A Student’s Review of 2016: Obama’s America
On August 15, I attended a free screening of 2016: Obama’s America. (Special thanks to talk radio host Rusty Humphries and Atlanta radio station WGST for making the film screening happen.) The film was produced by Gerald R. Molen, Academy Award-winning producer of Schindler’s List, and was co-directed by John Sullivan and Dinesh D’Souza, President of King’s College and best-selling author. The film documents the story of President Barack Obama’s early childhood and family life, and seeks to explain how that background might have shaped Obama into the man who would grow up to become President of the United States.
When the film was first announced, it was advertised as a blockbuster that would show the country just who Barack Obama was and how his ideology was shaped and directed by his past. Conservative pundits across the spectrum began plugging the film as a must-see. I’d heard several of Dinesh’s arguments before, in particular his anti-colonialist argument that was featured in his now famous (or infamous, depending on your political leaning) 2010 article in Forbes magazine titled “How Obama Thinks,” and was curious to see what the film would do given the previous work of its primary creator.
So with trusty bag and notebook in tow, I set out to see if the movie lived up to the hype.
And all in all, I have to agree that the film is worth seeing.
For those who read other reviews and may have been lead to believe that the film was made by amateurs, I ask that you kindly check your preconceptions at the door. From the very first minute of 2016 onward, the documentary features some very high production value and clean, professional quality. (Gerald Molen wouldn’t produce just anything, after all.) Using frequent flashbacks, map imagery, and the use of old photography effects, the movie seeks to pull the audience members in and connect them with the people, places, events, and ideas that play such a major role in President Obama’s history.
The film is based heavily on Dinesh’s previous written work, but differs significantly in that he is able to more naturally put the facts into their historical context as the film progresses. Quite often, this is done through the use of Barack Obama’s own voice taken from the audiobook version of his autobiography Dreams from my Father. He uses these excerpts strategically throughout the film to support the ideas that he is putting forward, using Barack Obama’s own words (and voice) to reinforce the narrative and impress certain key points upon the viewer.
The film goes into some depth by utilizing a wide range of interviews. Key to Dinesh’s argument is the life of Barack Obama Sr., the Kenyan anti-colonialist who he claims was key to shaping the worldview of his son, the young Barack Obama. Dinesh effectively reinforces his claims about Obama Sr. with interviews from several of his friends and family still living and residing in Kenya. Another interesting interview with George Obama, Barack’s half-brother, is also revealing. While some see this interview as a misstep, I believe that it served a valuable philosophical purpose. The interview highlighted the differences in ideology between George Obama (who Dinesh argues largely parted from Barack Sr.’s legacy and worldview) and Barack Obama himself (who arguably kept much of his father’s worldview and legacy intact). (You can read about those differences in more detail here.)
The bulk of the film’s content is focused on Barack Obama’s history, including his development as a political figure and his election in 2008. The final part of the film gives a brief overview of how the anti-colonialist ideology may play a major role if President Obama is elected to a second term. This part of the film was quite honestly the scariest, as the theories put forward by Dinesh and his interview subjects paint a very dark picture. Dinesh argues that if Barack Obama truly believes that America would be better not as a superpower, but as one nation among many leading powers, then many of his policy moves from his first term would only be pushed to their natural extremes. Larger-scale disarmament of America’s nuclear missiles (taking our missile count down to a mere 300 warheads) was one of the more eye-popping scenarios raised by the film. Other possible scenarios like economic projections were also very jarring.
The final message that Dinesh wants viewers to take away is made very clear at the end of the film: if the history of Barack Obama and his anti-colonialist philosophy are in fact what is driving his policy decisions, then a second term would be a very bad idea indeed.
It is important to point out that 2016 is not perfect. One personal gripe was a lack of consistent references; this was made more frustrating by the hugely important role that those very facts played in the documentary. Though some articles and quotes were cited briefly in the film itself, others were not. And while much of the research used in the film can be found in Dinesh D’Souza’s other books and in the works of other authors (such as Paul Kengor’s The Communist, which documents the relationship between Barack Obama and Frank Marshall Davis), these other sources were not included on the film’s web site or in the credits. Unfortunately, this renders the movie as a standalone piece more vulnerable to critique from opponents or from the uninformed skeptic.
Another possible weak point, in my view, is the ending itself. Because the projections at the end are so dark and foreboding, more skeptical viewers who had until then followed Dinesh’s historical arguments about President Obama’s father and past might be turned off at that crucial point in the movie. Instead of carrying away the whole movie as something to mull over, they could more easily shake it off with a simple “That guy was nuts.” Because of this, unfortunately, I think the documentary isn’t capable of converting the most diehard of Obama supporters.
The movie as a whole, however, surpasses these weak points and still stands alone as a valuable documentary film. The story of President Barack Obama is reconstructed in a more full fashion, clearly demonstrating where the President came from both historically and ideologically. All of the separate facts and story lines are woven together, and it is much easier to see just how different actors and elements interacted throughout the young Barack Obama’s life and past.
Even though the film won’t affect the truest of true believers, it may effectively inform those individuals who are on the fence about what they should do in the upcoming election. I’d recommend that folks who are on the fence, or who are unfamiliar with Dinesh’s previous work, see the film and consider what it has to say seriously. I would also strongly encourage students of all ages to attend. You may not be the coolest person on the block for seeing the movie (the majority of the crowd in my screening looked to be a generation or two older than me), but you may be a bit smarter for going.
Not everyone will agree with the full content of the film or the conclusions it draws about the future, and that’s just fine. But it would wrong for those critics to deny that Dinesh D’Souza makes a very compelling case. If taken seriously, it will give the viewer new information and tools with which to evaluate the President and his agenda before November. After a 2008 election in which almost no-one knew about the background of the Hope-And-Change Kid from Chicago, 2016: Obama’s America is a refreshing, if sometimes unsettling, change for the better.
David Giffin | Emory University | @D_Giffin
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For those of you who don’t believe that “2016” truly reflects Obama’s America, we encourage you to check out “The Obama Effect.” You can watch it on demand here: http://bit.ly/ShhGFS and or you can pre-order it on DVD here: http://amzn.to/W98wtI. It will be released on DVD on election day!
I watched the film. I didn’t see very much difference, contextually between this film and “W” by Oliver Stone. Stone asserts that George H.W. Bush may have favored Jeb over George W., which fueled tensions between father and son. Is that true? Maybe, maybe not. But it was a stretch to blame W’s behavior on “daddy issues”. I think the same conclusion can be argued here as well. Blaming Obama’s policies on an absentee father and a distant culture? Sounds like a bunch of elitist psychology crap to me. Both directors have clear political leanings and it comes through in their work, which makes these films less informative and more like propaganda. In a larger sense, we don’t require D’Souza or Stone to tell us what we already know. Democrats, Republicans, and the Tea Party are not the answer. We the people need to get the country moving! We need to stop fighting, start talking, and start working together to get the country moving again. That won’t happen wasting our time at the movies.
There is a reason that most wife beaters are children of wife beaters. And most racists are children of racist. Most children’s core values come from their parents. Where do you think Obama found his
According to Dinesh, Obama didn’t grow up with his father. He met him once when he was 10 years old. Isn’t proximity a key requirement for the transmission of behavior? Children of “wife beaters” are often in the household to see the violence. Children of racists require exposure to racist behaviors to form opinions and behaviors. Or are you saying that these things and political ideology be transferred in absentia?
I don’t need to see this film to know what an Obama future means for America. For those who do I can only believe they haven’t been paying attention to the first four years and should all receive failing grades for common sense.
Exactly. I saw this film today, it is powerful, and puts into context the insanity of the last three and half years.
Suddenly it makes sense that Obama has run up the debt with no end in sight, that he shuts down our oil drilling off the coast then gives money to other countries to drill off of their coast….
Everyone voting American needs to see this Film.
Go see the movie and decide for yourself. The author of this review would be a good employee of “Time”.
If this is what “conservative” college students are like, then the future of the conservative movement is bleak.
Study the actual history of Presidents Roosevelt, Wilson, and Johnson and you will understand that monsters like them have done untold damage to our country. These three presidents involved us in huge wars that they choose to involve the USA in. All three moved the USA towards a more powerful central government. Obama is worse than the previous because he is more radical and at the same time more ignorant of knowledge of how our country and the world works.
How many of you know the USA has not really “won” a war in over a century. We have been used by others to further their cause. Who “won” the civil war in Europe that ended in 1945? The Russians. Britian lost it’s empire and we lost a lot of money and men killed on the battlefield for nothing. Our reward was to have a desperate war with the USSR for sixty years (and it is not over yet). Germany would have been much easier to live with than the ruthless USSR.
*ed* should read: “I fear for ‘the’ entire human race.” sorry.
Kudos on the review, very helpful. Good external links to D’Souza material which I will take advantage of and read some of his older writings. Thank you!
I know there’s a great battle going on in this Presidential election or should I say, the world’s most watched popularity contest. Oh, and here in sunny Florida, recently declared by the talking heads as THE swing state, both candidates have warned us of the record breaking barrage of ‘negative’ political ads that will appear. You wouldn’t believe the garbage both sides are spewing forth, not unlike vomit. It doesn’t matter who wins the Presidential election; unless we fix Congress the future President is doomed. President Obama cannot just “take the country in any direction” all by himself. The power of the Veto? The newest weapon in the President’s holster is the Executive order. Since 911 there has been a shift in Executive Powers making it easier for a sitting President to bypass Congress. President G.W. Bush, at the behest of V.P. Cheney (and others in the Executive Branch) unapologetically used this ‘power’ during his term. Dems cried out. Now the opposite is the case.
Funny, the timing…jus’ sayin’.
It would do everyone good to visit this site as a reminder of what President G W Bush’s admin was actually about…in their own words:
http://www.newamericancentury.org/index.html
If you check the Statement of Principles you’ll see exactly who signed on to this ‘plan.’
@Ben – good points all….
@The Political Informer – Glen Beck??? Seriously?
@B – para 1) Three words: Greed, Human Nature.
Alpha males, even human, live to conquer. History is full of illustrations, eh? Corporations live to conquer, as well. Conquerers fear losing total control of their “world.” How’re we in the U.S. to remain the world’s ‘spoiled brats’ without controlling everything possible?
para 2) “…The economic issues are so much deeper than one presidential term and even when people claim that he made it worse, honestly their isn’t much he could have done in a divided congress. To claim that he is purposely weakening our economy is so ridiculous…” I’m in lockstep with you here.
I’m not going to comment on nukes here…. However ‘B’, you may be right.
IMHO the modern economic “dilemma” stretches all the way back to the Reagan administration. Every admin since, repubs & dems alike, have piled on to the problem. Congress is obviously a big part of the problem since, by design, they are supposed to be “controlling the purse strings.” The Fed. Reserve is sketchy, at best.
Ponder the following:
History also teaches us that all empires and democracies die eventully, in a predictable pattern. I learned this in my college days. It’s getting late in the game now for the America. We can never hold back China and India and if they soon start consuming everything at the rate Americans have in the past there aren’t going to be enough of the most important, essential resources to supply everyone. China & India will start their mass-consuming with an already depleted Earth. Economics 101…hello. Brazil isn’t looking good…The Amazon is our medicine chest but for how long. Development there is looking ominous. I fear for entire human race. All I can say with any certainty is that we here in the U.S. are in for big changes. Crap, even Mother Nature has it in for us now.
Hey ‘B’…pray for us all! We gonna need it!
Thanks all for giving me something to do this morning….
Luv’n not Hate’n,
Bill
I still don’t understand what is bad about being one nation in a group of leading nations? America does not need to be the superpower forever, the hero of everyone. The fact that other nations rise up to our level is great; people don’t realize that when you have only one or two super powerful nations, the rest are usually in poverty.
The worst thing about this film is the gross misunderstanding of the economy and foreign policy. The economic issues are so much deeper than one presidential term and even when people claim that he made it worse, honestly their isn’t much he could have done in a divided congress. To claim that he is purposely weakening our economy is so ridiculous… And this film’s take on our role in foreign affairs is wrapped around a worldview that we know what is best for the world, that we have the right to step into wherever we like and do what we think is right. I am a Christian, but honestly, when Christ says ‘those who live by the sword die by the sword,’ it sounds like he’s talking about the nukes we keep amassing.
Please tell me what planet you are living on or what fantasy you are participating in. To say that you can’t say he made it worse makes me think you are living in a fog. When Obama became the candidate in 2008, the economy started a nose dive. By the time he was in the Oval, the ship was starting to go down. Look at where we are today. Are you blind? America is a super-power and will always be great. To say Obama is not intentionally pulling this country down is a sign of your true colors. I can’t understand your way of thinking. To purposely want high unemployment, distribution of wealth from the middle class to the poor, so that the country builders are destroyed, to break down every religion and increase the non-caring among people, to purposely cause strife between each other, to put a stop to our own energy stability, but give money to other countries to expand their energy sources and to deliberately decrease our military power to make us a target…..well, “B” someone in the Admin is insane beside being a house full of socialists and communists. As far as I am concerned, I will vote my preference in November and it won’t be Obama. I would have supported him if he actually loved this country. He is committing treason every day he is in office. Misunderstanding of the economy just tells me you are a far left socialist liberal that is part of the problem with our country. Why don’t you think about being part of the solution.
“Please tell me what planet you are living on or what fantasy you are participating in. To say that you can’t say he made it worse makes me think you are living in a fog.” —- sounds like we have a one way thinker here.
“When Obama became the candidate in 2008, the economy started a nose dive. By the time he was in the Oval, the ship was starting to go down.” ——- So you are saying that by meerly existing, Obama was effecting the economy much more so than the actual standing President… WOW… such a powerful man. LOL
“Look at where we are today. Are you blind? America is a super-power and will always be great.”——- Yes, just look at the British Empire, and the Roman Empire… Once you get great, its all down hill from there. Just a thought.
“To say Obama is not intentionally pulling this country down is a sign of your true colors. ” ——- OK, sounds like you are ready for some one way thinking and ranting for FOX tv. Sorry but when someone truly has a one way mind like you are showing… pretty much anything you say gets ignored.
Just a thought.
Just to be clear, Im an independent, so just because I disagree on certain points dont call me an extreme socialist. Obviously people are allowed to have their opinions but I like to just correct some of the facts here. Also full disclosure, I didnt vote for Obama in 08 and I dont think he has done a great job.
BUT I also dont think he has done a bad job.
FACTS – Our economy is better than when Obama took office (Not where we want it but better)
Unemployment is down – he added over 4million jobs compared to the 800,000 we were losing per month when he took office. Also leading internation economist with no political persuasions have agrreed that the stimulus worked, which Bush was for too. Again it could have been better but it did help.
Also, no one knows what Obama thinks or his ‘true’ intentions are and to say he is purposefully destroying the economy etc is completely crazy, no offense. As soon as you start saying he is intentionally ruining America, your argument loses all merit because it does show how influenced by conspiracy theories and fear mongering you are.
One last thing, check out other countries and how they are doing, its the best way to get past political bias and see how America is doing, at points we have been doing the best compared to elsewhere. Britain for instance, is run by conservatives, employed austerity measure which everyone hates and they are about to have another recession. These 4 years have been tough, but we cant forget the policies that caused the crash, 8 years of bush and deregulation. Im not saying Obamas policies are the best, but we cant go back to pre-08 policies either.
Thanks!
I am not even going to argue the state of the economy. There is enough blame there for both sides.But for you to say that you do not understand what is wrong to just be one nation in a group of leading nation, means that you probably need a history lesson. After our war for independence our founding father decided that we should just be one nation in a group of leading nations and disbanded most of our army. And in 1812 the British marched into Washington D.C. and burned our capital. At the beginning of World War I we were just one nation in a group of leading nations and it took almost a full year for us to built a large enough army in France to make a differance. In World war 2 it took six months to build enough forces to stop the Japanese from taking over the whole pacific. Since WW2 we have been THE leading nation in the world. Our leadership has lead to the downfall of the Soviet Union and free elections in most of the former soviet union countries. And even our involvement in the Iraq War and free elections there, I will argue, had some effect in the Arab Spring uprising. We now have free elections in Lybia, Tunisia and Egypt. And I think it is ovious that we are not using our influence to control the outcome of those election, because most of those elected goverments are not all that friendly to us. And looks as though Syria will be next. It will not be long afterwards that the young people
of Iran will start pushing for more free and fair elections. Maybe even one day Russia and China may follow. So if you want us to be just one nation among a group of leading nations, than you and Obama go ahead and gut our armed forces. Spend the money on every person in America to lazy to work. They all need free cell phone paid for by the goverment. But be ready to learn Chinese. The Chinese are taking all that money that we spend on cheap blue-ray players and building a world leading military. You see they want to be the one super power, world leading nation! Can you say World WAR 3 ?
The documentary sounds interesting, but most of it would probably be repetitive from watching Glenn Beck. He was one of the first to highlight, in detail, Obama’s roots and past history.
Very well written!! I’ve not seen the film, but believe you’ve definately captured the essence of its narrative. As you pointed out, I really hope the absense of references, doesn’t detract from the facts. I can certainly see where those who are already committed supporters will write it off…perhaps much the same as republicans have done, regarding the movies of Michael Moore, or Al Gore’s environmentalist film.