"The Artist" Review

The world is abuzz with Michel Hazanavicius’s movie “The Artist.” It has won a wide array of accolade from critics and regular movie-goers everywhere. Specifically, it was prized with a surprising five Oscars and is the first silent film to capture the Best Picture award since “Wings” in the fist Academy Awards presentation in 1929. All of this praise is more than deserved.

Sometimes, despite its rave reviews “The Artist” is derided for its innocent nature. This scorn is thoroughly pretentious. Hazanavicius’s movie is innocent but that is just what makes it great. There is always a place for dark and intense movies like Coppola’s “Apocalypse Now” but there is just as much a place for light and funny ones. It dials in on the better angels of our nature and lets them loose. It makes you smile both with its humor but also with the reality that there is good in the world, untainted by the evil that surrounds.

But all of this would be thrown to waste were the movie not deftly executed. And this is why it earned its other Oscars. Jean Dujardin, whom I had previously seen in “OSS 117 Nest of Spies,” takes his art to a new level in his portrayal of George Valantin while Ludovic Bource’s score is sublime as it accompanies the mastery on screen. So, if you had not yet gathered from what I have said so far, this movie is worth seeing for your whole family, I guarantee it. 

The Decline and Fall of the American Republic Review

I have just finished reading Bruce Ackerman’s The Decline and Fall of the American Republic, a good little book if I do say so myself. In fact, I had not planned on reading it at all and only did so as my friend was fortunate enough as to forget it in my car. Regardless of this story, the book puts out quite an idea, not radical as it has been around for a good amount of time, but nonetheless prescient and forceful. This is the idea of an “imperial” presidency.

As Ackerman dutifully notes in this volume this idea of an imperial presidency was first put forth by Arthur Schlesinger Jr. in his aptly-named book The Imperial Presidency. But in his own volume written four decades after the original, Ackerman puts forth a methodical and systematic study of how the trends first seen by Schlesinger have matured and transformed. According to Ackerman areas for concern include the politicization of the military, the hyper-partisan Executive Branch lawyers, and the increasing use of sound bites as substitute for true political discourse.

These characteristics of our political culture, he says, will add to an ever increasing executive that will become one of the largest constitutional crises ever faced. For this the author presents a number of solutions that taken together start ameliorating the present condition. Among these is the idea of a national holiday with the sole purpose of having the voting public discuss the very policies and ideas that are most important to them. It would be run very much like a caucus with each candidate having a representative speak on their behalf and then allowing for discussion and debate to occur. Now, this would have the effect of diminishing the impact of television as well as increasing voter knowledge.

This is purely one of the many great little nuggets found in this book. I very much encourage you to read it. For if one were to judge the author by his stated purpose, namely to start a dialogue concerning this problem, it is a very good book and accomplishes this goal very deftly. 

President Obama's Third State of the Union

This past week the country witnessed President Barack Obama give the third State of the Union address of his presidency (his first speech was technically only a speech to a joint session of Congress.) In doing so he, for all intensive purposes, kicked off his re-election campaign. So it came as no wonder that Obama hit on different chords from his previous SOTU as he moved from post-partisan rhetoric to that befitting someone who is seeking, above all, votes.

With the economy in shambles it becomes increasingly difficult for an incumbent president to win a second term in the White House. Therefore, in order to do so he has to shift the debate away from the economy and jobs and instead place it in a more favorable arena: inequality. Now, as we have already witnessed in the State of the Union, Obama and Democrats will talk more and more about the disparity between the rich and poor and the rich doing their “fair share.”

The Republicans, however, should try their best to keep away from this debate for it is heavily slanted in the Democrats’ favor. Rather they should harp up the fact that the American economy is still mired in the pit of slow-recovery and Obama and the Democrats have failed to get it out.

My prediction is this: whoever chooses the main debate of this election season will win the White House. I do not know if Obama will persuade the American people with his demagogic appeals to their sense of “equality.” But, if the Republicans make this election a referendum on Obama and his lackluster economic performance (from the present viewpoint at least,) the Presidency is theirs for the taking.  

SOPA, PIPA and What They Mean for You

I do know that the bills named SOPA and PIPA have been scrapped for a while, with that in mind here are my thoughts on them and why in there most recent form they should never be passed:

As you most likely witnessed, especially if you are a student with an impending project or research paper, the user-input based online encyclopedia Wikipedia was down just a few days ago. This was in an act of protest joined by several other web-based companies and web sites to combat the impending legislation known as SOPA. The Stop Online Piracy Act is the House version of legislation (joined by the PROTECT IP or PIPA in the Senate) that is meant to protect the intellectual property of the American economy from foreign websites. However, its announcement has been met a serious backlash due to its supposed limitations of free speech and other concerns.

Through the language of the bills it becomes illegal for any site to post links to any copyrighted material. This would in effect cripple most sites that rely on user-generated input, like Facebook, Wikipedia and Youtube, by requiring them to check every link posted on their own sites. Another limitation would be the restrictions placed on sites by blocking credit card payments to sites should they have an unlawful link. By eliminating their main source of revenue, small sites would be left exceedingly vulnerable.

Notable about this whole ordeal is the role of former-Senator Chris Dodd of Connecticut and now the Chairman of the Motion Picture Association of America. Although unable to lobby lawmakers directly as he has not been out of office for the necessary two years, Mr. Dodd still retains a large influence on the crowd in Capitol Hill, so it should be interesting to follow how his influence plays out in the ensuing period of time. As an aside it should also be noted that Mr. Dodd has been accused of using his privileged position in crafting the landmark financial regulation legislation, Dodd-Frank Act, for which he is the namesake, in creating for himself better opportunities in his post-Senatorial career. These statements have not been validated nor are they my own but they should be brought into the debate when talking about his influence especially on such high-profile issues as financial reform and internet regulation.

Finally, considering how the bills have been put on a back burner for the time being, we should claim this as a victory for popular protest. Regular people, although joined by large corporations, stood up to Washington and told them No and Washington responded. So I leave you with now with a hope that however unresponsive and corrupt our politics may appear to be, at least for now, if the people rise up and speak, politicians are forced to listen.

Reflections on Tim Tebow

Tim Tebow. Either you love him or you hate him. It's pretty hard to be indifferent. After all, the guy has led his team (the Denver Broncos) from a 1-4 record to the play offs including 6 straight wins. And not only has he done that but he has done it in one of the most unconventional ways. Oh yeah, and did I mention he's a Christian?

I don't consider myself an expert when it comes to football matters but even the most casual observers can see that there is something different in how he plays. It is said that he is built not like a quarter back but like a full back leaving him able to run the football if not by then through people, which is good considering his mediocre throwing ability. To compensate for this, Denver runs an option offense meaning that there is always the possibility of a quarterback running play. 

All this football mumbo jumbo (especially my very superficial understanding of it) is fine and dandy. However, what I want to focus on, given the theme of this blog, is his impact on our American culture. This is not found in his football. Although his victories and gamestyle definitely accentuate his notoriety, what really impacts the country is his Christianity. He is unabashedly what so many people frequently bash: an Evangelical Christian.

For me as an evangelical, I see the benefit of what he has done for our faith. He has brought the gospel to places where no one would have dreamed of hearing it just weeks before from the annals of ESPN's SportsCenter to the now increasingly common "Tebowing" pose. However, this places him in a rather conspicuous position. He has, whether he wants to or not, become the spokesman for evangelicals all across America. Now, he is put in the spotlight; every one of his actions is meticulously scrutinized. By living as he has and maintaining the ideal of what a Christian should look like he has been placed on a precipice, should he make a mistake we will all dismiss him as if he had been disingenuous from the very start. But while this does not occur we build up this aura around him making it ever more catastrophic should he fail. This is not to say that he definitely will fail but that we are exalting him to the image of a quasi-deity which if we have learned anything from Mr. Tebow is the opposite of what he stands for.

In conclusion, let me just say, although next Saturday he will lose to the Patriots in the second round of the playoffs, what Tebow has done should not be overlooked. The impact he has had on us as Americans, should it be lasting or not, is significant to say the least. He has shown that a man can lead an authentically honest life and even if you hate him and what he stands for, you have to respect him for that.