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Showing Original Post only (View all)What Spielberg’s “Lincoln” conveniently leaves out [View all]
Last edited Sun Nov 25, 2012, 01:11 PM - Edit history (1)
Over this Thanksgiving week, you may find yourself in a movie theater watching Steven Spielbergs treatment of Abraham Lincoln and the battle to pass the 13th Amerndment, which abolished slavery once and for all. Theres much to be said for Lincoln [3]: marvelous acting, less mythologizing than usual, and a fascinating window into raucous realpolitik. Spielbergs film stands several cuts above any movie depiction of the Lincoln presidency youre likely to see.
Lincoln himself stands several cuts above the vast majority of U.S. presidents. After some equivocating, he freed the slaves, a monumental undertaking that was a service to the country and to humanity in general. He was also friendlier to workers than most presidents, an affinity noted by Karl Marx, who exchanged letters with Lincoln leading up to and during the Civil War. (You wont see the GOP acknowledging that!)
But theres a side of Lincoln that no Hollywood film shows clearly: He was extremely close to the railway barons, the most powerful corporate titans of the era.
http://www.salon.com/2012/11/25/what_spielbergs_lincoln_conveniently_leaves_out/