The Twelve Days of Gheorghemas: Day Eight

On the eighth day of Gheorghemas, Big Gheorghe gave to me

Eight Films Explaining
Seven Books for Reading

Six random time-wasting recommendations

Five (Green and) Golden Things

Four songs by “the Chairman of the Board” on his birthday

Three Beauties

Two Types of Stories

A Bald Guy with two Pupp-ies

You may have seen the announcement earlier this week from the White House that the President intends to stage the Patriot Games this summer to commemorate the nation's 250th birthday. The competition will bring together tributes, er, athletes from each state and territory in a competition in Washington, D.C. this summer. Seems the big guy likes "The Hunger Games", and/or thinks it's a documentary.

We know he's a starfucker, desperate for approval from famous folks, so it stands to reason movies are an inspiration for his plans and policies. That, and racism, sexism, bigotry of all sorts, and just base ignorant cruelty. But this is a post about movies. Specifically, seven other movies that serve as a roadmap for Trumpian instincts.

Clearly, "The Purge" is the blueprint for ICE's run-amok terrorization of immigrant communities. DHS agents' relentless pursuit of the other surely seems to be the product of enforcement policy based on vengeance first, compassion and order second.

In another corner of the administration's dungeon we find the Secretary of Health and Human Services, who obviously enjoyed the oddball humor of "Outbreak", and seeks a reprise on a broader scale. 

You might think that the existence of "Wag the Dog" as a cautionary tale would give the administration some pause before starting a dubious conflict to distract from unsavory and unflattering disclosures. You'd be wrong, mostly because the decision-makers in charge are too stupid to understand the irony.

"American Beauty" offers us a slightly grosser frame, but you just know that Trump watched it when it came out in 1999 and tried to figure out how to meet Mena Suvari. Likely placed a call to his pal Jeffrey.

The rate we're pissing away America's fortune, and the increasingly bizarre ways we're doing it is a clear nod to "Brewster's Millions", only a lot less endearing.

Speaking of documentaries, a film about a narcissistic boss who favors gaudy celebrations and self-aggrandizement is on point for the current situation. And so "The Devil Wears Prada" seems appropriate, though it may be recast as "The Devil Reads Pravda".

There are a ton of characters in our current drama, none as repellent as the Gollumesque Stephen Miller. "Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Rings" is appropriate to the moment, except that Trump/Sauron wants his precious Nobel Peace Prize.