Rightwing Film Group Embraces Jimmy Stewart Movies

[Eric J in MN]

From SpeakSpeak News, the blog about Free Speech and The Media:


"

Jimmy Stewart filibusters as Senator Jefferson Smith in the 1939 film "Mr. Smith Goes to Washington."

"American Film Renaissance is a rightwing non-profit which holds film festivals across the US.

According to their FAQ:

We here at AFR love movies, but we’re tired of films that wallow in victimhood and self-pity or portray America, big business and religion as the roots of all evil. Our goal is to promote movies and screenplays that positively portray traditional virtues of freedom, family, faith and love of country -- what we refer to as ‘heartland’ values.

However, under their sidebar of "Movies We Like, two of the movies are "Mr. Smith Goes to Washington" and "It's a Wonderful Life."

Both movies star Jimmy Stewart and are directed by Frank Capra. Both movies have negative portrayals of Big Business.

"Mr. Smith Goes to Washington" involves a Congress corrupted by Big Business. It's about a Senator (Jimmy Stewart) whose bill for a summer camp is sabotaged, because a greedy industrialist has bribed Congress to put a dam on the planned location, where he owns land.

In "It's a Wonderful Life" the bad guy is a rich realtor. That realtor would take over a town if not for the owner of a small savings-and-loan (Jimmy Stewart) lending people money to buy homes.

If I had been asked to name two movies which portary Big Business negatively, I might have said "Mr. Smith Goes to Washington" and "It's a Wonderful Life"

Apparently the rightwingers who run AFR like these Frank Capra movies, which is fine.

But I wonder if "Mr. Smith Goes to Washington" had been released this year, if these rightwingers would be condemning it as a movie which portrays "big business... as the root(s) of all evil."

[DIKB]

1. I agree with Dean

It's their strength that they can look you straight in the eye and be hypocrites. They love movies that portray corporations negatively, yet they support corporations over citizens. They attack democrats for filibustering, going so far as to compare them to Hitler, yet champion a movie about a senator filibustering.

It's bizarro world.

[Eric J in MN]

2. I used the filibustering photo just because it was the only

one I had handy, but it does point to an additional irony.

[progdonkey]

3. probably just stating the bleeding obvious, but...

I think RWers try to appropriate anti-Big Business movies like "It's a Wonderful Life" and "Mr. Smith Goes to Washington" in an attempt to subvert their messages. Most Americans have either wonderful memories of seeing these movies in the past or have heard how truly "American" these movies are. Even though the movies go against every RW principle, the RWers go 180 and say, "These are truly Republican movies," hoping to influence those "most Americans" into equating their fond memories with Republican values.

They know most of the people who see this list aren't going to run out right away and watch the movies again, while associating the two in their minds.

[Eric J in MN]

4. I assume the husband-and-wife who run that organization

are being sincere in listing those movies as two which they like. Or that at least one of them like these movies.

They just put them in a sidebar with a bunch of other movies.

If they wrote an essay about how these Frank Capra movies are pro-Republican, then I might agree that they're trying to manipulate visitors.

Also, if I found out that they show these Frank Capra movies at their film festivals (I don't know if they do) then your theory that they're trying to gloss over the real message to claim the movies as Republican would fit.

[progdonkey]

5. I can definitely see that...

Your overarching point is absolutely true: it basically depends on how they present the films. As part of some sort of ideology-based film festival, it would give credence towards my earlier theory; as just an aside comment of "we like these movies," it could just be a personal glossing over of what the movies are really about.

[Armstead]

6. They missed "Meet John Doe"

I saw Meet John Doe shortly after 9-11, and it was chilling. It was a classic metaphor of Big Business and Cynical Media presenting pseudo-populism to usher in Fascism.

Frank Capra was a leftist. I wonder if anyone pointed that out to them.

On another note, Lawrence of Arabia is also a very timely indictment of Imperialism in the Middle East. It was a stinging indictment of how the Western Powers used and then abused the peopel in that part of the world.

[Eric J in MN]

8. I wish someone would restore "Meet John Doe."

I have it on dvd, and the print and soundtrack need touching up.

That stars Gary Cooper as an ex-baseball player who goes on a speaking tour about the Common Man (for anyone not familiar with it.)

[orpupilofnature57]

7. Mr.Smith, George Baily, all hated Old Man Potter,Halliburton's predecessor

They try and find legitimacy when ever possible, and just important is the exclusion of the other side, Friendly fascism hard at work projecting easy going image.

[Truth__Seeker]

9. Old Man Potter, Dick Cheney...Separated at Birth?!!!