Friday, November 09, 2012

Lincoln

I can't help but see a very direct connection between Abraham Lincoln's America and Barak Obama's America In the Steven Spielberg bio pic of the last 5 months of Lincoln's presidency.  Both contended with a severely polarized Country and government.  Lincoln had issued the emancipation proclamation nearly two years before his re-election to a second term. Winning a second term proved his mandate by the American people to abolish slavery and so the film takes on the passing of the 13th amendment as its framework for the next two and a half hours.  In many ways Obamas second term affords him a mandate to finish what he started.   The script was written by Tony Kushner famous for the Gay themed TV movie Angels in America. A script adapted by Doris Kearns Goodwin's best seller Team of Rivals: The political Genius of Abraham Lincoln.  Team of Rivals was a book read and taken to heart by Obama during his first election, resulting in his appointment of Hillary Clinton to Secretary of State even though they had been intense political rivals during the primaries.  Daniel Day-Lewis portrayal of Lincoln was well researched and implemented into a character easily beloved and for some feared.

Ive written several times about my distaste for revisionist history, specifically those who would negatively portray Lincoln's true intentions relative to slavery which was a most complicated knot to un do magnified even more by the horrors of the civil war where well over 600,000 people perished.   It is put into quite clear light in this movie of Lincoln's long term feelings about slavery and what he had to do with the right opportunities politically.  The man had a steadfast guile.
Had Lincoln lived I believe the 100 years of Jim Crow laws would have never manifested.. but we will never know and unfortunately the matter was left up to honorable men of another century to finish.

This was a great movie.   Spielberg's direction, John Williams Soundtrack and a cast of characters including a stunning job by Tommie Lee Jones rounded off this superb film!




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