2016: Obama's America

I heard about this movie coming out some time ago, just before the US elections are happening, which is a perfect time for a presidential documentary. First I should say, I am not an American, I'm a Canadian, but I do have quite the interest in American politics. Also, like the vast majority of Canadians, I'm more of a Democrat. Sure, if there was a leader in the Republican field, that was far superior to the democrat candidate, then I would be fully behind the republican, but for the past few decades, I've been far more on the side of the Democrat candidates.

I found a lot of this film to be really interesting. The first half of the movie goes into who Barack Obama really is, a history of his life, and his father's life. There were so many tidbits of information that I never knew before, and it was really great to be able to find that information.

At the same time though, D'Souza, the maker of the documentary, has many scenes where he's talking about himself, and putting words into people's mouths. The direction of the title of the movie, showing what America will be like if Obama gets his second term, is hardly put forward, and when D'Souza does put forward his ideas, they really hardly make sense, and they're so extreme, that I doubt they will ever happen in the united states.

After seeing that movie, I just had to go back in time a few years, and watch Michael Moore's "Fahrenheit 9-11" and... oh my god... if anyone thinks, in any direction, that Obama isn't a good president, then look back just a few years and take a peak at what George Bush Jr. had done... it's freaking insane, and horrific. Looking at what has happened, I would say that Obama is the greatest president the US has had in a long, long time... perhaps going back to Ronald Reagan, perhaps even going back to Kennedy. I highly doubt that any republican would be able to beat out Obama for a second term in office, and one thing is for sure, this movie didn't make me doubt that, at all.

But one thing that D'Souza says about Obama is true. Many parts of his life up to when he got into office are quite a bit of a mystery to most people, so if you'd like to know more of the history of Obama, I highly recommend watching this movie.

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.

Contrary to my expectations, this was not a scare-fest along the lines of "The Day After Tomorrow." Instead it's kind of an egghead treatment that starts by asking, Why did Obama disappoint so many of his supporters? He was voted in by Democrats, independents, and a few disillusioned Republicans. Many of them are feeling betrayed.

I'm gay, he betrayed me. I'm Green, he betrayed me. I'm a DREAMer, he betrayed me. I want card check, he betrayed me. I want to close Gitmo, he betrayed me. I want the rich to pay higher taxes, he betrayed me. I want single-payer healthcare, he betrayed me. I wanted transparency, he betrayed me.

D'Souza replies: The reason is, these piddly Democrat-Republican squabbles are not Obama's concern.

According to D'Souza, Obama's aim is way beyond this two-party conflict that the rest of us Americans are locked in. Thanks largely to Obama's often squalid overseas upbringing and the education his parents and grandparents designed for him, he takes a much broader view of America: as a colonialist thief of other nations' natural wealth. He has essentially projected the sins of Britain onto America. The British Raj, Churchill's suppression of the Mau-Mau Rebellion, are examples of the crimes he lays at America's feet. Rapacious British = White = America. That's why he wants to level America by reducing its military power and individual Americans' standard of living. Of course this is misguided; America is itself a former British colony which expelled its overlords in a bloody revolution.

D'Souza intuits much of this from parallels to his own life; he is Indian, and he was advised by his grandfather not to go to America, where "they're white." He lived in Third World squalor, he escaped courtesy of an educational opportunity in an elite American university, he was born and graduated and married in the same years as Obama. He "gets" the whole anti-colonial mindset.

But for most of his evidence, he simply quotes Obama's own words in "Dreams from My Father" and hunts down the teachers and mentors that Obama himself credits. Frank Marshall Davis, Jeremiah Wright, some Brazilian Communist who was expelled from Brazil and found a welcoming and lucrative home at Harvard. He also learned from Bill Ayers.

D'Souza concludes from Obama's first term that he's just not that into the Democrats. He used them (along with the independents and disgusted Republicans) to get himself into power, but he's got another agenda all his own that is well beyond disagreements over who pays what tax rate and whether teenage rape victims should be forced to become mothers.

Therefore he'll adopt progressive issues where they help him and not an inch further. For instance, when he saw some of his base slipping, he did finally evolve his own, deep, personal, individual view on gays marrying -- but he also flat-out said he's not going to put any energy into it as President.

One may agree with Obama's agenda, one may not. It does overlap the liberal agenda in some areas. Indeed, there are plenty of American liberals who feel America should be taken down a peg for the good of the world. But Obama is not motivated by the same things American liberals are. He's not at heart a Democrat, or a progressive, or a liberal, or a leftist. He's more of a sort of confused anti-colonialist.

D'Souza devotes only a few minutes at the end of the movie to the world's prospects if Obama gets a second term. Just a few. Essentially, "there will be no place to hide" if Islamists expand, if American military power is significantly reduced, if our wealth is flushed. It will be bad for the world and bad for us.

8/10 because of its slightly choppy structure.

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.

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