Western Courier

Issue date: 10/2/06 Section: Opinion

Media Credit: MCT "Death of a President," the film depicting President Bush's assassination, should be boycotted.

I think we can safely say that the world's opinion of America has gone sour when a film depicting the assassination of President Bush is given one of the highest awards at the international Toronto Film Festival.

Gabriel Range's "Death of a President" is a fictional documentary looking back on the assassination of President George W. Bush on Oct. 19, 2007, in Chicago during an anti-war protest. The rest of the film details how Americans quickly accuse a dark-skinned Syrian man of the murder, even after evidence is later found that points to someone else.

Range, the producer/director/creator of the film, used archival footage from presidential visits to Chicago and CGI effects to put the president's face on the body of one of their actors. It looked as though George Bush was actually being assassinated.

Usually a controversial and thought-provoking film such as this is a welcome break from low-substance movies like "Snakes on a Plane." It's like eating a steak when you're used to McDonald's. "Death of a President" is presented in a sophisticated and believable fashion, attempting to describe America's Sept. 11 political state through the lens of the future - an innovative and insightful vantage.

But Range has gone too far. The very fact that it depicts the assassination of our president, the leader of our country, is deplorable. When did it become honorable to imagine and portray the murder of the president of the United States? A few hundred years ago people were arrested for such talk, but Range was given an esteemed award for it! What if American filmmakers produced a film depicting the assassination of British Prime Minister Tony Blair? I'm sure that would help strengthen our public relations.

I am not the biggest fan of the Bush administration, but I have no desire to see him assassinated in a mock documentary made by our British allies. Just because we disagree with someone does not mean we should disrespect him - especially to the point of sadistically depicting their assassination.

Range could have made the point about American's post-Sept. 11 racial discrimination by using a fictional president. Besides, I'm pretty sure most of America is aware of the excessive prejudice against Middle Easterners and I hardly think assassinating our president on film is going to help it change.

Continued...

Page 1 of 2 next >

Article Tools