Robert Zimmerman Compares Trayvon Martin To Teen Baby Killer Younger brother of self-appointed neighborhood watchdog George Zimmerman, who shot and killed unarmed teenager Trayvon Martin a little over a year ago, is still trolling Twitter in desperate attempts to gain support for his scumbag sibling, who is finally headed to trial in a few months to face the music for his unwarranted actions. While it’s no secret that members of Zimmerman’s family and defense team will stop at nothing to paint the slain 17-year-old Martin as a street thug who left triggerman Zimmerman no other choice but the shoot him, Robert Zimmerman may have just reached ‘scum of the century’ level with his latest social media stunt. via Huffington Pos t George Zimmerman’s family has repeatedly spoken out in his defense against his portrayal as a villain in the media. But Zimmerman’s brother, Robert Zimmerman Jr., has created a bit of a firestorm on Twitter with his bizarre defense on behalf of his sibling, comparing Trayvon Martin to an alleged killer. Robert Zimmerman took to the social network on Sunday, sharing a photo of De’Marquis Elkins, a teen charged with the fatal shooting of a 1-year-old in Georgia, and Trayvon Martin flipping the middle finger. As if this picture wasn’t insulting enough to the family of Trayvon, Zimmerman #2 then went on to imply that both cases are prime examples of why society finds “blacks” to be risky. After inevitably starting a conversation around the post, Zimmerman responded to a tweet, challenging the liberal media’s coverage of his brother’s case and questioning why society thinks “blacks mightB risky.” The fact of the matter is this: If Zimmerman, his defense team, his family, and anyone else riding for him really had a solid case, they wouldn’t need to vilify this young man and his memory to prove their point. Do you think Robert Zimmerman has a point in implying that the liberal media often paints a one-sided picture when it comes to young black men and how they are depicted?
Robert Zimmerman Compares Trayvon Martin To Teen Baby Killer Younger brother of self-appointed neighborhood watchdog George Zimmerman, who shot and killed unarmed teenager Trayvon Martin a little over a year ago, is still trolling Twitter in desperate attempts to gain support for his scumbag sibling, who is finally headed to trial in a few months to face the music for his unwarranted actions. While it’s no secret that members of Zimmerman’s family and defense team will stop at nothing to paint the slain 17-year-old Martin as a street thug who left triggerman Zimmerman no other choice but the shoot him, Robert Zimmerman may have just reached ‘scum of the century’ level with his latest social media stunt. via Huffington Pos t George Zimmerman’s family has repeatedly spoken out in his defense against his portrayal as a villain in the media. But Zimmerman’s brother, Robert Zimmerman Jr., has created a bit of a firestorm on Twitter with his bizarre defense on behalf of his sibling, comparing Trayvon Martin to an alleged killer. Robert Zimmerman took to the social network on Sunday, sharing a photo of De’Marquis Elkins, a teen charged with the fatal shooting of a 1-year-old in Georgia, and Trayvon Martin flipping the middle finger. As if this picture wasn’t insulting enough to the family of Trayvon, Zimmerman #2 then went on to imply that both cases are prime examples of why society finds “blacks” to be risky. After inevitably starting a conversation around the post, Zimmerman responded to a tweet, challenging the liberal media’s coverage of his brother’s case and questioning why society thinks “blacks mightB risky.” The fact of the matter is this: If Zimmerman, his defense team, his family, and anyone else riding for him really had a solid case, they wouldn’t need to vilify this young man and his memory to prove their point. Do you think Robert Zimmerman has a point in implying that the liberal media often paints a one-sided picture when it comes to young black men and how they are depicted?
Tea Party Members Protest Against Fox News For Becoming Too Liberal Wow the “fair and balanced” safe-haven for tea party chumps and conservatives is now being accussed of being too liberal??? According to The Daily Beast: Is Fox News going soft? That is what a number of Tea Party activists are saying and they are organizing a boycott to protest the conservative station’s coverage, especially what they view as the network’s relative silence in investigating the attacks on a diplomatic mission in Benghazi, Libya. “Particularly after the election, Fox keeps turning to the left,” said Stan Hjerlied, 75, of Fort Collins, Colo., and a participant in the boycott. He pointed to an interview Fox News CEO Roger Ailes gave after the election in which he said that the Republican Party and Fox News need to modernize, especially around immigration. “So we are really losing our only conservative network.” The three-day boycott lasted Thursday morning through Sunday morning, and is the second time this group of activists have gone Fox-free in an effort to steer the coverage. Organizers say a two-day boycott earlier this month knocked 20 percent off of the network’s regular viewership. (A Daily Beast analysis of the same data showed that the boycott had little effect.) A spokeswoman for Fox News did not respond to a request for comment. A leader of the boycott, Kathy Amidon, of Nashville, declined an interview, instead directing The Daily Beast to a website, Benghazi-Truth. The website, a single-page, 23,000-word manifesto complete with multicolored fonts, supposedly incriminating videos of Fox News’s complicity in a coverup, and communist propaganda photographs, is kept by someone who identifies himself online as “Proe Graphique,” and who other members of boycott described as someone who works “in New York media.” Going without the conservative movement’s house organ, however, has proven to be no easy task for true believers. “I am having withdrawal. I do like Fox News,” said Kevin Avard, a former state lawmaker in New Hampshire who is participating in the boycott. “I have been going to CNN, and to Headline News just to get some kind of fix. I usually probably only watch them once or twice a year.” Hjerlied said that “If I want news, I go to Breitbart News and Drudge and I can find all the news I need, very quickly,” and after the first boycott, says he may have “kicked the habit” for good. “I used to have it on all day long, and I probably watched maybe six hours last week,” he said. “The more I looked at it, I have come to the conclusion that Fox is not as fair and balanced as I thought. They shade the truth also.” Among the demands the protesters have is that Fox News “be the right-wing CBS News: to break stories, to break information, and to do what news organizations have always done with such stories: break politicians,” that the network have at least one segment on Benghazi every night on two of its prime-time shows; that Fox similarly devote investigative resources to discovering the truth of Obama’s birth certificate; and that the network cease striving to be “fair and balanced.” “We need Fox to turn right,” said Hjerlied. “We think this is a coverup and Fox is aiding and abetting it. This is the way Hitler started taking over Germany, by managing and manipulating the news media.” SMH.
The online campaign urging Macy’s to Dump Trump is hitting the streets – billboard style. On Saturday, a mobile billboard attached to a truck began circling Macy’s headquarters in Cincinnati, Ohio, as well as a nearby department store. In New York, another mobile billboard began circling the company’s flagship store in Herald Square. The goal? Get Macy’s to cut ties with Donald Trump. Dump Trump, a petition from the liberal group MoveOn (dot) org, has gained nearly 680,000 signatures since launching last month in a bid to get him fired. The petition charges Trump with making “sexist” and “racially charged” comments, which organizers say are against Macy’s social responsibility policy. Case in point: Trump’s election night Twitter tirade , in which he called America a sham democracy after President Obama’s win and urged a march on D.C. Earlier case in point: Trump’s nonsense about Obama’s birth certificate . “There is a gap between what Macy’s brand is and what Donald Trump’s brand is,” protest organizer Angelo Carusone tells The Hollywood Reporter . The billboards feature photos of a classic Santa Claus next to an angry-looking Trump, as well as the words “Bring back the classic Macy’s. Dump Trump.” The campaign is asking the retailer to stop carrying Trump’s line of clothing and fragrances and to stop using the billionaire real estate mogul in ads. “Macy’s says they are a cut above the rest. They appeal to everyone’s nostalgia. They inject themselves into our culture and our holidays,” says Carusone. “We don’t think [Trump] represents the values they espouse.” Carusone hopes the billboards will make Macy’s and the public see Trump as a liability, not an asset, especially if accompanied by protests at Macy’s events. If it’s working, the company has yet to admit as much yet. Macy’s has stood by Trump, saying through a spokesman, “Macy’s marketing and merchandise offerings are not representative of any political position.” NBC has also indicated it will stick with Trump as it prepares to launch another season of Celebrity Apprentice , which is apparently still on the air, in March.
Perhaps she’s taking a cue from her Harry Potter co-star Daniel Radcliffe , but Emma Watson has taken a shine for musical theater after performing some numbers from The Rocky Horror Picture Show in her latest film, The Perks of Being a Wallflower . Radcliffe headed to Broadway and London’s West End well before finishing up duties on Harry Potter , starring in Equus in 2007, which famously had the mortal Daniel Radcliffe appearing in the buff on stage. He more recently received awards accolades last year for his performance in How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying on Broadway. “I love musical theater, so I would love to do a musical soon, that would be wonderful” Watson told Britain’s Sunday Telegraph . Watson’s first film since starring in the Harry Potter series, The Perks of Being a Wallflower has so far proven a box office success since opening two weekends ago in limited release. Summit Entertainment expanded it to 102 theaters last weekend, grossing just under $1.14 million for a very solid $11,150 average. In the film, she plays an awkward student who bonds with friends, seeking solace in Rocky Horror “I was terrified of the Rocky Horror scenes,” she said, explaining how singing and dancing scenes had given her a new-found affinity for cabaret. “But, as it turned out, it was fun, and once I got over how weird it was to go from wearing knitted [sweaters] to corsets and fishnets, I got it together.” Still, this was not her absolute first exposure to the medium. Watson appeared in a student production of Three Sisters at Brown University where is has been studying for a Liberal Arts degree. [ Sources: Sunday Telegraph , BBC ]
With the out-of-nowhere success of 2016: Obama’s America , the nation could finally have a conservative counterpart to Michael Moore . I say the nation rather than the Republicans, because a balanced box office is good for us all, at least as a reminder of our right to oppose the current government and make a profit in doing so. Similar to Moore’s release of Fahrenheit 9/11 during the summer of 2004, author-turned-filmmaker Dinesh D’Souza offers a one-sided, first-person documentary that challenges the incumbent President during his campaign for re-election. Unlike his liberal predecessor, however, D’Souza, who co-directs with writer/producer John Sullivan ( Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed ), doesn’t have much to fall back on in the way of entertainment value and so only delivers a transient attraction for the anti-Obama crowd. You could say that a film like 2016 shouldn’t be entertaining, and maybe it is true that the left’s overdependence on jokesters and satire have hurt their efforts in the past. But while Fahrenheit 9/11 might not have influenced enough voters eight years ago, it remains a popular work of cinema in its own right primarily because of Moore’s appeal to a certain audience both personally and stylistically. D’Souza is neither engaging as a character nor as a storyteller, but even worse here is his lack of intensity. As a pressing piece of propaganda, the film could use a louder voice and edgier tone. To truly be an effective Moore equivalent, frankly, D’Souza could stand to be more of a nuisance. Basing the documentary on his best-selling books The Roots of Obama’s Rage and Obama’s America: Unmaking the American Dream , D’Souza, retains a very subjective angle for his exploration of the President’s true identity and political motives. In fact, before really even addressing the titular subject, the filmmaker takes the first portion of the film to set up his own biographical relevance, which aside from his being born outside the U.S. (oh, hush) corresponds quite uncannily as a way of comparing his own background to Barack Obama’s and then raising the question of how they ended up on such contrary idealistic paths. Through interpretation of passages from Obama’s book Dreams From My Father and an interview with a psychologist, D’Souza comes up with a thesis involving the President’s daddy issues. Paralleling the last administration’s critics, 2016 at times comes off like a slightly deeper kin to Oliver Stone’s W. without the fun of caricaturistic portrayals. More complex than Bush’s supposed need to make his still-living father proud, the deal with Obama is that he’s apparently impaired by a romanticized adoration of his never-there father as well as a desire to honor the elder Obama’s anti-colonial principles. On that track to expose the President’s ultimate goal of turning America into a flaccid, non-imperialistic country that is run with outdated collectivist policies, D’Souza’s intended ace in the hole is an appearance from Obama’s half-brother George, whose tiny abode in Kenya D’Souza refers to as “something out of Slumdog Millionaire .” The filmmaker fails to get the young man to talk negatively of his powerful brother’s neglect of poor family members abroad, even with literal attempts to “rephrase the question.” Finally, he settles on simply revealing George’s belief that the third world was better off under colonial rule. So what? Other than potentially inspiring an interesting and metaphorical novel about two brothers with divergent relationships to an unknown father in a long-post-colonial world, the disconnect between geographically and temporally distant siblings doesn’t provide much substance for the film’s argument that the President is the worst leader in U.S. history. And really neither does Obama’s presumed paternal problem, which borders on an obsession for D’Souza. Still, it’s a reflection of a certain concern Americans have with the singularity of the executive branch and our compulsion to focus on the individual character of our Presidents over the plans and actions of their overall administrations. Eventually, 2016 does get into real criticisms with Obama’s initial election, which is basically credited to white guilt and the allure for people to be a part of history, and with his first term, which, it’s claimed, shows hints of a larger anti-colonialist agenda. A shot at the relevancy of NASA seems especially misdirected given the excitement of the Curiosity rover landing on Mars earlier this month, however. And further speculation of the President’s full-on dismantling of the U.S. as a superpower once he’s over the hump of re-election is again too hypothetical. Meanwhile, given the concentration of the Romney/Ryan campaign, it’s unfortunate that only a couple minutes near the end of the film are devoted to Obama’s handling of the national deficit. Of course, this isn’t a documentary in support of Mitt Romney or any Republican candidate so much as it’s an extensive attack ad against Barack Obama. It should illuminate just how much of a repeat this election year is of 2004. Then, it wasn’t about voting for Kerry; it was about voting against Bush. Now it’s just politically reversed, not about voting for Romney but against Obama. And if Romney does win, someone, whether Michael Moore or another liberal filmmaker, will give us the next documentary in the cycle of opposition. If there is one major thing I’ll give 2016 credit for, it’s that much of the film plays almost as well to a pro-Obama audience as to those against him. It preaches to both choirs in that a lot of the intentions and policies of the President, which D’Souza sees as negative, are those which the leader’s fans see as positive. Much of the left would surely love it if Obama truly transformed the United States into a nuke-free nation with socialized medicine and education. Some might watch this documentary and think, “well, yes, that’s our Obama.” Of course, there is the occasional blast of clear vitriol, such as when the President is baselessly said to be less concerned with helping the poor than stripping the wealth of the rich. But that’s to be expected with these films, which are less concerned with what kind of President is good for America than what kind of President is not. And I’m sure it’s expected of me to be less focused on what would have made this a good film than what makes it a bad one. I can only say it’s not a very memorable one, and regardless of the outcome this November, after Election Day I guess it doesn’t need to be. Christopher Campbell is an Atlanta-based movie blogger specializing in documentary. Follow him on Twitter @thefilmcynic . Follow Movieline on Twitter .
Another day another magazine cover for Jordin Sparks , who is joined by her “Sparkle” sisters Carmen Ejogo and Tika Sumpter on the front of EBONY’s September issue which hits newsstands today. Inside the cast gives their first magazine interview which includes Whitney Houston reflections with the entire cast of the film. EBONY also has two “as told tos” by writer Lynn Norment with Bobbi Kristina and Pat Houston. Check out some excerpts from Jordin Sparks and Bobbi Kristina below: JORDIN SPARKS “I think if Sparkle were here now, and a real person, we would be best friends. She’s been wanting [fame] her whole life. Music is all she thinks about; it’s all she has ever wanted to do…That’s how I felt when I was growing up.” BOBBI KRISTINA “I’m so proud that you were able to finish making Sparkle…(you) being so happy was an absolutely beautiful thing for me to watch,” she said. The issue also includes an HBCU special profiling the winners of the 2012 HBCU Queens contest and for the first time ever, EBONY lists the leading secondary education programs at Historically Black Colleges and Universities across the nation across the Sciences, Business, Liberal Arts, and Law disciplines. Twenty-five years later, EBONY goes back to school with a look at Cosby Show spin-off A Different World. It examines the highs, lows, and how the show explored real life lessons with ground breaking episodes. Feature includes commentary from Jasmine Guy, Kadeem Hardison, and Co-Executive Producer and Writer, Susan Fales-Hill. There’s also a feature called Free At Last about how DNA testing, social media and recanted testimonies two thousand black men who have been exonerated since 1989. EBONY profiles three of those men as they reclaim their lives and fight to regain acceptance in today’s society. Sounds like a good read to us!
“Obamacare.” “Romney Hood.” The political name-calling sounds like campaign season is well under-way (though does it ever end or begin?). The art of the possible will get a comical twist this weekend with the release of The Campaign , starring Will Ferrell and Zach Galifianakis. The pic follows two rivals who clash in an election that will decide who will head to the U.S. Congress from their North Carolina district (Ferrell appears to even flash a not-so-subtle coif similar to former V.P. candidate John Edwards). The film, which opens this weekend, prompted ABC’s Political Punch reporter Jake Tapper to offer up his Top 10 political films of all-time (documentaries were excluded) and “political film” was kept to a narrow definition. See if you agree with this list and let the campaign begin. 10. In The Loop , directed by Armando Iannucci (2009) Starring Tom Hollander, Peter Capaldi and James Gandolfini, the 2009 Sundance premiere is a satirical play on the build up to the war in Iraq and the relationship between the U.S. and the U.K. In the film both countries are on the verge of launching a Middle Eastern war and the story follows a behind-the-scenes drama in which there are officials trying to promote armed action and those trying to stop it. A British government minister tells a radio interviewer that war may be inevitable, but is then shot down by the Prime Minister’s aide, played by Peter Capaldi. But then, the aide himself makes a further mistake saying there may be a need to “climb the mountain of conflict,” further muddying a delicate situation. 9. The Parallax View , directed by Alan J. Pakula (1974) Based on the 1970 novel by Loren Singer, Warren Beatty plays a newspaper reporter who takes on a dangerous investigation into a corporation that engages in political assassination. Presidential candidate Senator Charles Carroll (Bill Joyce) is assassinated atop the Space Needle in Seattle and one witness, journalist Lee Carter (Paula Prentiss) tells her former boyfriend, reporter Joe Frady (Beatty) that she believes there is more to the killing since six of the witnesses have died and she fears she may be next. The Parallax View is the third in director Alan J. Pakula’s political paranoia trilogy including Klute (1971) and All the President’s Men (1976) (and also the only one not to receive an Oscar nomination or win). 8. Z , directed by Costa Gavras (1969) Also based on a novel, this time the 1966 book of the same title by Vassilis Vassilikos, the French political thriller is a vaguely fictionalized take on the events around the assassination of democratic Greek politician Grigoris Lambrakis in 1963. Starring Jean-Louis Trintignant as an investigator, the film combines dark humor and a satirical view of politics though it managed to be the 10th highest-grossing film of the year in the U.S. in 1969. It also received both an Oscar-nomination for Best Foreign Language Film and Best Picture. 7. Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb , directed by Stanley Kubrick (1964) Starring Peter Sellers, George C. Scott and Sterling Hayden this black comedy takes on the nuclear scare and the Cold War. Based on Peter George’s novel Red Alert , the story revolves around a rogue U.S. Air Force general who orders a nuclear assault on the Soviet Union. The President of the United States and his staff as well as a Royal Air Force officer attempt to return the planes as they head to deliver their apocalyptic payload, while separately the film follows the crew on one of the planes as it heads to its target. The U.S. Library of Congress called Dr. Strangelove “Culturally Significant” in 1989 and is preserved in the National Film Registry. 6. Bananas , directed by Woody Allen (1971) South American politics take the focus in this comedy in which Allen stars with Louise Lasser and Carlos Montalban. Allen plays Fielding Mellish, a bumbling blue collar guy who wants to impress his activist love interest Nancy (Lasser) by getting involved in a revolution in a fictional South American country. He shows concern for the locals, but after he’s nearly killed by a military chief, he is saved by the revolutionaries and he finds himself in their debt. Soon, he learns to be a revolutionary himself, but when the revolt succeeds and their Castro-esque leader goes mad, he inadvertently finds himself as their new top figure. Back in the U.S., he faces trial and he reunites with his love… 5. Mr. Smith Goes to Washington , directed by Frank Capra (1939) This classic has shown up on lists throughout the decades. Starring Jean Arthur and James Stewart and based on an unpublished story by Lewis R. Foster, the film proved a controversy when it was released back in ’39, but received 11 Academy Award nominations and a win for Best Original Story. The story revolves around an unnamed Western governor who by chance chooses Jefferson Smith (Stewart) to serve out a term in the U.S. Senate following the death of the sitting incumbent. The governor believes he’ll be able to manipulate the naive Smith. His good intentions soon collide with an apparatus of political corruption and then all hell breaks loose. 4. Charlie Wilson’s War , directed by Mike Nichols (2007) Aaron Sorkin adapted for the screenplay based on a true story by George Crile III’s 2003 book Charlie Wilson’s War: The Extraordinary Story of the Largest Covert Operation in History . The drama recounts how U.S. congressman Charlie Wilson, a Texas Democrat, played by Tom Hanks, teamed up with the C.I.A. to support the Afghan mujahideen during the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan. Also starring Julia Roberts, Philip Seymour Hoffman along with Amy Adams, Ned Beatty and Emily Blunt, Wilson’s political maneuvering and his allies in the spy agency’s Afghanistan task force results in the mujahideen being armed to the teeth complete with stinger missiles which can shoot down Soviet choppers. The result is a Soviet quagmire and ultimately a triumph for the mujahideen, but the unintended consequences imply an unwieldy Afghanistan that was left to fend for itself after the Soviet withdrawal. 3. Wag the Dog , directed by Barry Levinson (1997) This film came out before the Clinton/Monica Lewinsky scandal broke, though the film is often identified with it. The black comedy stars Dustin Hoffman and Robert DeNiro about a Washington spin-master who hires a Hollywood producer to create a fake war with Albania (of all places) in order to distract the electorate with a sex scandal just days before a presidential election. The caption at the beginning of the film says it all: “Why does the dog wag its tail? Because the dog is smarter than the tail. If the tail were smarter, it would wag the dog.” 2. All the President’s Men (1976) Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein The 1976 Oscar-winning political thriller is based on the non-fiction work of Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein, better known as the The Washington Post journalists who blew the lid off the Watergate scandal. Robert Redford and Dustin Hoffman play Woodward and Bernstein respectively. The crisis that ensued ended in the resignation of President Nixon, the first U.S. head of state to resign and the subsequent inauguration of Vice President Ford in 1974. 1. The Candidate , directed by Michael Ritchie (1972) Robert Redford also stars in this film about an unlikely and idealistic Democratic candidate from California. Bill McKay (Redford) is initially more interested in espousing his liberal views publicly than winning and decides to take to the campaign trail to vocalize his opinion since his challenger, the incumbent Republican is a given as the victor. McKay wins the party nomination, but then finds out he’s likely to be overwhelmingly trounced in the election. He figured he’d lose, but not by such a humiliating margin. So, in order to avoid embarrassment, he broadens his appeal by dousing his ardently liberal message resulting in a rise in the polls. He also appeals for his father’s help (a former governor) to endorse him since the media is speculating that his silence is a tacit thumbs up to the opposition. As the debate looms, more compromises are made and the result entrenches McKay in the political establishment. [ Sources: ABC News , Wikipedia ]
“Obamacare.” “Romney Hood.” The political name-calling sounds like campaign season is well under-way (though does it ever end or begin?). The art of the possible will get a comical twist this weekend with the release of The Campaign , starring Will Ferrell and Zach Galifianakis. The pic follows two rivals who clash in an election that will decide who will head to the U.S. Congress from their North Carolina district (Ferrell appears to even flash a not-so-subtle coif similar to former V.P. candidate John Edwards). The film, which opens this weekend, prompted ABC’s Political Punch reporter Jake Tapper to offer up his Top 10 political films of all-time (documentaries were excluded) and “political film” was kept to a narrow definition. See if you agree with this list and let the campaign begin. 10. In The Loop , directed by Armando Iannucci (2009) Starring Tom Hollander, Peter Capaldi and James Gandolfini, the 2009 Sundance premiere is a satirical play on the build up to the war in Iraq and the relationship between the U.S. and the U.K. In the film both countries are on the verge of launching a Middle Eastern war and the story follows a behind-the-scenes drama in which there are officials trying to promote armed action and those trying to stop it. A British government minister tells a radio interviewer that war may be inevitable, but is then shot down by the Prime Minister’s aide, played by Peter Capaldi. But then, the aide himself makes a further mistake saying there may be a need to “climb the mountain of conflict,” further muddying a delicate situation. 9. The Parallax View , directed by Alan J. Pakula (1974) Based on the 1970 novel by Loren Singer, Warren Beatty plays a newspaper reporter who takes on a dangerous investigation into a corporation that engages in political assassination. Presidential candidate Senator Charles Carroll (Bill Joyce) is assassinated atop the Space Needle in Seattle and one witness, journalist Lee Carter (Paula Prentiss) tells her former boyfriend, reporter Joe Frady (Beatty) that she believes there is more to the killing since six of the witnesses have died and she fears she may be next. The Parallax View is the third in director Alan J. Pakula’s political paranoia trilogy including Klute (1971) and All the President’s Men (1976) (and also the only one not to receive an Oscar nomination or win). 8. Z , directed by Costa Gavras (1969) Also based on a novel, this time the 1966 book of the same title by Vassilis Vassilikos, the French political thriller is a vaguely fictionalized take on the events around the assassination of democratic Greek politician Grigoris Lambrakis in 1963. Starring Jean-Louis Trintignant as an investigator, the film combines dark humor and a satirical view of politics though it managed to be the 10th highest-grossing film of the year in the U.S. in 1969. It also received both an Oscar-nomination for Best Foreign Language Film and Best Picture. 7. Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb , directed by Stanley Kubrick (1964) Starring Peter Sellers, George C. Scott and Sterling Hayden this black comedy takes on the nuclear scare and the Cold War. Based on Peter George’s novel Red Alert , the story revolves around a rogue U.S. Air Force general who orders a nuclear assault on the Soviet Union. The President of the United States and his staff as well as a Royal Air Force officer attempt to return the planes as they head to deliver their apocalyptic payload, while separately the film follows the crew on one of the planes as it heads to its target. The U.S. Library of Congress called Dr. Strangelove “Culturally Significant” in 1989 and is preserved in the National Film Registry. 6. Bananas , directed by Woody Allen (1971) South American politics take the focus in this comedy in which Allen stars with Louise Lasser and Carlos Montalban. Allen plays Fielding Mellish, a bumbling blue collar guy who wants to impress his activist love interest Nancy (Lasser) by getting involved in a revolution in a fictional South American country. He shows concern for the locals, but after he’s nearly killed by a military chief, he is saved by the revolutionaries and he finds himself in their debt. Soon, he learns to be a revolutionary himself, but when the revolt succeeds and their Castro-esque leader goes mad, he inadvertently finds himself as their new top figure. Back in the U.S., he faces trial and he reunites with his love… 5. Mr. Smith Goes to Washington , directed by Frank Capra (1939) This classic has shown up on lists throughout the decades. Starring Jean Arthur and James Stewart and based on an unpublished story by Lewis R. Foster, the film proved a controversy when it was released back in ’39, but received 11 Academy Award nominations and a win for Best Original Story. The story revolves around an unnamed Western governor who by chance chooses Jefferson Smith (Stewart) to serve out a term in the U.S. Senate following the death of the sitting incumbent. The governor believes he’ll be able to manipulate the naive Smith. His good intentions soon collide with an apparatus of political corruption and then all hell breaks loose. 4. Charlie Wilson’s War , directed by Mike Nichols (2007) Aaron Sorkin adapted for the screenplay based on a true story by George Crile III’s 2003 book Charlie Wilson’s War: The Extraordinary Story of the Largest Covert Operation in History . The drama recounts how U.S. congressman Charlie Wilson, a Texas Democrat, played by Tom Hanks, teamed up with the C.I.A. to support the Afghan mujahideen during the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan. Also starring Julia Roberts, Philip Seymour Hoffman along with Amy Adams, Ned Beatty and Emily Blunt, Wilson’s political maneuvering and his allies in the spy agency’s Afghanistan task force results in the mujahideen being armed to the teeth complete with stinger missiles which can shoot down Soviet choppers. The result is a Soviet quagmire and ultimately a triumph for the mujahideen, but the unintended consequences imply an unwieldy Afghanistan that was left to fend for itself after the Soviet withdrawal. 3. Wag the Dog , directed by Barry Levinson (1997) This film came out before the Clinton/Monica Lewinsky scandal broke, though the film is often identified with it. The black comedy stars Dustin Hoffman and Robert DeNiro about a Washington spin-master who hires a Hollywood producer to create a fake war with Albania (of all places) in order to distract the electorate with a sex scandal just days before a presidential election. The caption at the beginning of the film says it all: “Why does the dog wag its tail? Because the dog is smarter than the tail. If the tail were smarter, it would wag the dog.” 2. All the President’s Men (1976) Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein The 1976 Oscar-winning political thriller is based on the non-fiction work of Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein, better known as the The Washington Post journalists who blew the lid off the Watergate scandal. Robert Redford and Dustin Hoffman play Woodward and Bernstein respectively. The crisis that ensued ended in the resignation of President Nixon, the first U.S. head of state to resign and the subsequent inauguration of Vice President Ford in 1974. 1. The Candidate , directed by Michael Ritchie (1972) Robert Redford also stars in this film about an unlikely and idealistic Democratic candidate from California. Bill McKay (Redford) is initially more interested in espousing his liberal views publicly than winning and decides to take to the campaign trail to vocalize his opinion since his challenger, the incumbent Republican is a given as the victor. McKay wins the party nomination, but then finds out he’s likely to be overwhelmingly trounced in the election. He figured he’d lose, but not by such a humiliating margin. So, in order to avoid embarrassment, he broadens his appeal by dousing his ardently liberal message resulting in a rise in the polls. He also appeals for his father’s help (a former governor) to endorse him since the media is speculating that his silence is a tacit thumbs up to the opposition. As the debate looms, more compromises are made and the result entrenches McKay in the political establishment. [ Sources: ABC News , Wikipedia ]
Tea Party Hires African-American Consultant To Help Recruit Minorities Looks like the Tea Party is pulling out all the stops. FreedomWorks, a prominent tea party-aligned organization that supports the candidacies of conservative politicians, announced Monday that it hired prominent black conservative political consultant, Deneen Borelli , to help recruit minorities. According to a report in The Daily Caller on Monday, Borelli will serve as the group’s new director of outreach. “In her new role, Deneen will speak at events promoting FreedomWorks’ pro-liberty agenda, participate in recruiting grassroots activists — including minorities — and aggressively challenge the misleading voices of the liberal black establishment,” read the press release announcing Borelli’s hire. Borelli, author of Backslash: How Obama and the Left are riving Americans to the Government Plantation, is a contributor with the Fox News Channel and has been a featured speaker at FreedomWorks rallies for several years. Oh, look. She’s also contributed to Fox News. Source
