If the 2016 campaign has reminded you of a movie or a character from one, you’re not alone. Keith Olbermann shares several movie scenarios that parallel our election. While Hollywood has come close to our current reality – even they couldn’t quite make this stuff up!
Keith’s entertaining piece mentions several movies and novels that you’ll likely recognize. I was initially struck by Trump’s similarity to the gardener in “Being There.” Peter Seller’s character was a blank canvas upon whom everyone projected their own beliefs. Keith wryly notes it’s this projection which parallels Trump’s appeal; “you think he hates who YOU hate.”
For bone-chilling realism, you’ll want to see Keith’s description of Sinclair Lewis’s novel “It Can’t Happen Here” – I promise you will be chilled, or your money back. Written when fascism was rearing its ugly head, the novel could just as easily been written today. Lewis’s character is painted as “vulgar, almost illiterate, a public liar, easily detected and in his ideas – almost idiotic.” It’s no longer difficult to believe that the buffoon wins the election…And the results aren’t pretty.
You might be interested to know that Trump claims his favorite movie of all time is “Citizen Kane.” Perhaps he identifies with John Foster Kane, the richest man in the country. If you’ve ever seen the ending of the film, you may agree with Keith that Trump was either lying, or talking through the entire film.