SXSW2004–Bush's Brain/Supersize Me

BUSH’S BRAIN For the most frightening horror film of the festival the kids chose a political documentary based on a book about the rise of Karl Rove. The basic premise of the film and book is that Karl is a lying, motherfucking sack of shit and that he has been involved in politics (starting off, of course, in Texas) for FAR too long. He is destroying the world one vote at a time.

Karl Rove has been Dumbya’s adviser since he started his run for governor of Texas back in the 80s. But the story doesn’t start there.

Rove started out in Washington DC, but he soon moved to Texas to help out with the first Bush’s run for president. (You know, the one who was actually elected.) Rove managed to obtain so much influence that he was able to help turn Texas from a Democratic state to a Republican state. He single handedly destroyed the careers of Senator John McCain (who was a war hero!) and countless others. (Another man whose name I can’t remember lost an arm and both legs in the war. He was called un-American by the Rove camp!)

It doesn’t matter if you’re Democrat or Republican, Rove will take aim at you if you cross him even the slightest bit. The man has FAR too much power. More even than our current “president.” And he looks so unassuming.

The film itself is kind of preaching to the choir. I doubt that they caught any new converts with it, but it did give us a lot of interesting (and frightening) information in an entertaining way. There were two parts that were a little cringe inducing, though. They both involved people crying on camera. I’m not so sure that they should have let it go as far as it did because it seemed very manipulative towards the audience. I saw where they were going but it was a little too much.

In a panel about the film a woman stood up and asked (in a very snotty way), “What is the difference between documentary and PROPAGANDA?” Personally, I think that there is no difference. Every documentary has a view. There’s no way to stop that. If this film had been about James Carville and his sliminess, it would have been propaganda the other way. No matter how unbiased a filmmaker tries to be, unless he has no cares about the subject at all, he is filming propaganda. And if he doesn’t care, then why is he making the film at all? That would be a pretty boring film.

As for Rove himself, he has probably seen the film by now. He has read the book (long before it was “going around Washington”) and wrote a long letter to the authors about how many lies they were telling and how he hoped that they would never be able to publish the book. I’m kind of surprised that they were able to publish it. The man controls the press more so than any other “adviser” (or any other presidential staff in general) in the history of the White House.

I think it’s fair to say that President Rove is leading us into a darker world.

SUPERSIZE ME

For the second scariest film of the festival, we got a documentary about a man (director Morgan Spurlock) who lived on nothing but McDonald’s for 30 days. Hopefully no one has actually done this. It damn near killed poor Morgan.

But that’s not the only story of the movie. Morgan also tells the story of America through fast food. We get statistics that are absolutely horrifying. We get insights into what goes into the food that we love so much. We also find out what that crap is doing to our bodies and just how bad it is for us.

And best of all, it is all told in one 90 minute ball of entertainment. It’s scary stuff but Morgan helps us all laugh at ourselves even while we’re disgusted by the fact that his liver is turning into mush.

McDonald’s has not, as far as Morgan knows, seen the film. They did, however, write a review of it calling it “irresponsible filmmaking” and giving it two thumbs down. Of course, Ebert and Roeper, two actual movie critics, gave it two thumbs up. (Heh heh. Ebert liked it. That’s funny.)

Will the film work? Did it force Mickey D’s to stop super-sizing their meals? Morgan doesn’t know, but he likes to think so. They stopped about two months after the premiere at Sundance. But they also introduced the worst sandwich they’ve ever come out with, the McGriddle.

Oh, and don’t think you’re safe with salads, either. Those have just as much sugar in them as a Big Mac.

Morgan may not get a huge distribution, but after it comes out on DVD and video he is going to take it to schools in different forms. Good for him. Get to them while they’re young so they don’t get as addicted to that crap as some of us already are. (Damn, I love a Jack In The Box burger. I kill myself with tasty, tasty burgers.)

Morgan doesn’t leave it all up to the fast food restaurants. He does admit that it’s up to all of us to eat responsibly. But the FDA and the Grocer’s Union (or whatever they are called…can’t remember) don’t make it very easy. It’s very expensive to eat healthy, and that’s just wrong. And kids don’t have a lot of choices when their school cafeterias are serving crap.

This is a great documentary that has its purpose, gets in and out, entertains and definitely makes its point. Check it out if Ronald doesn’t get to it first.