Dem
47
GOP
53
Here is the question we put before readers last week:
(V) & (Z), et al., ask: Ok, now that we have covered movies that Donald Trump should NOT see, what movie do you hope he sees, and why?
And here some of the answers we got in response:
P.J.T. in Raton, NM: Were he not so unstable, and were he capable of self-reflection or redemption, I would like to see Agent Krasnov, er, Donald Trump, watch the 1969 flick, The Magic Christian. It has everything to do with the real value of money and the price of wanton greed.
P.D.N. in Boardman, OH: Dave. To see the good that an accidental presidency can do.
M.S. in Westchester County, NY: My immediate thought was Mr.Smith Goes to Washington. A Frank Capra(corn) movie about political idealism (hope), the relevance of Congress, and the triumph of good over corruption when the citizenry demands it. Unrealistic ending? Yes. But maybe not. If enough folks show up to rallies, demonstrations and the like, maybe our present Congress will be goaded into performing its oversight duties and bring this disaster to its end. (I can dream, can't I?)
E.W. (normally in Skaneateles, NY but currently sitting on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial): The movie Lincoln, of course. (This answer assumes that Trump has to watch the whole movie and pay attention to it; otherwise, it's futile.) He needs to really understand how a president should act, and ideally should be forced to watch it until he fully internalizes the final words: "With malice toward none, with charity for all."
R.R. in Pasadena, CA: The movie that immediately popped into my mind is 12 Years A Slave. It's a historical drama based on the real story of Solomon Northrup, a free Black man in the Northern states who was kidnapped and sold into slavery, It has many relevances to what is happening today, such as taking someone out of their life and throwing them into violent, permanent custody; breaking up families; the Black experience; and the dignity of those who are subjugated. It seems almost impossible to watch that movie and not feel sympathy for people who are ripped from their lives and shipped away. Maybe it would give Trump a bit of empathy to the effect of his policies, and maybe get him to realize that it's not only white people who are human beings worthy of respect.
T.B. in Bozeman, MT: The Martian is the film I would hope TCF watches. Using a near-future setting, it provides an utterly believable framework for understanding the surpassing difficulties of "Space! The Final Frontier!"
Despite the South African Schmuck's vapid assurances, surviving on Mars is rightly shown in granular detail to be a huge, relentless challenge. Space travel is rightly shown to take vast amounts of time. Even communication across the deep is awkward. Twenty-three minutes for a message to travel at light speed between Earth and Mars! But the drama of the movie is moved along by a steady stream of science and engineering. I am always impressed with the careful, persistent showcasing of scientific principles that percolate through the movie. I always grin to hear Mark Watney say, "I've got to Science the Hell out of this!" And he does, growing potatoes with his own defecations as fertilizer, making water out of leftover rocket fuel, finding and restoring an old Martian probe to get back in touch with NASA. Very satisfying presentation for science lovers everywhere. And, as a bonus, the movie has a strong, "Come Together!" theme. The whole world is watching and cheering for Mark Watney and NASA. China pitches in a valuable rocket to assist. The climax shows celebrations around the world. All in all, an inspirational film, and one that is a strong rebuke to the stupidity, vapidity and endless hatred of the present ruling junta. I don't imagine a moronic dope such as TCF would bother watching such a thoughtful and interesting movie, but one can hope.
B.B. in Saint Louis, MO: I suggest that the President be forced to watch the 1955 documentary Night and Fog so that he can see why fascism is not such a good idea.
A.K. in Pico Rivera, CA: The Man in the High Castle. I will admit to a little bias, since I worked on the pilot, but it is a thoughtful expansion of the Philip K. Dick novella. The American Nazi party takes over America, and the film shows how the country was co-opted by fascist thinking. Many parallels to 47.
E.S. in Providence, RI: TCF should watch Schindler's List, even though he would probably identify with Amon Goeth.
L.C. in Brookline, MA: I wish Trump AND his voters would see Idiocracy. Because that's where he and his appointees and his base are taking us.
I also wish Trump (and Vladimir Putin) would see Charlie Chaplin's The Great Dictator. Because the portrayal of a dictator initially got Joseph Stalin to like the film, but then the end got him angry enough to ban it.
T.W. in Norfolk, England, UK: The film Trump should watch is The Great Dictator, starting Charlie Chaplin. That speech never fails to inspire and to bring tears to my eyes. It brings a lump to my throat in just the reading of it, let alone the listening to the great actor say the words in what, amazingly, was his first film with dialogue! In the vain and forlorn hope that some few atoms of normal human heart remain beating within Trump's chest, perhaps his watching that great film might prompt some personal growth and a change of mind?
Oh, you asked for sensible ideas, not miracles... Sorry.
D.B. in Deer Park, NY: If he cares anything for his legacy, I hope the Ochre Ogre watches both The Great Dictator and The Producers. Because if he keeps going on the way he has, some genius like Charlie Chaplin or Mel Brooks will make him look ridiculous. And even though it won't happen until long after he's gone, the one thing he can't stand is to be made to look ridiculous.
M.M. in Leonardtown, MD: Blazing Saddles. If Trump can get
Adderall... er, laser-focused on converting the Interstate Highway System into the Donald J. Trump Memorial Thruway, the distraction will allow non-Trumpers to defeat his racist mercenary pals. (Caveat: This plan will only work if nobody in the Cabinet has a sh**load of dimes.)
K.H. in Ypsilanti, MI: Andy Warhol's 8-hour-long, no-action-and-no-plot film Empire. I just wanna make him sit through it.
T.H.W. in Marlboro, VT: It would be best for Trump to see the Swedish film Logistics, which holds the record for longest film ever made. For more than 35 days, Trump would not be signing Executive Orders or attacking universities or violating court orders or mistreating immigrants or ambushing the leaders of allied countries or embarrassing us in any of the myriad other ways he does.
D.E. in Lancaster, PA: At first my mind turned to those classic films that inspire greatness of spirit, courage and selflessness in my mind, like Schindler's List, The Shawshank Redemption, The Life of Pi, etc. But then I realized that this is a futile attempt. First off, he would resist like the most stubborn mule, any attempts to bring enlightenment. He would either not get the implied message—Trump would think, "Why does Schindler throw away all his money trying to save some poor stinking Jews?" Or he would naturally take the wrong lesson from the film, such as if he watched Shawshank, Trump would think to himself, "Gee, I better get into prison grift like Warden Norton." Actually, he might already have done so, which just proves my point. Seriously, while I usually have faith that most everyone has the capacity for improvement, I acknowledge that there are some people who there is no hope. Trump is one.
Here is the question for next week:
L.R.H. in Oakland, CA, asks: (Z) asserted that "Back to the Future [is] the very best movie to be set in California."
OK, but what other films are in the running, and why? (The movie need not be set entirely in California, but a significant portion should take place there.)
Submit your answers to comments@electoral-vote.com, preferably with subject line "Forget It, Jake"!
The furthest-back president to still have a living child is John F. Kennedy, whose daughter Caroline is still among us. The furthest-back president to still have a living grandchild is Grover Cleveland who, at the age of 60 in 1897, had a son named Richard. In turn, Richard, at the age of 54 in 1951, had a son named George. George Cleveland is still living, though he missed out on meeting his grandfather by 49 years.
Every president who served after Kennedy has at least one child still surviving, some of them (like Lyndon Johnson's two daughters) considerably older than Caroline Kennedy. On the other hand, Cleveland's first successor, Benjamin Harrison, has no living grandchildren or great-grandchildren. Cleveland's second successor, William McKinley, has no living descendants at all. Theodore Roosevelt has no living grandchildren, either. That means that the next president, after Cleveland, to have a grandchild survive to 2025 is William Howard Taft, whose grandson Peter Rawson Taft III is still living.