Death of A President aka DOAP

On the eve of the fifth anniversary of the 9/11 attacks -- while many Americans watched and/ or debated ABC's airing of " The Path To 9/11" - I found myself at a screening of the most controversial movie this year at The Toronto Film Festival --Gabriel Range's "Death Of A President' .

"It's a disturbing film," said Peter Dale, head of More4, a television channel that will telecast the film in England in October.

"It raises questions about the effects of American foreign policy and particularly the war on terror," said Dale, who denied criticism that the film made an anti-Bush or anti-American political statement.

"It's a fairly attention-grabbing premise, but behind that is a serious and thought-provoking film.". Noah Cowan, the co-director of the Film Festival ( no agenda here) downplays the films politics. "Range is ultimately interested in addressing today's political issues through the lens of the future," Cowan wrote. "Xenophobia, the hidden costs of war and the nature of civil liberties in a hyper-media age all come under the microscope."

Now that I've seen this film - my response to to both Dale and Cowan is Bullfuckingshit!

The only thought this film provokes in any sane persons mind is the frightening reality that this film gives voice to the darkest desire that Range would like to see fullfilled-- the asassination of Pres.Bush.

It is claimed that film "addresses a wide array of contemporary issues including the loss of civil liberties, the ramifications of war," - not true. It doesn't even tackle one of the most important questions a film like this should ask: how do we measure "how far is too far" on the question of wiretapping, arresting suspected terrorists, due process, what constitutes torture, etc.

According to the film festival decision makers- in what is a sad attempt to justify including this waste of celluloid in the film festival- they claim that:

"D.O.A.P contributes meaningfully to the public discourse surrounding current
social issues, demonstrates highly original storytelling techniques and utilizes
innovative digital effects. The film is not exploitative in any way and treats
what would certainly be a great tragedy respectfully and un-cynically. "

It contributes nothing to the public discourse beyond the usual rhetoric from the "Blame America, Blame Bush, Support Dictators, Despots, Jihadists and Mass Murderers" crowd.

It also demonstrates the same lack of understanding by Range about the nature of our enemy; the very real ideological battle that we are now fighting, the existential threat we are facing, and about the extraordinary means way we need to find to handle this threat. That same lack of understanding is equally present in most Europeans, democrats and their left wing lemmings - be they found in the MSM or the blogosphere.

(...) "it ultimately critiques the overwhelming influence and manipulation
of mass media."

The buzz surrounding this film IS soley the product of mass media manipulation.
Roy Greenslade, a noted British media critic said the film "crossed the line" and was "obviously tasteless" and "It's about hype rather than a serious matter."

Roger Friedman, also in attendance last nite, expresses much of what I thought about the film and all that occured before, during, and after the screening.

The film was seeking a North American distribution deal....and got one! I'm guessing it will be released close to the November elections.....in order to influence those results.

I'm hoping this has the same effect as "Farhenheit 9/11" did - ensuring the Republicans win again!