Art Imitating — or Shaping — Life
Allen West
January 10, 2024
Greetings, everyone! I pray that your New Year is off to a great start.
I am sure y’all have heard the reference “art imitating life?” Creations can come in many different mediums such as painted art, musical art, dance, or other means. You know, that culture stuff. But also we see art being expressed in the visual form through movies and documentaries. Me? I enjoy a good reflection back on history, but even now you have to be very careful to read before attending some of these “historical” movies. The movie “Kingdom of Heaven” comes to mind, with great battle scenes and cinematography, but the portrayal of events had some inconsistencies. Or the movie “12 Strong” about the US Army Special Forces ODA team that went into northern Afghanistan after 9-11. It just so happens that I personally know the leader of that team. He was a former cadet of ours at Kansas State University. The composition of that team was not as “diverse” as the movie presented. Why can’t you just show 12 white guys?
Think about it: there were no Blacks in the movie “Saving Private Ryan.” That did not make the movie racist, but rather an accurate portrayal.
We have certainly entered into an era where art does not only imitate life, but it attempts to shape our lives. It has gone beyond entertaining and educating to subtle indoctrination.
Consider how many weather disaster movies there have been, and there probably will be more. The underlying theme is always about the climate change agenda . . . big waves hitting New York City. I remember the movie “A Few Good Men,” which came out during the Clinton administration, that sought to demonize Jack Nicholson’s character US Marine Corps COL Nathan Jessup. Now his famous line “You can’t handle the truth” has become memorable . . . not Tom Cruise’s character.
I began to ponder these things after this past weekend when I was called to do my husbandly duty. I attended a movie that wasn’t very exciting with my wife, Angela. I sacrificed watching my Number 5 ranked Tennessee Volunteers basketball team beat undefeated Ole Miss 90-64. One of the movie trailers that showed before the featured movie was for a film called “Civil War” which is set for release in April of this year. The movie, directed by Alex Garland, is described as, “In the near future, a team of journalists travel across the United States during a rapidly escalating civil war that has engulfed the entire nation, struggling to survive during a near-future where the government has become a dystopian dictatorship and partisan extremist militias regularly commit political violence.” You can view the movie trailer here.
Hmm, if this isn’t an example of art trying to shape life, and political sentiment, then what is? To release such a film in a very contentious election year is quite telling. There is no doubt that you will have the progressive socialist left linking this movie to their continued ranting about January 6th.
So what are we to make of this film?
I find it quite disturbing and seeking to stoke the flames of dissension and serve as a messaging platform for the left, and potentially a precursor to someone advocating for gun control and more arrests of Americans who disagree with the open border — and other — policies of the progressive socialist left. No, that is not a conspiracy theory.
Now, let’s compare this to a film documentary that Angela and I watched this past Sunday evening called “The Fall of Minneapolis” by investigative journalist Liz Collin. Her film was not imitating or shaping life, it was telling the true story with facts behind the entire George Floyd incident. Funny, how is it that an entire police precinct could be burned down to the ground and nothing happens? Of course, we saw the same in Portland and other cities. There will be no great hoopla over Ms. Collin’s documentary because it does not tell the story that aligns with the agenda of the progressive socialist left. We have seen this before, when art tells a story that the left does not like, they disparage, demean, and denigrate the film: “Thirteen Hours,” “Zero Dark Thirty,” “Primary Colors,” and “Sound of Freedom” come readily to mind.
You can bet that the leftist complicit media will give full support to the film “Civil War.” You can expect the director, Alex Garland, to be featured on all the left-leaning morning shows. You will hear the commentary on MSNBC, CNN, PBS, and others addressing their concern that this movie is a warning to America and January 6th was just a precursor. There will be carefully selected clips of former President Trump, such as his recent one of “bedlam” that will be used to tie him to concerns over political violence . . . and why gun control — such as what we see in Illinois — is necessary across America. There will be calls for the FBI to conduct investigations and arrest so-called right-wing extremist militia groups — ya know, Oath Keepers, Proud Boys — yet, violent leftist groups and anarchists such as Antifa and Black Lives Matter, who have committed far worse acts of violence and destruction, remain free. Millions of single military-age illegal immigrant males will roam all over our country. Pro-Hamas terrorist supporters will continue to disrupt our lives and foment dissent and mask real terrorist activities.
Heck, yours truly could even have a “knock on the door” because we are addressing these issues. There was a very interesting question that a character in the movie trailer asked, “What type of American are you?” It is a question that has, indeed, led us into what can certainly be referred to as an ideological civil war. No, I do not want to see an actual one. But I believe, rightfully so, that leftists will use violence to advance their ideological agenda. The “Fall of Minneapolis” evidences that.
We here at the American Constitutional Rights Union seek to advance constitutionalism. After all the US Constitution is the rule of law in America. It is rather simple for me, either you believe that, or like Joe Biden, Kamala Harris, Alejandro Mayorkas, you do not. The year 2024 is already contentious and the last thing needed is for leftists to use art to shape our political atmosphere, by way of fear-mongering, and attempts to undermine the constitutional rights and liberties of innocent everyday Americans.
I find it funny, and quite telling, that this movie took this course, and not one of potential terrorist attacks against America due to unfettered illegal immigration and open borders. Oh, duh, that is what the progressive socialist left is enabling . . . and We the People are the enemy for obstructing that.
Steadfast and Loyal.