TheOfficeMut
Unconfirmed Member
Just started part 1. What did you guys think of it?
-
Hey, guest user. Hope you're enjoying NeoGAF! Have you considered registering for an account? Come join us and add your take to the daily discourse.
Frontline: 'Divided States of America' premieres 1/17, 1/18 @ 9-11pm EST on PBS.
- Thread starter Spike Spiegel
- Start date
- Status
SatelliteOfLove
Member
This was the time i knew something was wrong with the republican party i was a part of at the time (especially contrasting with the circumstances of the time and what i myself thought of Obama and what a number of other conservative pundits were weighing in with).
Now i know its true form.
Enosh
Member
"be more like they guy who lost not the guy who won
signed: a democrat"
it really is a mystery
Mattlikewhoa
Member
I had actually watched part one, and man that was tough. I can't believe some of this stuff was going on. And now looking back, we now see the fall out of it.
I can't wait to watch the second part.
I can't wait to watch the second part.
They went right into a bubble.
Their way or no way, never questioning if their way is even a just way....
False Witness
Member
Every time I hear Mark Levin's voice, I feel like going around destroying radio towers.
Snowman Prophet of Doom
Member
Trump has been considering running for POTUS for decades, and actually has run third-party in the past. He filed the "Make America Great Again" trademark almost immediately after Romney lost.
Trump IS a moron, but he's a marketing genius with his finger on the pulse of how the lumpenmeschen think. He's the modern PT Barnum.
Genuine question: were you too young to remember, not really into politics, or not from the US?
I ask because it seems like so many people forget or didn't know about this. Watching part 2 and reliving this is heavy for me and feels like it was yesterday.
It's also a trip that Paul Ryan was sooo offended that Obama criticized their budget plan yet the other side are the snowflakes. Such bs.
Snowman Prophet of Doom
Member
They shied away from race too much in this doc. I'm curious if the "Donald Trump's Road to the White House" doc will grapple with that more specifically.
Dr. Zoidberg
Member
Many on both sides have taken up an angry "you're either with us or against us" stance so that's not too surprising. People firmly on one side or the other have gotten fed up with the status quo in the US and the resulting polarization leaves little room for fence-straddlers since they won't be tolerated in either camp.
Maybe rhetorically, but when voting day comes around Conservatives fall in line, Liberals fall in love (or stay home).
2000 and 2016 are prime example of what happens when liberal coalitions fracture and don't get out the vote because of x, y, z. Mostly over tiny shit that ends up being a big fat nothingburger.
Conservatives might be my way or the highway, but they rightfully understand that's a process for primaries and for putting pressure on party leaders and politicians. Liberals make it personal, and through ego or some morality complex throw a stake in the sand and die on it.
I mean, you would have to not remember the last 8 years to not know this.
Just now watching Part 1. I remember some of the McCain fallback when Rebuplican voters expressed concern over Obama's race, nationality, and even his place of birth. However, I never knew how much pull Palin had and wrote off people even considering her as a possible next candidate because she didn't seem in any way intelligent.
I'm pretty ashamed to say that during the lead up to the 2008 election, I fell more in line with the Sean Hannity crowd and had voted for Bush the two terms prior. I didn't vote for McCain in the end (went Ron Paul cause small government) and got called out by some friends saying I helped give Obama the win. I actually still know alot of people who went Libertarian at the time and then careened more towards the Tea Party rhetoric, going as far a applauding Ted Cruz over some of his very long-winded filibusterers.
I will say that while the Bank Bailout helped to keep the economy afloat after the crash, I was and am still against such large bailouts that end up on the taxpayer dime while those who knowingly caused it get away relatively scott free.
I'm pretty ashamed to say that during the lead up to the 2008 election, I fell more in line with the Sean Hannity crowd and had voted for Bush the two terms prior. I didn't vote for McCain in the end (went Ron Paul cause small government) and got called out by some friends saying I helped give Obama the win. I actually still know alot of people who went Libertarian at the time and then careened more towards the Tea Party rhetoric, going as far a applauding Ted Cruz over some of his very long-winded filibusterers.
I will say that while the Bank Bailout helped to keep the economy afloat after the crash, I was and am still against such large bailouts that end up on the taxpayer dime while those who knowingly caused it get away relatively scott free.
Coriolanus
Banned
the problem is really at the end, no? If taxpayer dollars are required to minimize damage, so be it, that's (one of the things) they're there for. Seeing dudes mostly walk away unscathed, tho... that fucking chafes.
Consequences for underhanded actions such as granting subprime loans to people unable to actually pay back the bank would help minimize the need for bailouts. Instead, we are headed back in the exact same direction with several debt bubbles ballooning out of control and ready to burst at the expense of the American people as well as economies around the world.
Actual hard consequences need to be in place if you actively fuck over people to maximize profit for those at the top.
Lol, it's up there for me too.
That was an interesting way of presenting the last 8 years. I didn't realize Trump talked like conservative radio. I never listen to it. He's basically a surrogate for them. I was surprised to learn Trump trademarked, make america great again, right after romney lost.
Part two didn't seem to fit well with part one. It seemed to go over important events, but I don't know how it related to main point of the documentary.
That was a grim picture of america. Interested in seeing the next one with Trump.
Part two didn't seem to fit well with part one. It seemed to go over important events, but I don't know how it related to main point of the documentary.
That was a grim picture of america. Interested in seeing the next one with Trump.
War Peaceman
You're a big guy.
The Republicans spent so long indulging the angry fantasies of their most active and vocal voters that they ended up being taken over by them. People like McConnell and Ryan are cowards for enabling this.
Eric Cantor losing a primary after enabling the Tea Party was one of the few good storylines. Fuck that guy.
This is bullshit. Donald Trump won the election by basically telling white blue collar workers, hey at least you are not black, hey at least your not an immigrant, hey at least you are not colored, why should you be suffering when you are white like me. For white blue collar America, that makes perfect sense because they have always been coddled to even though they vote against their own interests, but low income people of color have always have to deal with that reality regardless who we vote for. Fortunately, it seems no miority or disenfranchised individual looks to just simply take as it is. I've seen a lot of movement, moreso than I've under the Bush administration including the Iraq war.
KernelPanic
Member
Just finished part 1. Disturbing to watch.
You could see it coming. Backlash against McCain for defending Obama's character during the campaign, Sarah Palin. 2008 for GOP was like 2016 for Dems.
Then it seems Obama inadvertently fuelled it by winning and stuff like siding with the big banks, the beer summit and then Obamacare sealed the deal.
You could see it coming. Backlash against McCain for defending Obama's character during the campaign, Sarah Palin. 2008 for GOP was like 2016 for Dems.
Then it seems Obama inadvertently fuelled it by winning and stuff like siding with the big banks, the beer summit and then Obamacare sealed the deal.
TheOfficeMut
Unconfirmed Member
An hour into part 2 now. Some guy for Guns For America just said, and I quote, "Gun control kills people."
Sigh.
Both parts of this documentary has made me extremely depressed.
Sigh.
Both parts of this documentary has made me extremely depressed.
AstroNut325
Member
Watched part 1 last night. I now, officially, absolutely revile every Republican politician and Republican voters (including the Tea Party). Their desperation, fueled by lies, FUD, and coded racism set us on a downward path. F*** THEM. All of them.
The part with McCain was really sickening. He was trying to be a decent human being and have some dignity by not sinking down to some really gross level and the crowd was having none of it. They were clearly trying to get him to say some really racist shit, ugly shit and were pissed as hell that he wouldn't do it.
Everything that happened throughout the program is so incredibly disturbing. I can't see myself ever not being against and divided with the people who brought our current situation about. I don't feel like we're part of the same culture at all and our values are radically different.
hydragonwarrior
Member
But, as slimy as it is, they were doing long term politicking that Dems couldn't even touch. The Tea Party is/was a grass roots thing that laid the seeds for Trump.
Dems can't let that happen again or need a movement that counters it.
Spike Spiegel
Member
If you're interested tonight's episode of FRONTLINE is a companion of sorts to last week's episodes, covering the scope of Donald Trump's campaign and his ascendancy to President of the United States.
FRONTLINE: Trump's Road to the White House (can be watched online here)
Probably not going to provide any new information on the campaign, which is still fresh and raw in the minds of everyone; rather, it should offer a closer perspective with insider interviews.
A "here's how he did it."
FRONTLINE: Trump's Road to the White House (can be watched online here)
Probably not going to provide any new information on the campaign, which is still fresh and raw in the minds of everyone; rather, it should offer a closer perspective with insider interviews.
A "here's how he did it."
andythinkpad
Member
How much funding does PBS get from the government?
Spike Spiegel
Member
PBS only gets something like 15% of its funding from the government through the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, which itself operates on a minuscule percentage of the federal budget. A large chunk of CPB funding, however, go to hundreds of public television and radio stations across the US that carry PBS programming, and without their CPB funding many of those stations -- especially those in rural areas -- would likely go off the air.
EDIT: Here's the CPB budget breakdown in 2014.
http://www.cpb.org/aboutcpb/financials/budget/
It was interesting for me to learn that Obama basically steamrolled healthcare through congress without a single republican blessing (even going as far as saying "I won the election. There are consequences.").
One of the interesting consequences of this is probably that it made republicans so angry that they are relishing pushing things through now not giving any fucks about democrats.
One of the interesting consequences of this is probably that it made republicans so angry that they are relishing pushing things through now not giving any fucks about democrats.
A Human Becoming
More than a Member
The show really portrayed Obama as naive and cocky when he was elected. While he obviously isn't completely to blame for how polarized the country has become, he deserves a fairly large share of it. How could never recover from how he mishandled some situations.
It's too bad since he had good intentions.
It's too bad since he had good intentions.
His biggest mistake was asuming republicans would act older than 5 years old. Pretty big mistake looking back on it, but it's not hard to imagine him feeling like he could close the divide. In the end, his skin color, and the dirtbags who attacked him because of it worsened the divide in the country.
A Human Becoming
More than a Member
It's not just regarding Republicans acting immaturely. Like with healthcare for example, instead of trying to build legislation using Republican ideas he included ideas he thought they would like. Turning on Boehner during one of the debt ceilings incidents because he wanted more was also a bad move.
In the end, I think you are right that his skin color was the major catalyst for the increased division. I don't know if he could have overcome that, but he definitely made some missteps along the way.
I was fascinated by the first half, but the second half's omission or light handling of key-elements of that era made me realize how unbalanced that half was.
You can actually trace the DNA of Trump's election back to Bush Jr. He was the new-millenium's 'folksy, tell-it-like-it-is' everyman that people initially placed faith in because he didn't act establishment, despite being the definition in reality via nepotism.
No mention of the 1% movement. That's just weird, in a piece regarding social division in the post-2008 recession era.
Barely a mention of BLM. BLM is a big reason for the racial resentment present in a lot of people that helped Trump get into the office.
The second half is just seemingly unfinished in comparison to the first half.
You can actually trace the DNA of Trump's election back to Bush Jr. He was the new-millenium's 'folksy, tell-it-like-it-is' everyman that people initially placed faith in because he didn't act establishment, despite being the definition in reality via nepotism.
No mention of the 1% movement. That's just weird, in a piece regarding social division in the post-2008 recession era.
Barely a mention of BLM. BLM is a big reason for the racial resentment present in a lot of people that helped Trump get into the office.
The second half is just seemingly unfinished in comparison to the first half.
Gabriel_Logan
Member
Just watched it was really good. Painted a good narrative of Republicans taping into forces they can't control to win seats. Cantor's comeuppance was crazy.
triplestation
Member
ftfy
- Status
Similar threads
- Locked