tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8871549895931317151.post226054791141721459..comments2023-11-28T15:20:59.369-05:00Comments on Cinema Viewfinder: Is Lincoln Meant to Caution or Console?Tony Dayoubhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04632329277519635858noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8871549895931317151.post-1744593254429669602013-01-05T14:39:15.983-05:002013-01-05T14:39:15.983-05:00Your insightful comment is the best I have read ab...Your insightful comment is the best I have read about Lincoln. "In illustrating the depths to which America sank more than 150 years ago–barely 90 years after its declaration of independence–LINCOLN demonstrates that our nation is strong enough to weather even the bitterest division provided there is leadership and compromise from even the staunchest partisan." As political inspiration, I'm sure Barack will see this and gain courage. Bevhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08004692010858178464noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8871549895931317151.post-16354293213548691792012-11-25T21:45:40.832-05:002012-11-25T21:45:40.832-05:00To expand on that last point more particularly, as...To expand on that last point more particularly, aside from the Obama connection: I'm fascinated by the choice of setting for Lincoln. I can't think of many other biopics that seem to be so "post-" In a way, the climax comes before the movie (as Lincoln is validated by the election and the tide of war finally turns after 3 long years) and the movie teases out a second climax from the material (I mean how often do we hear about the 13th amendment as the big breakthrough vs. the Emancipation Proclamation?).<br /><br />It's an interesting and unusual choice (which I didn't know about going in - in fact I actually thought this was going to be a conventional, full-life biopic as I hadn't read much on the film beforehand), and at times I had the sense I was seeing a sequel to a movie I'd missed. This would make an interesting double bill with Young Mr. Lincoln, a kind of prologue and epilogue to the canny politician's career...Joel Bockohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11238338958380683893noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8871549895931317151.post-43942835751269437382012-11-25T21:41:10.002-05:002012-11-25T21:41:10.002-05:00I think the Obama-Lincoln connection was definitel...I think the Obama-Lincoln connection was definitely conscious, though probably not entirely intentional (in other words, they probably started writing it before correspondences became obvious, but couldn't help being aware of them once they did).<br /><br />Can't quite agree with your characterization of Lincoln - or Obama for that matter - as being impatient or divisive (unless I'm misreading you on that point); in both cases, I think they did about the best they could with recalcitrant opposition (obviously more severe in Lincoln's case) and that they correctly read their respective times in pushing certain policies through (and both were, in large part a mixture of idealism and pragmatism - too pragmatic for a lot of other idealists). This is certainly not to say Obama is a leader on par with Lincoln just that, in teasing out the connections I don't they redound particularly negatively.<br /><br />In terms of correspondence, I don't think Lincoln would have worked nearly as well pre-election. Mostly I suppose for the obvious reason that the timing of Lincoln's plot links up perfectly with where Obama's at now - a couple months before second inauguration and all the ramifications of that, including the possibility that a weathered but hellbent opposition might finally be possible to start peeling off.<br /><br />I was mostly struck with how, in the film, Lincoln mostly seemed to be a president who had gotten beyond the hump: re-election won, the war almost over, his legacy more or less secured, and yet wanted to go that extra mile. That's where perhaps the film represents any sort of nudge to the president: yes, you've made it through but don't relax on your laurels just yet...<br /><br />Joel Bockohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11238338958380683893noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8871549895931317151.post-34284816189661369892012-11-21T01:38:51.602-05:002012-11-21T01:38:51.602-05:00Well I can say that Lincoln is one great president...Well I can say that Lincoln is one great president.Jeremy Nortonhttp://incometherapy.comnoreply@blogger.com