- MPAA RATING: PG
Tries to predict the future by looking at the past.
Staff Writer
Hailed as the Republican’s “Fahrenheit 9/11,” Indian author/documentarian Dinesh D’Souza’s “2016: Obama’s America,” provides us with an in-depth look at how President Barack Obama’s unstable upbringing has shaped the policies that helped him get elected and possibly reelected as president.
Based on D’Souza’s book “The Roots of Obama’s Rage,” the film does a wonderful job of exploring Obama’s non-traditional childhood and the radical influences on him during his college years in a variety of ways.
D’Souza travels to the various places where Obama lived during his youth and teenage years to get a better perspective of what Obama was like as a child and more importantly, the people who raised him.
Viewers may be shocked to learn some of the finer details of Obama’s personal life and how very unstable his life was during his formative years.
The filmmakers cleverly use clips from the audiobook “Dreams From My Father,” (which are read by Obama himself) to use the president’s own words against him. It’s hard to deny the brilliance of the technique, when you hear exactly what was said how it was meant to be said, as they are used against the man speaking them.
The main focus of the film is based around the idea that Obama is an anti-colonialist who is trying to make America into a country that doesn’t believe in its own “exceptionalism.”
Like most political documentaries, there are times when the film is clearly going to the extreme in order to drive home the overall message. And I am almost certain at one point that clips of a riot in Canada are used to showcase growing tensions in the Middle East.
Critically acclaimed producer Gerald R. Molen and director John Sullivan were crucial to the film’s development. Sullivan co-wrote and co-directed the film.
Already one of the highest grossing documentaries of all-time, “2016: Obama’s America” is an interesting, informative and albeit sometimes radical look at formation and execution of the ideas that have shaped Obama’s presidency.
Rated: PG
Runtime: 89 minutes
Category: Political documentary
