Review of 2016: Obama's America (2012) by Andrew W — 04 Nov 2012

OUTRAGEOUS ENTERTAINMENT - the best two words I can choose to describe this movie. Let's get right to it.

Pros: For Dinesh D'Souza's first foray into films, he does a pretty solid production job. This movie is very professionally done, well presented, etc. Dinesh, who acts as narrator as well as conducting interviews throughout the film, is easy to follow and he keeps the pace of the film well. Dinesh brings up some extremely valid arguments throughout the film - the impact of colonialism on foreign socities, whether modern-day colonialism is still alive and what role America plays in it, and of course some great questions about Obama himself. Viewers who are unfamiliar with the President's background story are treated to excerpts from his autobiography -read by Obama himself - so you can get quickly up to speed on the background of our main character. Or actually, let me correct that statement...

Cons: This movie is correct when it says it's about Obama, but not THAT Obama. The focus of the film quickly shifts to the President's late father, Barack Obama Sr. Dinesh uses interviews in the film to attest that Obama Sr. was an anti-colonialist, anti-American left wing radical. We are led to believe that due to this, coupled with the fact that Obama titled his autobiography "Dreams from my Father" (not 'Dreams OF my Father'), that the President must be seeking to apply his father's radical ideology to the Presidency. We quickly dive into outlandish claims that Obama is un-American, and seeks to lower America's standing in the world to pay the country back for its colonial wrongdoings to poorer nations. The interviews which Dinesh uses to back these claims up are suspect at best: there is no shred of proof required whatsoever for claims to be taken as complete facts. That is where this film collapses at its attempt to be a factual, revealing documentary (they literally could have pulled some Kenyan guy off the street, gave him a couple lines to say to the camera, and BAM!, there you have an IRREFUTABLE CLAIM from someone who KNOWS Obama that is a socialist). However, this doesn't make it an unenjoyable film.

If you take this movie as entertainment, it's a great time. You get a Manchurian Candidate-style political espionage thriller that is enjoyable from start to finish. Now this movie is obviously geared towards those who already dislike the President and are looking for more reasons to believe him getting re-elected will bring about doomsday, and that audience will eat it right up (as I've seen on Facebook already). But even if you support the President or hate politics and can't wait till this election is over, this one is a fun watch just to see how far out there some accusations can get.