What frightens me most, however, is that this is just the mild act one of more horrific conflict yet to come. The French Revolution was bloodier than the American Revolution because the poor were more frustrated and angry with a longer history of abuse and neglect. We are at such an historical moment once again, the rich not only ignoring the poor but showing off about it, wallowing in it, claiming their moral superiority. Add the new immigrant mix and all the frustration that comes with it ... play this all out on an international stage ... if history plays out as it has always played out before, the Mother of All Revolutions, with all attached blood and horror, may be less than a century away.
Lee's film focuses on what is wrong in America, here and now ... the Katrina crisis tore off the masks. Thus we have Barbara Bush at the Dome, blabbering about how better off the "refugees" are here than they were before, Katrina as salvation. You have to hear it to believe it.
Spike Lee is an American patriot of the best kind, showing us a moment in history when reality trumps myth. We're not going to learn anything from this, unfortunately. But Lee did his job. He ripped off the social and political masks to show us what is important, and not important, to the powers that be in this time of crisis. A major documentary film.
