Friday, November 23, 2012

Back in the Day


Just saw Lincoln, Spielberg's biopic starting Daniel Day-Lewis in the title role. The movie works without question as Lewis not only looks like Lincoln but also seems to channel him as well, particularly in using a relatively high pitched voice, a characteristic his contemporaries said he possessed, in expressing political guile, wit and intelligence rarely seen in any of the 44 presidents this country has had in its nearly 250 years of existence. This blurb is not about the movie per se but rather about accessibility as Lincoln not only routinely walked around Washington talking to people to get a sense of what they were thinking but also on the fact people could enter the White House, completely unannounced, to speak to Lincoln on the spur of the moment, conditions completely different from the well armed phalanx surrounding, and isolating, the president from the public 24/7 in this connected and fractured world of 2012. 

See the movie to get a sense of just how different the world was way back when. Also check out Argo to see how humor, daring and the fascination Iranians had about cheesy Hollywood Sci Fi Flicks, saved six Americans during the Iran hostage crisis back in the day of 1979, an alternate reality featuring bad haircuts, fashion and 8 track tape. You won't be disappointed. 



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