Lincoln: Does Steven Spielberg Have a Lesson for Obama?

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November 28th, 2012 | Pop Culture | Press & Politics | Reviews | Smartest Post
Steven Spielberg’s Lincoln has heralded the beginning of movie awards season;  where every movie released has delusions of both grandeur and gold statuettes—not just the standard Hollywood desire for return on investment. (Well, maybe not every movie.) But unlike most of these movies, Lincoln is being used as a parable for our times. And maybe it should be viewed as such: we are yet a nation almost as deeply divided as we were in Lincoln’s day. Spielberg, too, never exactly buries his opinions underneath too much subtext either. But much of the conversation about this film centers on what President Obama can learn today from the trials and tribulations Abraham Lincoln experienced.
Well…that’s just silly.
Look, Obama hasn’t gotten to where he’s gotten without realizing and being comfortable with compromise  (For the record, I would say the same thing about Mitt Romney, had he been elected 3 weeks ago.) And the intransigent on both sides of the aisle in Congress can very easily slough off the analogy to the boisterous crew depicted in the movie because a) no one in today’s legislature is nearly as twitchy as the wonderful Walton Goggins and b) it’s insulting on the highest level to compare what we’re going through today with the fight to end slavery. Period.
Of course I don’t mean to suggest that movies can’t be (or haven’t been) used for positive and negative sociopolitical change. Film is an art form, and a master of the form can wield it in any way he or she chooses. The problem with ascribing those ideals to this film, however, is that–quite simply–that isn’t the film Mr. Spielberg made. (Regardless of whether he meant to.) This isn’t a biopic, and it isn’t a thinly-veiled analogy to the current fight for or against gay marriage, abortion, Citizens United, or any of the other causes célèbres that populate the campaign and rile up protestors. Honestly, it’s a popcorn movie. It’s a supremely entertaining one, to be sure, with standout performances from the entire cast. And while most popcorn movies are about car chases or romance or aliens, this one is about the legislative process. Against all odds, it works beautifully. But those commentators who try to draw parallels to today’s politics or society, or who attempt to understand the movie as a biography (including, weirdly, wondering why Lincoln’s religion isn’t addressed more definitively) are missing the point. This movie can’t be watched with an eye on what lessons there are to be learned.

Well it can, but not without imposing your own viewpoint on it and having it say whatever you need it to in order to reaffirm your original stance.

(A quick word about the sublime cast: Hollywood is populated by many, many actors who qualify as a “That Guy,” someone who always does good work but isn’t a household name. My good friend and sometime co-author Philip DeVaul and I have a podcast, and we have discussed this phenomenon there. Obviously, Tommy Lee Jones, Sally Field, and Joseph Gordon-Levitt are familiar names. But Spielberg wisely populated his movie with other consummate professionals such as Jared Harris, David Strathairn, Lee Pace, Michael Stuhlbarg, David Costabile, and many others, who all give award-worthy performances. And it goes without saying that Daniel Day-Lewis is so good, it’s like he’s playing a different game.)

In the final analysis, this is a movie that simply entertains, on a subject that most people don’t usually find entertaining. On top of that, it features some of the finest individual and ensemble acting you’re likely to see for a long time. Go see it for those reasons; I promise they’ll be enough that you won’t consider your money wasted. Interested in learning more about Lincoln’s life, or about the political issues facing today’s legislators? Read a book or a newspaper (hopefully, more than one of each). We’ll all be better off.

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