Film Review: Nothing But Fear, Anger in Dinesh D’Souza’s ‘America’

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CHICAGO – Dear Dinesh D’Souza: Why are you afraid of alternate narratives in American History? History, as we know, is written by the winners, and you seem all sad and angry that one man, Howard Zinn, wrote a History of the United States by defining the desperation of the people left behind in the American dream. Why is that so awful? You define it as “progressive left wing” narrative, but what is your propaganda film – blithely called “America” – but a distillation of your view of history?

Rating: 1.0/5.0

You see, Dinesh, you seem to have no empathy for those in a lower station than yourself. You have determined that the power in America is in its ability to accumulate entrepreneurs. And also, all that historic pablum in the beginning – in which you leave out key facts and stage reenactments that are riddled with inaccuracies – are just the set up to reiterate the same tired propaganda against Barack Obama and now Hillary Clinton (your film “financiers” had to make that suggestion since President Obama won a second term despite your fact-challenged film rant in the 2012, “2016: Obama’s America’). It’s all about the propaganda with you, Dinesh, and I will assume you’ll gladly take the money to make it.

According to you, America is in trouble. We’re just not the nation we were, according to you – but the point is we never were what you think we are. You can reenact George Washington on a battlefield – after of course setting it up with a fake letter home from a soldier who sounded like he was from a PR think tank – but you fail to recognize that America not longer lives in the 1700s, nor the 1950s, nor the fake Reagan years. Our lives are a reflection of now, and the type of propaganda you foment makes it impossible for “America” to have another “great leader.” If it’s your opposition party, you’ll lie like hell to make sure everybody stays hateful towards them, and then when your “side” has a chance it’s unpatriotic to do so. How does that work out?

Your supposed “takedown” of the “progressive left attitude” that America is not so great, presumes that everyone thinks the same. It riles up your “side” by telling them, see, all of the progressive left hates America and doesn’t want to abide by its greatness. Of course you left out mass communication, the globalization of the world through the internet and America’s newfound fascination with the World Cup, but that doesn’t fit your narrative, so the why-isn’t-America-like-it-was crowd will be very pleased to note that America isn’t like Lincoln’s time.

Continue reading for Patrick McDonald’s full review of “America”

Dinesh D’Souza Flies Over Mount Rushmore in ‘America’
Photo credit: Lionsgate

Continue reading for Patrick McDonald’s full review of “America”