Dem
47
GOP
53
Here is the question we put before readers last week:
D.S. in Layton, UT, asks: What movies should be revisited to prepare for Trump: The Sequel?
And here some of the answers we got in response:
D.S. in Layton, UT: My immediate short list would include Duck Soup and Throne of Blood because, as a rule, when asked a question about any topic, the Marx Brothers and Kurosawa are on my short list so frequently that the list now comes with them preprinted on it. It is likely that over the next couple weeks I will fire up the Betamax and watch them both (as well as the choice of Mrs. S of Layton, UT—Wag the Dog).
However, over the summer my aforementioned bride and I watched Bob Fosse's masterpiece Cabaret (which people forget in 1973 was awarded with more Oscars than The Godfather) for the first time in at least 25 years and were blown away as to the correlations between MAGA's seductive appeal to an angry populace and the rise of the Nazi movement. The movie begins with a Nazi being kicked out of the Kit Kat Club and ends with the same club full of Nazis.
As with MAGA, an insignificant group of bullies grows into a movement of hate that spreads like a virus it infects behaviors and attitudes until it affects everyone's way of life whether they be participants or reluctant observers. A country of a desperate population embracing the message of a charismatic head case, altering their own reality in order to embrace his.
Of course, Throne of Blood (for the uninitiated, based on Shakespeare's "Scottish play") contains one possible ending for the story that is not completely without satisfaction.
B.R.D. in Columbus, OH: I would suggest Don't Look Up. Although it focuses on the environment, it could apply to almost any issue right now. Its focus on some Americans' ability to ignore or look away from what is happening right before their eyes is right on target.
T.K. in Sequim, WA: Low-hanging fruit: The Sting and The Grifters.
These should be viewed immediately, before they can be wiped from all memory.
C.B. in California, MD: If the #1 answer you receive to this isn't Idiocracy, I'll be shocked.
L.C. in Boston, MA: Idiocracy immediately jumps to mind for Bush #2 and both terms of Trump, but getting more spot-on with each successive term. This movie was largely suppressed by 20th Century Fox, and while the Wikipedia article on the movie provides some plausible reasons for this suppression, one omission is notable: the strikingly honest portrait of the future of Fox News, which is very much like today's Fox News, except that the reporters and anchors wear less clothing and take more steroids.
R.J.L. in Columbus, IN: Surely, I'm not the first to suggest Idiocracy. (And don't call me Shirley.)
W.H. in Ocean Springs, MS: It's a series, not a movie, but Newsroom, currently available on the Max streaming service, is excellent. It originally came out in 2011, I believe, and it stars Jeff Daniels as Will McAlvoy, the lead anchor of a fictional cable news network. He claims to be a Republican but his views clearly align more with the liberals. His takedowns of the lies and dangers of the tea party are brutal and inspirational, and also can be applied to today's Trumpers.
S.C. in Farmington Hills, MI: From Russia With Love.
A.G. in Scranton, PA: Dr. Strangelove, as we're all playing the valedictory moments of Slim Pickens at this point.
D.D. in Carversville, PA: To understand the dreadful cinema to which the country has purchased a ticket, I'd recommend Sorority Babes in the Slimeball Bowl-O-Rama. With apologies to IMDB, I've edited its one-sentence description: "As part of a political ritual, Republicans and their male oligarch companions steal an election from a polling alley; unbeknownst to them, it contains a devilish (tr)imp who makes our lives a living Hell."
A.G. in Newberg, OR: Metropolis, particularly the scene of mindless men marching off to who knows what.
T.B. in Durham, NC: Il Postino (The Postman). It takes place in a country with authoritarian-run elections, and has a good example of how regular folks get hurt by a candidate that goes back on their campaign promise(s); also, how the creative spirit of the people gets downtrodden by such a rule, and will lead to resistance and revolution.
Note that the authoritarian governments connected to the story (Chile, Argentina, Italy) have all burned out and are over. It is not naive to look forward to the end of an authoritarian regime.
A.J.C. in Troy, NY: I would say it's a good time to re-watch the 1992 film Bob Roberts, starring Tim Robbins as a right-wing folk singer turned politician. Robbins said in 2018 that his film had essentially come true, sadly.
I'd also suggest George Clooney's Good Night, and Good Luck. I've heard it said that early audiences thought the "actor" playing the late Senator Joseph McCarthy was overdoing things a bit and should tone it down...
F.S. in Idaho Falls, ID: The movie Brazil, directed by Terry Gilliam. It's a dystopian comedy that serves as a warning against a totalitarian state and features a bit role for Robert De Niro as a rogue HVAC repairman. Many people are not familiar with it because a lawsuit prevented its release in the U.S. Make sure to watch the 142-minute version, the director's cut, as the shorter version is not worth watching. The studio cut it down to a length that would allow two showings a night in the theaters, and Gilliam did not allow it. Hence the lawsuit. Hands down my favorite movie.
P.K. in Marshalltown, IA: I go where I normally go when faced with a question about movies: Is there a Bill Murray movie that works here? Well, yes. Groundhog Day.
D.M. in Burnsville, MN: A Face in the Crowd, starring a very young Andy Griffith and Patricia Neal, written by Budd Schulberg, directed by Elia Kazan. It's the story of a charismatic psycho who rises from nothing more than a face in the crowd to a powerful and cynical populist. He uses people and then discards them. It even includes the famous "You're fired!" epithet.
M.M. in San Diego, CA: In preparation for the next 4 years, I suggest watching V for Vendetta. Great Britain in the near future has morphed into an authoritarian, fascist dystopia. The government's propaganda could have been written by today's GOP. The film palpably demonstrates what's possible if a reactionary government is given a free rein (reign?). View it as a warning, not a prophecy.
E.S. in Providence, RI: I heartily recommend Armando Iannucci's hilarious comedy The Death of Stalin. This is kind of like the Soviet-era version of the HBO series Veep. Stalin dies, and his government of toadies and lickspittles go to work stabbing each other in the back as they attempt to set themselves up as his successor.
M.K. in Austin, MN: I suggest a revisitation of the film Triumph of the Will, by Leni Riefenstahl. From the opening visions of the godlike Dear Leader descending from his celestial heights (a reference to an escalator?) to the orgasmic rapture on the upturned faces of his worshipers (MAGA people?), the film is as powerful now as it was before. Of course, the irony will be lost to the Trumpy people. Many other people will remember only the horror and fear of those times.
Here is the question for next week:
B.B. in Dothan, AL, asks: Now that we have the Gulf of America, what other geographic features around the country, or the world, should be renamed?
Submit your answers to comments@electoral-vote.com, preferably with subject line "Name that Dune"!