take a partisan stance, it is as objective as documentaries get, and should be seen by all. And if box office numbers mean anything, it is being seen by quite a few (it posted Top Ten numbers for this past weekend, and only projects to grow to more and more theaters). The film's tag-line, "Love him or hate him, you don't know him" could very well be the complete review for this film.

-Thomas Bond, TheFilmDiscussion.com