Director: Dinesh D'Souza, John Sullivan
What is the hallmark of a mature society? Is it the ability to agree in unison to everything that is charted out by the forefathers? Is it the ability to assess, reassess, argue and substantiate all assertions with facts and figures? And that too without resorting to our primal elements of anger and violence. The member of society must be free enough to express his opinions without fear of persecution by decerebrate members of the community who are in the realm of power not by intelligence or erudite stature but by accident of birth. The society must be allowed to think. Creativity cannot be curbed or forced upon. Many of Man's most significant achievements come about by our ability to think outside the box, outside the conforms of the norm. Remember Star Trek. Just 50 over years after it fascinated our imagination, all the devices that were seen in The Enterprise are a reality, including the possibility of teleportation (at least in the laboratories!)This documentary, which is D'Souza's maiden production, got him into a lot of trouble. This partisan production, supportive of conservative America, was made just before Obama's re-elections. It eventually landed him in a lot of trouble. He subsequently had to undergo a prison sentence.
Just like his subsequent films, this flick grossed well at the box office but failed to impress any of the movie critics. They collectively denigrated the show and gave their thumbs down with scathing remarks.
D'Souza tries to uncover the mystery behind this relatively unknown candidate who just moved into the White House without occupying any major posts. He attempts to analyse his policies, break down the rationale underlying the genesis of his foreign and home policies and in a way try to psychoanalyse his every action.
In the first part of the documentary, D'Souza tells a bit about his background. Hailing from Mumbai, he was admitted to the prestigious Ivy League University of Dartmouth College. After graduation, he was absorbed into Reagan Presidential team, and the rest is history.
Looking at Obama's strategies after his first term, D'Souza noticed that many of his proposals mirror that of his native country of India and many of the Third World countries of the world. From there, he goes on to propose many outlandish theories that could justify his actions that appear to lean towards the far left, almost communist-like, anti-colonist and sympathetic towards the oppressed groups.
Obama has the uncanny ability to skirt around topics that are forwarded to him, This is a shift from other minorities leaders like Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton who clash head-on with the issue at hand. Obama can tell his audience what they want to hear; he is a darling to the big multinationals and a saviour to the downtrodden. His anti-colonist stance is seen in his unabashed attempt to strip the wealthy and bankrupt corporate America. In his eyes, America is just another evil empire like the British Empire which was out to rob the needy blind.
The story explores deep into the life of Barrack Hussein Obama Sr. He was a freedom fighter who abhorred the British for the brutality on the Mau Maus in Kenya. His stepfather in Indonesia, Lolo, also had issues with the authorities during the trying times of mid-60s when Sukarno was fighting communism. Obama, the President, grew up worshipping his absentee father. He built up some much hope in the ghost of his abusive father who turned out to be nothing like what he imagined to be. He grew up to be an insecure kid. Dinesh makes his assumptions from the manner Obama penned his autobiography, 'Dreams from My Father'.
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| Credit: Current.org |
In passing, D'Souza mocks at Obama's election catchphrase of 'Change'. America indeed had changed, not for the better but for worse.
