Wednesday, June 10, 2015

HATING OBAMA: NO ANSWERS DELIVERED



When you watch a documentary you have to realize that the film maker behind the movie you are watching will almost always have an opinion on his subject matter far in advance of his making the movie. It is the rare occasion where this isn’t true and perhaps the only type of film that comes close are true cinema verite films where the camera merely follows the inhabitants of the story that evolves in front of you. The majority of documentary films being made these days revolve around politics and those on both sides of the political spectrum come to the table with their own agendas well in hand.

What makes many of these interesting once they arrive is that few these days seem to fact check the information they offer or selectively edit out what they know will harm the basis of their film. Michael Moore is notorious for doing this going so far as to create scenes in his films and then trying to pretend they just happened. Sadly, and some may argue this, the majority of documentary films these days are made by those who have a left leaning ideology which means that a balanced number of films are not being made. On top of that a number of these films are demolished once released when fact checking them shows the faults in their reportage. With everyone having easy access to finding answers behind the lies online it makes the film makers seem either lazy or just propagandists.

As HATING OBAMA opens it seems as if that might be the case here. It begins by asking the question “Do people hate President Obama because of his policies or because he is black?” Within the first 20 minutes of this already short film we are presented with people talking about President Obama and praising everything he does. Those filmed include activists and actors, playwrights and street people. None of them will be names you will recognize. Even radio talk show hosts being talked to are regional at best and unknown to me; perhaps others will recognize them.

Included in that time we are also presented with images of blacks in this country being hosed, beaten, having dogs unleashed on them, being subjected to the most hateful signs and images KKK rallies. But it doesn’t take long to notice that all of these negative images are not current at all. Almost all of them come from the 60s, over 50 years ago. While talking about the amount of racism in this country those who feel it exists in the most extreme measure seem to think the U.S. today hasn’t changed over those 50 years. If that were the case wouldn’t we have more current footage that could be used, especially with the 24 hour news cycles stations in existence today? And if it were true then how was it that a black man was elected to the highest office in the country to begin with?

I was about to give up on the film when things began to change. Suddenly there were black commentators, authors and preachers who were talking about the subject at hand. These were not white politicians or liberals claiming that they felt guilty about white privilege, these were black individuals who were talking about the current President and how unhappy they were with him. The chance of claiming their views were based on racism was an impossible task. But through their being included in the discussion it demonstrated that the film maker here wasn’t trying to present only one side of the coin. He was indeed trying to discuss the topic in question with an even hand.

Even more surprising to me was that those who were presenting arguments against the President did so in a way that discussed his policies and politics rather than simply claiming he was wrong. They discussed verifiable facts that could be researched once the film was over. They talked about how he was elected as someone who would represent the black cause in this country but who has used policies that have actually harmed the black community instead, things like the fact that the unemployment level for blacks in this country has risen since he took office rather than decline.
On the other hand those who support the President are surprising as well. Their reasons for thinking his policies have worked revolve around two things. The first is that they personally have received a benefit from his policies, such as the lady who says she now has insurance and visits the doctor once a month now. I don’t know about anyone else but I don’t really know anyone who makes monthly doctor appointments no matter how great their insurance is. The second supporters are those who think he is wonderful for no reason other than that he is black. They don’t care about his policies, what he accomplishes or harms or anything other than the fact that he is black. Would this not constitute reverse racism? I don’t know but it seems like it might.

By the end of the film I have little doubt that anyone watching will probably not be swayed one way or the other. If you walk in thinking there is nothing wrong with this President then you will ignore those people talking about why they disagree with his policies. If you don’t like his policies you will agree with the statement one man who ran for office makes that he won’t be stopped because the minute you disagree with anything he says you are immediately proclaimed to be a racist. Perhaps the most telling interview in the film comes from a patron of a salon who praises him, talks about the wonderful things she and her friends now have and when it comes to anyone who disagrees with his policies then “…f**k them!” Hardly a well thought out argument but one that many use when their only reason is what they can get from someone.

The movie is interesting as it progresses and the arguments on both sides are telling by what they say and how those making statements view things. While I have little doubt in my mind that there are pockets of racism remaining in this country today it is nowhere near what it was in the 50s, 60s and before. As long as those who argue against racism in this country try to paint it that way their voices are likely to go unheard except by those they wish to foment into riotous masses. Those willing to have a civil discussion on the topic are more likely to be part of not only the discussion but the solution.

The film maker behind this film, Marquis Smalls, should be given credit for tackling a serious topic and bringing both sides of the issue to the forefront. While the film begins one way it ends by offering both sides of the issue, leaving the viewer to consider everything they’ve heard and seen in the past 107 minutes. That’s what a documentary film maker should aspire to, presenting the entire spectrum of the issue they choose to make a movie about. Michael Moore, who’s been around long enough to know better, would do well to take lessons from Mr. Smalls.

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