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Capone Appreciates AN UNREASONABLE MAN!!
Hey, everyone. Capone in Chicago here, with my review of a film that has just started opening in selected markets, usually in one or two theatres per market. Yes, folks, this is a documentary. In fact, it's a documentary I honestly wasn't looking forward to seeing when I began watching and one that I am ready to proclaim is the first great documentary of 2007.
I’m not sure why it came as such as a shock to me, but this documentary about the life and accomplishments of Ralph Nader is an absolutely fascinating piece of filmmaking. And if you’re one of the many who has sworn off even uttering the name Ralph Nader after he may or may not have spoiled a Democratic victory for the presidency two elections in a row, this film was made just for you.
Before the 2000 election, Nader was primarily known as the forerunner in his never-ending crusade against corporations that thought they could get away with, well, whatever they wanted. He was an idealistic crusader who would never let big companies or government hurt the American people without consequences. He first made a name for himself in 1966, fighting the deathtrap nature of General Motors’ cars. The resulting smear campaign against him by the auto industry and clandestine investigation into his personal life by GM is the stuff of legend and opened the collective eyes of the American people as to the devious nature of corporations. Nader and his collection of hundreds of lawyers, college students, and other consumer advocates led the charge on issues and regulations we all assume have been in place forever: seat belts, nuclear power plant safety, product labels on food. If it weren't for Nader, you wouldn’t get a free plane ticket or other compensation when you get bumped from an oversold flight.
There is a wealth of wonderful interview footage of Nader and his co-conspirators throughout the years, many of who have turned on him since his activities connected with his runs for President. But it remains clear that Nader has no time or energy to grieve for broken friendships, even those that have lasted decades. The man is all business, and his business is the American people. Perhaps the most telling aspect of the portion of the film that deals with his two presidential runs comes from his one-time supporters, all of whom seem to agree on the issues he stands for, but still want him to step down and throw his support behind the Democratic candidate. An equal amount of compelling evidence is presented proving and disproving Nader’s role as an election spoiler, and at this point I don’t know what to believe.
One of the ways I judge documentaries about individuals or groups is whether I have any desire to spend time talking to the subjects after the film ends. After viewing An Unreasonable Man, I would kill to get in a room with Nader and speak with (and be spoken to by) this intelligent and wacky man whose views are so focused that he may not always see the more immediate problems right in front of him or the big picture. Or maybe that's exactly what he sees. No matter what you think of the man (maybe it’s best to walk into this film with a definite opinion of him), there’s no denying how important he has been to the American political landscape and the consumer-rights fight. Nor is it debatable how well this film captures his many faces.
If the film does open near you, keep a watchful eye on any print ads for the film, since Nader has been making personal appearances at some screenings or doing the occasional satellite Q&As. I know he was at a couple screenings opening weekend in D.C. last week, and is schedule to do the Q&A thing this Saturday night in Chicago.
Capone
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+ Expand All
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Ralph Nader : An Unreasonable Man
Robert Downey Jr : Iron Man
Andy Kaufman : Man on the Moon
Mackenzie Astin: Iron Will
Bubble Boy : Jake Gyllenhall
George Bush : An Inconvient, Unreasonable Man with an Iron Will to be Bubble Boy -
I talked with Nader once after a speech he gave. He is a very intelligent man, though just over the tracks into Crazytown. He actually illuminated many good points during his lecture. Might see this.
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Obviously he took votes that could have changed the numbers a bit but in the end I think both elections still would have turned out the same vote-wise and President Douche would still have been elected. That said, he really is a fighter for 'us'. Its nice to know that as much as we normal folk hate him, he still battles corporate America and corporate government to do whats right for everyone.
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...but as a politician? Not so much. He gets far too involved in the romantic, symbolic aspects of the fight against big business when it comes to politics. If he would have promoted himself as a write-in candidate back in 2000 and nothing else, he would still have the level of respect and support he had earlier in his career. Running as a formal third-party candidate was suicide.
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i think the argument is that since he "stole" votes from fellow leftist gore in 2000 that since that was pretty much the closest election in history, with gore arguably coming out the winner anyway, that he is at fault for the last 7 years of crap. I don't fall in for this though because I strongly believe that a two party system is complete garbage.
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If the Democratic Party couldn't convince enough people to vote for them, then that's their own problem. All they're saying right now is that Nader was too strong a competitor for them, and that just makes them look worse.
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Run a better campaign, and the sitting Vice President with a great economy and post Cold War dividend doesn't lose to a Governor from Texas. Blame Donna Brazille or Al Gore. Don't blame a guy who ran for president on his own. RUN A FUCKING BETTER CAMPAIGN AND YOU WIN.
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Ralph Nader is completely full of shit but he's not crazy. He never applied his ideology to his own life because he wanted money. He just doesn't want anyone else to have it. If he did become president and congress let him put forth his agenda the American economy would be destroyed within two years.
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No,the American people did that all by themselves.An honest,principled man should know better than to try to run for president.But that's OK because he serves a greater purpose here on the outside "sticking it to the man" than the crucifixion he would receive on the inside.
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The Democrats wouldn't have to worry about the Naders of the world if the party hadn't completely abandoned the values and beliefs of liberals and social progressives in this country. By and large the so-called "New Democrats" have systematically put themselves in the pocket of big business and distanced themselves from the people who once voted for them. They have moved so far to the right that there is barely a difference between them and Republicans anymore. Even socially liberal (read: not insane) ideas such as being pro-choice and being against the death penalty can hardly be counted on anymore. Us liberals need to quit our bitching and take back the party we created!
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The guy in this movie looks NOTHING like Nader... Way to squander a good thing Hollywood!
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George Clooney directs.
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George W. stole Florida.
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at any point in the election. All he had to do was offer him the Attorney General position in a Gore administration and he would have dropped the Greens in a New York minute. He has no party loyalty, as we Greens learned in 2004. He would have made a much better AG than President as well. Unfortunately, he would have gone after several of the corporations that Gore was in hoc to.
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You offer an ironic argument for why the 2 party system is rubbish, or garbage as huserzem notes. The fact is you believe the Dems are corrupted by too many far right sympathizers, I happen to believe the Dems lost because they fell too far left (Howard Dean, Nancy Pelosi) without enough actual moderation. The Repubs meanwhile are suffering because they have been fully taken over by the wacko right. I really think a third party that floats between just right of center (not too far) and a little more left of center (with out falling into Ward Connorly World) would clean up in an election. Moderate progressive policy run by smart people is what I believe a majority of this country longs for, not the fanatical fascism or socialism of the extremes.
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You think the Democrats have become too liberal?? That sends a shiver down my spine like nothing else. The things I stated like wanting are politicians to not be in the pocket of big business, being pro-choice, and being against the death penalty can hardly be construed as "fanatical socialism", which is what you've implied. Not to dismiss your thoughts but I just plain think you're wrong about this. The Democrats haven't been getting elected because there is no choice anymore within the two-party system. There is a silent majority of liberal progressives that have slowly become disenfranchised with our politcal system as both parties have lurched to the right.
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I was in no way implying that going against big business, being pro-choice and against the death penalty is "fanatical socialism". But there is a lot of rhetoric that I still feel sounds offly liberal, for example... Open borders with no restrictions and a hope that the honor system works? (to me that is a security nightmare). Or what about socialized medicare for all, it doesn't work in Europe that well, why would it work at all here. Sure a lot of other people get screwed by their health insurance, but what makes us think that the government can do a better job than anyone else. To me, government regulates, but private business has to operate in an open economy, again with strict regulations. Those are two small issues, and maybe its becasue I am from Cali, where being liberal means something completely different here, but I think the Dems would do better to recognize that there is a vast majority of Americans who do not live on the east or west coast, and they don't all live in urban cities, but that does not make them all retarded cousin lovers.
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You probably didnt know that...
He definately screwed up the election in 2000, and all the time spent by democrats worrying about the Nader effect in 2004 could have been put to better use...but his accomplishments as a consumer advocate will make him go down in history as one of the greatest americans of the 20th century. Still, what an asshole. -
That anyone can be hated with such vitriol for feeling it their duty to run for president, simply because it doesn't work for the politico's understanding of how the system is supposed to work. Nadar ran for president because he believed in his cause, if there are Dems who are pissed at him because they think he ruined the chances of their guy, maybe they should examine why Nadar was getting liberal votes instead of Kerry or Gore in the first place? This type of blaming is reminiscent of Kodos and Krang running for president and telling Americans "What are you going to do, vote for a 3rd party candidate and throw your vote away, AHAHAHAHAHA, This is a two party system, you have to vote for one of us, and either way you will all be SCREWED, SCREWWWEEEDD!"
And so we were. -
One of my favorite Simpsons episodes. Funny 'cause it's true.
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with your last post catchphrase. The Dems should examine why they lost votes to Nader. And I obviously also think that people should vote for who they want, but in our present system the two major parties get the vast majority of money to run their campaigns from powerful lobbies controlled by big business, corrupt unions, etc. As a result they are able to dominate the elections by doping things like flooding the airwaves with their message, and theirs only, and eliminate any competition. There's a tremendous need for campaign reform. I think we would all benefit by having more voices be heard. Ask yourself when was the last time we had a presidential debate that didn't just include the two major parties. Perot was a millionaire business tycoon that was able to use his considerable wealth to run a campaign that wasn't a joke.
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It's Green Party antics all over the site today, yeesh. However, I will say this for Nader - Capone has it right. Nader's public advocacy/consumer work is important, critical to development of how things work in post-WW2 America. Although his politics on a lot of positions hold no interest for me, he has my respect for not backing down to the "let's play ball" mentality. That both parties are irredeemibly corrupt is an argument that I sympathetic toward.
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is a bitter man, perhaps because he smells of bug and rotten apples.
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Did you just use the pro-life, anti-gun control, anti-gay marriage Howard Dean as an example of how the Democrats have gone too far to the left? Seriously?
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Society needs saving from its own ignorance.
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Admittedly Howard Dean is a mixed bag (of nuts that is) I did not mean to point him as far left, he is actually fairly moderate on fiscal issues. I also wouldn't say he is pro-life or anti-gay marriage (he backed civil unions before a lot of people supported the idea) but my problem is that for so long he was getting so much press as being a big face of the Democrats and I felt like he didn't connect with a lot of the American base (be they Democrats, Independents or even Moderate Repubs).
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Very good.
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LIEberals own teh driv-by media jus lik Rush sayys an they don' love Jeesus lik all gud Americanns. teh Dumbocrts wil elect Husayn Osama and teh terrists wil attak agin, yoo wil see! Kil all evel LIEberals!!1!
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I do think the people want fanatical fascism because thats the point of fascism, make people think they want it. And they've succeeded pretty well at convincing the herdlike masses, okay continue ridiculously out of place political discussion
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Let me say it again: League of Extraordinary Gentlemen. Watch out evil!
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You don't have to wait for it to hit your town if you have Comcast cable. They struck a deal to offer it as a pay per view flick while in theaters.
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Just keep lining the pockets of Big Business. If you close your mind, all the pain will go away and you will feel so much better.
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it never ceases to amaze me how many right-wing douchebags read this site. Is it the mega-corporate Hollywood system that creates these close-minded morons? Is there something about the average movie-goer that makes them borderline psychotic fascist sympathizers? Read some books you dumbshits.
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I'm just posting to it with the "quick talkback form" and then closing the browser window.
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that anyone who blames Nader for Bush being elected is retarded. Fuck the worthless sell-out democratic party and the doomed, pathetic, hopeless, morally compromised "mainstream" candidates they foist on the people of the United States. Fuck the demented two-party system, fuck its apologists, and fuck all the sanctimonious sheep who are so fearful and enslaved they lash out at anyone who challenges it.
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I see what you did. People who aren't liberal can't spell. Oh the cleverness of you.
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And an excellent advocate for himself. As a consumer advocate, no so much. He had every right to run, and that's how the system works, and people who complain about him costing Gore the election are full of coolwhip. However, Nader's self-congratulatory condemnation of capitalism and its practitioners, and his often fictional alarmism of highly-inflated consumer dangers, are at least as bad as the heavy handed tactics of his corporate critics. Alas, they played right into his hands, as he deftly used the weight of their investigations and attempts to bully him to leverage him to greater stature, fame, and political success. And the great majority of folks still thing he's da bomb, and now there's a movie sanctifying the Christ-Nader, with Halo, for his hallowed advocacy for increased government bureaucracy and his own idolization.
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That would be me. Conservatives and Republicans often enjoy movies, music and literature! Amazing, that. And we read books (well, I do). I just think Nader is, as pretty much always has been, full of licorice. And liberalism as mostly a comforting religion for those who want to be judgemental and condemnatory without the inconvenient obligations required by the more traditional religions. Praise Nader! The Devil's in the Whitehouse. Let us all recycle. Unbelievers and heretics are right-wing douchebags, brainwashed zombies, etc.
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Hate to tell you this but you are destroying this country. Yes you, psycho, with your bullshit-spewing website that debunks global warming and praises Ann Coulter, are everything that is wrong with the world. Go crawl into the fucking rathole you came out of you limp-dicked, Fox News-watching piece of shit.
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angry much?
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