2016: Obama's America is a 2012 American political documentary film and polemic by right-wing author and political commentator Dinesh D'Souza. The film was produced by Doug Sain and Gerald R. Molen. D'Souza and John Sullivan co-directed and co-wrote the film, which is based on D'Souza's book The Roots of Obama's Rage (2010). Through interviews and reenactments, the film compares the similarities of the lives of D'Souza and President Barack Obama as D'Souza alleges that early influences on Obama were affecting his domestic policy decisions.
The film was panned by critics; reviewers described the film as politically partisan and as "a nonsensically unsubstantiated act of character assassination", unlikely to sway undecided voters or Obama supporters. The film grossed $33.4 million in the United States.
Summary
The documentary begins with D'Souza on screen describing his own personal experiences as an Indian immigrating to the United States, as a student at Dartmouth College, and then as an editor at the conservative magazine Policy Review, pointing out the similarities between his life and Barack Obama's. The film changes location to Indonesia, where a young Barack Obama is being reared by his mother Ann Dunham and stepfather Lolo Soetoro. A psychologist discusses the detrimental effect of an absentee father on his children. D'Souza travels to Africa and interviews Obama's half brother George Obama.
As Obama's mother and stepfather's relationship becomes strained, Obama is sent to Hawaii to live with his grandparents and meets Frank Marshall Davis. Obama finishes his college studies at Columbia, where the film claims he is influenced by left-wing figures. His progression into an intellectual is highlighted by a visit to Kenya. The film incorporates spoken words from Obama's audio book, Dreams from My Father.
D'Souza discusses Obama's father, Barack Obama, Sr., and what D'Souza describes as Obama Sr.'s anti-colonialist views. This, according to D'Souza, explains why Obama rejects American exceptionalism and why D'Souza believes he is attempting to "reshape America." D'Souza delves into what he terms the "founding fathers" from Obama's past, including Frank Marshall Davis, Reverend Jeremiah Wright, Bill Ayers, Edward Said, and Roberto Unger. As a result, the film argues that Obama wants to significantly reduce the U.S.'s influence within the world while increasing the influence of nations that he believes have suffered or been held back economically or militarily due to the domination of the United States and other Western countries. To argue his case, D'Souza interviews Shelby Steele, Paul Vitz, Alice Dewey, Paul Kengor, Willy Kauai, George Obama, Philip Ochieng, Joseph Ojiru, Daniel Pipes, David Walker, and Sarah Obama (off-screen). The film warns that should Obama be elected to a second term, the ramifications will be far reaching. It ends by stating, "the future is in your hands."
Development, production and promotion
D'Souza credited Michael Moore for giving him the idea on how to frame the film, stating: "When he released Fahrenheit 9/11 in 2004 ahead of the election, it sparked intense debate. I learned some lessons from Michael Moore, and hopefully he might learn some lessons from me about handling facts."
D'Souza describes the film as "a vista" of Obama's earlier life, following his childhood from Hawaii to Indonesia and a visit to Kenya (Obama's father's birthplace). Such an upbringing, D'Souza contends, has caused Obama to subscribe "to an ideology that sees America very differently." D'Souza asserts that Obama's father's Kenyan roots in particular have inspired Obama "to shrink America's footprint in the world because he thinks we've been stepping on the world." The film further aims to show D'Souza's predictions about how the future of the United States might unfold should Obama be elected to a second term.
The film is the first documentary by producer Gerald R. Molen, who said he became involved with the film because he personally finds the debt issue "terrifying", and believes that the movie illuminates how Obama's experiences before the presidency impact his political ideology. Molen is also "concerned about the plans for the disarmament of the U.S." and feels that "Israel has been thrown underneath the bus by this administration". The registered Republican considers himself a fiscally conservative independent, indicating that he has previously voted for Democrats in addition to Republicans, and priding himself on his evaluation of all the candidates.