How Many People Will Fall For This Shit?

And I mean this documentary about Skulls Palin, Cyborg, Arctic Decoy Unit?

Story Here.

Not too many, I suppose. Even if (at the end of the article it is said) some people think of it as her, "Secret weapon." Since the movie, for now, is going to be in theatrical release, that limits the market.

"Ya means I get to watch political propaganda, and all I gots to do is give you money? That is so cool. Sign me up!"

And if what the pollsters say is true, most Americans likely to vote have already made their minds up about Mrs. Palin. So secret weapon? Hardly. That's my guess. Now to be fair, she has had a few accomplishments, that would seem big to the average American, but small to the ranks of leading politicians (and sorta middle of the pack for the pack of grade B GOP Nominee Wannabes.) But touting her short list of political accomplishments, the questions are begged;

Is that it? What else ya got to say about her?

Didn't she quit when the pressure got too hard on her?

What has she done in the past two years but cash in on her celebrity?

But enough about that. I want to talk documentaries. Now I had a very good professor in college for one of my Communications courses. How good? She was on the team that won an Oscar during that semester, for best (short feature) documentary, If You Love This Planet. So if at first I was hesitant to take her at her word when she said that a documentary director could be every bit as creative as a feature film director, once she came back from LA with tales of the thrill of winning the award (and the parties,) I totally trusted her word.

Thing is, call it propaganda (her movie was officially declared foreign propaganda -- the production co. was Canadian, and was sponsored by the Canadian film board,) or just call it a visual and audio essay. It's not meant to be news. And saying that nowadays in the age of infotainment doesn't have the same meaning it would have, in 1982. But still. Many people still don't get it that documentary doesn't mean "This Is All True!"

In film classes we learn about what the academics and even the crafts and guilds consider the first documentary: Nanook of the North. Short version of it is that the director of that first documentary took liberties with the truth and reality. Many liberties. And the die was cast for subsequent documentary filmmakers.

Now are all documentary filmmakers flim-flam artists? Are they all ideologues intent on getting a specific viewpoint across, no matter the actual truth? Not all, but many. Go over to Netflix. You will find dogs like "Loose Change," in the docu. category, just as you will find things produced by Ken Burns. It's not a qualitative label, documentary. And it is not a guarantee of honesty and candor. It basically means this film is not a dramatic or comedy film that was written and produced mostly for the purposes of entertainment, which follows the conventions of fictional movie making. And it does mean at the least, that it's an opinion essay, but one done on film, with audio, and sometimes some fun and fancy special effects.

Again, I don't think all that many people are going to leave the experience of that Palin docu. thinking, my mind is changed, I now view her in a favorable light. Some will. Some few I imagine. And among those who already like her? Might fire them up. You know them wing nuts love them some confirmation bias. They will plop down real money for a book that is nothing more then the same shit Sean Hannity says on air, for free, or some collection of Ann Coulter's essays, that they already have (and still could) read on the Internet for free.

Anyway, the story of the docu. got me thinking about that stuff.