2016: Obama's America (2012) on Netflix
PG20121h 27mDocumentary
A documentary asks what a second term for Barack Obama would mean for America. It traces his childhood in Indonesia and Hawaii and the people the film says shaped his thinking.
- Netflix3.4/5
- IMDb4.8/1011,127 votes
- Rotten Tomatoes26%
Trailer
Plot summary
Based on two books critical of Barack Obama's presidency, the documentary asks what four more years would bring. It sets Obama's early life beside that of an Indian immigrant who came to the United States, attended Dartmouth College and edited a conservative magazine, drawing parallels between the two. The scene shifts to Indonesia, where Obama is raised by his mother, Ann Dunham, and his stepfather, Lolo Soetoro, and a psychologist describes the effects of an absent father. In Africa, Obama's half-brother George Obama is interviewed. Obama lives with his grandparents in Hawaii and meets Frank Marshall Davis. His college years at Columbia and a trip to Kenya follow, with his memoir read aloud and his father's anti-colonial views presented as central to his outlook.
Cast
- Gene Burris Jr.as Stanford University College Student
- Zackary Steven Grahamas Dartmouth College Student
- Jay Bastianas Himself
- Alice Deweyas Herself
- Willy Kauaias Himself
- Paul Kengoras Himself
Did you know?!Facts and trivia about 2016: Obama's America (2012)
Can contain spoilers, watch the movie first.
- CNN refused to run one of the film's advertisements after asking the makers to explain why it was not subject to political advertising disclosure rules. No explanation arrived, so the ad was dropped; a different version was submitted and did run.
- Dinesh D'Souza went to court in October 2012 for control of the Obama's America Foundation, the body he had set up with Christopher Williams and Douglas Sain to fund the film. Sain counter-sued, the judge refused a restraining order for lack of irreparable harm, and the dispute went to arbitration.
- For a documentary, it leans heavily on staging: the film contains seven re-enactments with 100 actors credited, one of them for a shot of a hand reverently dropping dirt on the grave of Obama's father.
