2016: Obama's America: Difference between revisions
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| budget = $2.5 million<ref name="nr">{{cite news|author=Fund, John|title=What Obama Has in Store for Us|url=http://www.nationalreview.com/articles/313100/what-obama-has-store-us-john-fund|accessdate=28 August 2012|newspaper=[[National Review Online]]|date=4 August 2012}}</ref> |
| budget = $2.5 million<ref name="nr">{{cite news|author=Fund, John|title=What Obama Has in Store for Us|url=http://www.nationalreview.com/articles/313100/what-obama-has-store-us-john-fund|accessdate=28 August 2012|newspaper=[[National Review Online]]|date=4 August 2012}}</ref> |
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| gross = $10,547,000 (est.)<ref name="bomojo">{{cite web|url=http://boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=2016obamasamerica.htm|title=2016: Obama's America|publisher=''Box Office Mojo''|accessdate=30 August 2012}}</ref> |
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'''''2016: Obama's America''''' is a 2012 [[documentary]] by [[Conservatism in the United States|conservative]] author and commentator [[Dinesh D'Souza]]. The film was produced by [[Gerald R. Molen]], and is based on D'Souza's 2010 ''New York Times'' best-selling book titled ''The Roots of Obama's Rage.''<ref>{{cite news|title=Best Sellers: Nonfiction: Sunday, October 24th 2010|url=http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9A0DE1DC173EF937A15753C1A9669D8B63|accessdate=17 August 2012|newspaper=[[The New York Times]]|date=24 October 2010}}</ref> D'Souza and [[John Sullivan (director)|John Sullivan]] co-directed and co-wrote the film. |
'''''2016: Obama's America''''' is a 2012 [[documentary]] by [[Conservatism in the United States|conservative]] author and commentator [[Dinesh D'Souza]]. The film was produced by [[Gerald R. Molen]], and is based on D'Souza's 2010 ''New York Times'' best-selling book titled ''The Roots of Obama's Rage.''<ref>{{cite news|title=Best Sellers: Nonfiction: Sunday, October 24th 2010|url=http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9A0DE1DC173EF937A15753C1A9669D8B63|accessdate=17 August 2012|newspaper=[[The New York Times]]|date=24 October 2010}}</ref> D'Souza and [[John Sullivan (director)|John Sullivan]] co-directed and co-wrote the film. |
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Revision as of 15:19, 30 August 2012
| 2016: Obama's America | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Directed by | Dinesh D'Souza John Sullivan |
| Written by | Dinesh D'Souza John Sullivan |
| Produced by | Gerald R. Molen |
| Starring | Dinesh D'Souza |
| Music by | Calvin Jones |
Production company | |
| Distributed by | Rocky Mountain Pictures |
Release date |
|
Running time | 89 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $2.5 million[1] |
| Box office | $10,547,000 (est.)[2] |
2016: Obama's America is a 2012 documentary by conservative author and commentator Dinesh D'Souza. The film was produced by Gerald R. Molen, and is based on D'Souza's 2010 New York Times best-selling book titled The Roots of Obama's Rage.[3] D'Souza and John Sullivan co-directed and co-wrote the film.
Reviews have noted the quality of the production values[1][4][5], but have doubted its ability to change any viewer's mind about Obama.[6][7]
Summary
The documentary begins with D'Souza on screen describing his own experiences as an Indian-American immigrating to the United States, as a college student at Dartmouth College, and then as an editor at the conservative magazine Policy Review, pointing out the similarities between his life and Barack Obama's. The film changes location to Indonesia, where a young Barack Obama is being reared by his mother Ann Dunham and stepfather Lolo Soetoro. A psychologist discusses the detrimental effect of an absentee father on his children. D'Souza travels to Africa and interviews Obama's half brother George Obama.[8]
As Obama's parents' relationship becomes strained, Obama is sent to Hawaii to live with his grandparents and meets Frank Marshall Davis. Obama finishes his college studies at Columbia, where the film claims he is influenced by anti-colonialist figures. His progression into an intellectual is highlighted by a return visit to Kenya. The film incorporates spoken words from Obama's audio book, Dreams from My Father.
D'Souza discusses Obama's father, Barack Obama, Sr., and what D'Souza describes as Obama Sr.'s anti-colonialist views of the British Empire. This, according to D'Souza, explains why Obama supposedly rejects American exceptionalism and why D'Souza believes he is attempting to "reshape America". D'Souza delves into what he terms the "founding fathers" from Obama's past, including Frank Marshall Davis, Reverend Jeremiah Wright, Bill Ayers, Edward Said, and Roberto Unger. As a result, the film argues that President Obama wants to significantly reduce the U.S.'s influence within the world while increasing the influence of nations that he believes have suffered or been held back economically or militarily due to U.S. and western domination. To argue his case, D’Souza interviews conservative academics Shelby Steele and Daniel Pipes. The film warns that should Obama be elected to a second term, the ramifications will be far reaching. It ends by stating, "The future is in your hands."
Production
D'Souza credits Michael Moore for giving him the idea on how to frame the film, saying:
"When he released Fahrenheit 9/11 in 2004 ahead of the election, it sparked intense debate. I learned some lessons from Michael Moore, and hopefully he might learn some lessons from me about handling facts."[9]
D'Souza describes the film as "a vista" of Obama's earlier life, following his childhood from Hawaii to Indonesia and a visit to Kenya (Obama's father's birthplace).[10] Such an upbringing D'Souza contends has caused President Obama to subscribe "to an ideology that sees America very differently."[10] D'Souza asserts that Obama's father’s Kenyan roots in particular have inspired the President "to shrink America’s footprint in the world because he thinks we’ve been stepping on the world."[10] The film further aims to show D'Souza's predictions about how the future of the United States might unfold should Barack Obama be elected to a second term as President.
Producer Gerald R. Molen said he became involved with the film because he finds the debt issue "terrifying", and believes that the movie illuminates how Obama's experiences before the presidency impact his political ideology. Molen is also "concerned about the plans for the disarmament of the U.S." and feels that "Israel has been thrown underneath the bus by this administration." This is Molen's first documentary. The registered Republican considers himself a fiscally conservative Independent, indicating that he has previously voted for Democrats in addition to Republicans, priding himself on his evaluation of all the candidates.[11]
The film contains seven re-enactments, for which 100 actors receive credits, including a shot where an actor's hand is shown "reverently dropping" dirt on the gravesite of Obama's father.[12]
Release and box office
The film was previewed in July 2012 on a single screen in Houston, Texas, grossing almost $32,000 during its opening weekend.[9] In August, the film was expanded to 169, then 1,091, theaters nationwide, following the limited release to 61 theaters over the previous month. The film was noted to be a "box office hit".[10] During its wide opening weekend release of August 24th through the 26th, the film earned an estimated $6.2 million. As of August 29, 2012, the film had grossed more than $10.5 million[13] making it the 17th highest-grossing documentary[13] and the 6th highest-grossing political documentary[14] since 1982 in the U.S.
Reception
As of August 29, 2012, the film has a 50% rating at the aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, based on 12 reviews.[15] The film also has a score of 44 out of 100 at the aggregator website Metacritic, based on 9 reviews, indicating "mixed or average reviews".[16]
In the New York Times, Andy Webster labelled the film "strident" and noted "Mr. D’Souza stumbles when interviewing George Obama, the president’s half-brother, an activist who voluntarily lives amid squalor in Nairobi, Kenya. 'Obama has not done anything to help you', Mr. D’Souza goads George Obama. "He’s taking care of me; I’m part of the world," George Obama replies."[17] John Fund of the National Review wrote that "D’Souza obviously wants his film to be taken seriously, and it deserves to be." He praised the production and feels that the film will appeal to conservatives as well as independents who are unsure of Obama.[1] Christian Toto from the website breitbart.com, also praised the production quality of the film, stating that "It's rare to see unabashedly right of center films, and when they arrive they typically reveal their modest budgets in every scene. '2016' is different." He described the film as "clearly a conservative's effort to explain the president's actions while cautioning against a future in which Obama is unchecked by political reckoning."[4] In the Washington Post, Michael O’Sullivan described the movie as a "slick infomercial...destined to irritate the president’s supporters while mobilizing his detractors, even as it is doomed to win precious few converts", while also criticizing D'Souza for "fear-mongering of the worst kind".[18] Bill Goodykoontz of The Arizona Republic said it was "preaching to the choir" in a style similar to Michael Moore's films, but without the humor and without presenting views from the other side, and is unlikely to change anyone's mind.[6] Joe Leydon of Variety said "2016 employs a brisk montage of snappy visuals, re-enactments, talking-head interviews and first-person commentary to render President Obama as a clear and present danger whose socialist governing philosophy has been indelibly colored by radical influences ranging from his African-born father (a rabid anti-colonialist) to the notorious Rev. Jeremiah Wright", but that "the pic comes off as a cavalcade of conspiracy theories, psycho-politico conjectures and incendiary labeling." [5]
Beth Fouhy of the Associated Press said that the movie contained a number of factual inaccuracies and noted that its central thesis that Obama's presidency is an expression of his father's political beliefs, "is almost entirely subjective and a logical stretch at best".[19]
References
- ^ a b c d Fund, John (4 August 2012). "What Obama Has in Store for Us". National Review Online. Retrieved 28 August 2012.
- ^ "2016: Obama's America". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 30 August 2012.
{{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help) - ^ "Best Sellers: Nonfiction: Sunday, October 24th 2010". The New York Times. 24 October 2010. Retrieved 17 August 2012.
- ^ a b Toto, Christian (3 August 2012). "'2016: Obama's America' Review: D'Souza Connects President's Past to Present". Breitbart Big-Hollywood. Retrieved 28 August 2012.
- ^ a b Leydon, Joe (2012-08-02). "Obama's America - Film Reviews - New U.S. Release". Variety Reviews - 2016. Variety.com. Retrieved 2012-08-28.
{{cite web}}: More than one of|first1=and|first=specified (help); More than one of|last1=and|last=specified (help) - ^ a b Goodykoontz, Bill (2012-08-24). "'2016: Obama's America'". Azcentral.com. Retrieved 2012-08-28.
- ^ Mad About Movies Will it fire up Obama’s critics? Bruce Bennett, Spectrum
- ^ Bond, Paul (9 July 2012). "Barack Obama's Brother to Make Film Debut in Anti-Obama Documentary". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 28 August 2012.
- ^ a b McKay, Hollie (30 July 2012). "Conservative filmmaker behind '2016: Obama's America' says he 'learned some lessons' from Michael Moore, prepares for wide release". FOX News Network. Retrieved 28 August 2012.
- ^ a b c d Bingham, Amy. (August 22, 2012) "Anti-Obama Documentary a Box Office Hit" ABC News. Accessed August 28, 2012.
- ^ Murashko, Alex (7 August 2012). "'Obama's America 2016' Movie Producer: People Need to Get Educated". The Christian Post. Retrieved 28 August 2012.
- ^ Sharkey, Betsy (August 26, 2012). "'2016: Obama's America' goes by the book". The Los Angeles Times. Retrieved August 28, 2012.
- ^ a b Box Office Mojo top documentaries
- ^ Box Office Mojo top political documentaries
- ^ 2016: Obama's America at Rotten Tomatoes
- ^ Please use a more specific Metacritic template.
- ^ Webster, Andy (August 13, 2012). "Movie Review, Documentary Exploring Obama's Political Roots '2016: Obama's America". The New York Times. Retrieved August 28, 2012.
{{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help) - ^ In ‘2016,’ Obama is fear itself Michael O’Sullivan Friday, August 24, 2012 Washington Post
- ^ Fouhy, Beth (August 28, 2012) FACT CHECK: "Anti-colonial" Obama not plausible, Associated Press. Accessed August 29. 2012.
