conservative Tagged Articles at Cinematical

Director Peter Greenstreet's documentary This Divided State, which covered the controversial plan to bring Michael Moore to the ultra-conservative Utah Valley State College in Orem, Utah, has raised the ire of Sean Hannity, who was brought to the college in response to Moore's scheduled appearance. Hannity says he plans to sue the filmmakers due to this footage, which, quite frankly, makes him look like a complete jerk (actually, "jerk" isn't the right word, but I'm trying to keep this family friendly). You can also watch the first 26 minutes of the documentary on the official web site. While the clip shows Hannity being cheered by huge numbers of conservative students and being asked questions by the handful of liberals in attendance (who are often shouted down by the crowd), there's nothing especially "political" about it. Its intent seems to be an indictment of Hannity himself, but what it really reveals, to me anyway, is the sorry state of political discourse and what happens when emotions take over and people begin to block out differing opinions entirely. And, needless to say, that happens at both ends of the political spectrum.

It might sound absurd at first to compile a top ten list of movies based solely on your political views. But let's face it, we all do this on one level or another. For example, a movie loses big points for me if the women are all submissive, supportive wives or nagging-bitch girlfriends. And I never could bring myself to see The Passion of the Christ (although part of that isn't politics, it's the same reason I haven't seen Hostel—I can't abide excessive gore).

So perhaps former Boston Herald columnist Don Feder's list of the 10 best conservative films of 2005 isn't as unusual as it might seem. Feder selected the films that he felt represented "conservatism’s cardinal values – faith, family and freedom." Does that explain why King Kong is #2 on the list? Feder feels the movie's characters "exemplify feminine virtue, masculine heroism and romantic love." Oh, and lots of cool computer-generated effects. His #1 pick isn't The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe, either; that movie is down at #4, past "pro-life" film The Island. Feder tops the list with Cinderella Man, and he particularly cites Renee Zellweger's performance as the "worried but steadfast wife". Good thing Feder and I have never been on a movie date together.

[Thanks to Nigel R. for the link.]