Sep 24, 2012 No Comments ›› Pat Dollard
(WASHINGTON TIMES) — This isn’t Texas or conservative Mississippi. This is the progressive enclave of Chicago, Illinois, birthplace of the “Chicago Way” and the adopted hometown of President Barack Obama.
And it is this Chicago – now only a month or so out before the critical 2012 presidential election – that received filmmaker Dinesh D’Souza with a spontaneous standing ovation Saturday after seeing the film, “2016: Obama’s America.” This weekend, “2016” hit the $32 million mark, earning it a coveted distinction: top grossing documentary of the year and the second biggest political documentary of all time.
Fans and foes alike agree that it is D’Souza that is to blame for the film’s success.
It is an artistically compelling – if controversial – approach that weaves D’Souza’s personal experiences growing up in Mumbai, India with a disturbing psychoanalysis of Obama’s words from the memoir, “Dreams from My Father.”
D’Souza’s conclusion: Obama’s dream is to fulfill the anti-colonialist mission of his father. A mission that seems contrary, even hostile, to American self-interest and preservation.
D’Souza was in Chicago this weekend for a special public screening of his film and Q&A with Chicagoans at the Gene Siskel Film Center. The event was hosted by Chicago-based FreeCapitalismNow.com. Ironically, it was just a few blocks away from here that then candidate Barack Obama declared his presidential victory to thousands of adoring, screaming fans in Grant Park.
But Chicagoans were not cheering for Obama this weekend, they were cheering for D’Souza.
