America: Imagine the World Without Her (2014, Documentary)
Director, Written: Dinesh D'Souza, John Sullivan
At a time in our country when leaders from the ruling party tell non-dominant races of the nation, the so-called 'newcomers', not to comment on the political running of the country but to just continue paying the tax without raising an eyebrow on the turn of events, I thought this documentary was an eye-opener.
Only in America an immigrant who still remembers his time in his original country and after 30 years of residence in his newfound country writes and makes documentaries about the greatness of his new home but condemns the opposition to the concept of America. He further goes to prison for hurting the people in power. This is Dinesh D'Souza, the filmmaker known for making political documentaries and of one of the highest grosser in the history of USA. His previous flick, 2016: Obama's America (produced 2012) remains the second highest grossing political documentary of all time after 'The Inconvenient Truth'.
Most non-Americans view the Democratic Party as the liberal party sympathetic to the plight of minority, immigrants and the economically challenged whereas the Republican portray a gung-ho nationalist group hellbent on allowing gun usage and spreading xenophobic attitudes. Unfortunately, life is not so simplistic. After all, Abraham Lincoln was a Republican when he fought for the abolition of slavery.
From the turn of the 20th century onwards, USA has always been painted as the good guys fighting for the greater good of things against the evil fascists and communists. When the Berlin Wall collapsed when everybody thought there would be peace on Earth, nothing like that happened. Instead, what we have is the tarnished image of the USA who is viewed as the epitome of everything evil, from being a theft of lands to the manipulator of world regimes among others.
D'Souza disagrees. He feels that America is the land of free where dreams come true. It allows individuals to write their own script of life, to live their dreams and be free. He gives himself as an example, becoming successful as a writer and a filmmaker, which he would have never dreamt of being if his parents had decided to stay back in India some 30 years previously.
He goes on to dispute many of the firmly held beliefs around the world. To conquer and dominate had been going in human history in time immemorial; the Huns, the Egyptians, the Persians, the Europeans, they all did it. Even before Columbus landed in the New World, various Native American tribes were already killing and displacing each other.
He takes the famous historian, Howard Zinn, someone often mentioned in the mainstream media and Hollywood, to the task. The Mexicans still long for the day when the part of Texas and California that they lost to the USA which they fondly named 'The Lost Providences' can be reclaimed. Surprisingly, no Mexicans who migrated to the USA wants to return, and more are yearning to leave Mexico for greener pastures. The 'Lost Providences' had undoubtedly prospered under America. Imagine what would have happened if they had still been under the mafia-controlling, corruption-plagued, unsafe Mexico.
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| CJ Walker 1867-1919 American first female self-made millionaire. |
D'Souza looks at the time when America had slaves as something which was the norm for that era. Many labour intensive industries all over the world relied on slaves and indentured labourers for survival. The only difference is that America fought a war to abolish it. In fact, in the 1800s, it is recorded that even freed black slaves (e.g. William Allison) became slave-owners themselves as it was lucrative. Then there was a Mdm CJ Walker who, through her own effort became a millionaire, a philanthropist and a political activist.
To the accusers of the USA being a conqueror of small nations and puppet master of corrupt regimes, he has this to say. America's brand of entrepreneurial capitalism creates wealth, not pilfering. Without US' creation of wealth, the world would be engaged in wars over wars as they had been doing all the time in the history of humanity.
The most scathing accusation that the author makes is in the radical stance of the Democratic Party. They appear to be liberal, but it is all a facade. He alleges Hillary Clinton to be influenced, in her formative years, by a communist sympathiser, Saul Alinsky. Alinsky drew his inspiration from the mobster Frank Netti and, believe it or not, Lucifer. He goes on to demonise Obama and denounce his plan to develop America as robbing from the US coffers to impoverish the country and destroy the fundamental of which the country was built.
This documentary was not received cordially by the media people. Many nasty reviews have been written. After all, the media is supposed to be liberal as the Democratic Party does make themselves to be, and D'Souza tries to dispute.
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