A Face in the Crowd

Lately I’ve been working my way thru a bunch of Woody Allen movies, taped from cable over several years, while putting in sessions on the Nordic Track (a futile effort in waist management). I recently watched Zelig for the first time in a while and found it fascinating.

No doubt about it, the technical tricks in this tale of a flapper-era “chameleon man” are amazing, and I was pleasantly surprised that there were more laugh-out-loud lines than I’d remembered. One incidental touch I found startling was seeing the Mia Farrow character with a cigarette in hand in nearly every scene – it made me wonder whether it was some strange inside joke.

But that wasn’t nearly as jarring as the bit where the vanished Leonard Zelig resurfaced in Nazi Germany. The voiceover spoke of Hitler’s popularity as a product of economic hard times and renewed nationalism, and it gave me a bit of a chill to think that it could happen here.

Before I proceed, some disclosure might be in order. I’m what is known on the right as a “left-wing moonbat.” To quote Will Rogers, I don’t belong to an organized political party - I’m a Democrat. (Actually I used to be Independent and then registered Republican so I could vote against the loonies in the last congressional primary, but I got so sick of the mail I started getting from the RNC that I re-registered Democrat for spite.) I would gladly entertain Republican arguments regarding fiscal policy, but I have no time for their social agenda. As was famously said by my long-time hero Barry Goldwater, people like Jerry Falwell deserve a kick in the ass. When McCain chose Palin as a running mate, it clinched my vote for Obama (I preferred Hillary); although despite the idealism surrounding his candidacy, I feared he would be too divisive – and he’s proven to be just that.

Even so, I’m frankly bewildered by the Obama/Hitler analogies espoused by the wingnuts. Granted, that stylized poster was creepy, but these people have severed all contact with reality. A few months ago, Beth and I were having lunch at the local brewpub, which faces our town square, when we noticed a commotion across the street and saw a teabagger demonstration forming. Some of the signs read “King Obama,” and I wanted to ask the people holding them where they had been when W was expanding executive powers and generally pissing on the Constitution – but then you don’t have to resort to thought processes when you take your cues from an admitted rodeo clown. The rantings of Beck, Hannity, & Limbaugh as they wrap themselves in the flag make me think of another classic movie, Elia Kazan’s A Face in the Crowd.



If you’re not familiar with this gem from 1957, you’d be startled to watch Andy Griffith in his first screen appearance, portraying a philosophizing bumpkin who becomes a manipulative media sensation. It views like a precursor to Glenn Beck (and if you’ve never seen Jon Stewart’s brilliant parody, check this link); yet when I looked at the comments on Amazon I was startled to see that at least one person likened the character to Obama. I suppose it’s all a matter of one’s point of view; unfortuntely, when that p.o.v. is spoonfed by Fox News, it tends to be a bit skewed.

The teabaggers ignore one indisputable truth: if a Hitler were to emerge in this country, such a tyrant could never come from the left - like Rogers said, we’re simply too disorganized. But ever hopeful, I remain open to suggestions for any politician who can unite what W hath put asunder.