Review: Right America Feeling Wronged

 On most Wednesdays, I wake up, usually around 7:30 and run around my house trying to get to my 8:10 class on time. I usually get there by 8:20 only moderately dazed and confused, and sit down ready to learn. Last Wednesday, Master of Science Paul DeBolt, our professor, reiterated consistency theories of Mass Communication: the ideas of Selective Perception, Selective Exposure and Selective Retention.

Selective perception is the idea that how we interpret messages is based on what our current perception already is, that we what goes along with what we believe with in things.

Selective Exposure means that we avoid exposing ourselves to the things which cause cognitive dissonance, or things that firmly go against what we believe and make us uncomfortable.

Selective Retention means that we only remember things that are in alignment with what we believe.

The professor went on to say that we all had preferred forms of media that we go to, such as television and the internet, and would often seek out the information or go the sites/channels that we wanted, that were in agreement with what we believed. He invited to monitor how we viewed mass media and test ourselves.

That night I went home and went on a social networking site, and checked my email, pretty boring stuff. However, when it came time to relax for five minutes while my mother cooked dinner I plopped on the couch and turned on the TV. I usually check sports briefly, then will look for a movie and this night I saw something on HBO that was about the presidential campaign, and many of the voters who supported McCain.

The program was called Right America: Feeling Wronged, and premiered on HBO on February 16th. It is a film by Alexandra Pelosi, daughter of Speaker of the house Nancy Pelosi. It documents the sentiments of McCain supporters from the campaign trail during the 2008 election.

Originally, when I got to the movie, I saw that people were espousing ideas which went firmly against my own. Of course, I’m sure they had reasons for their beliefs, but for the first few minutes I had a strong feeling of wanting to change the channel. However, I realized I was experiencing cognitive dissonance and decided to stay with the program. Who knows if I would have stayed with the station if I had not been to class that day, that is an entirely other discussion however.

The film deals with people from all walks of life who are united by the cause of McCains campaign. Some people simply support McCain’s economic policies, his social policies or were more a fan of his character. However, many of the people seemed to be firmly against Obama, and this was the subject of a good portion of the video. Racists, economists and staunch religious supporters all spoke out against Obama concerned that he was a supporter of terrorists, that he was a socialist and that he was/is the antichrist.

While obviously the questions aren’t totally unbiased and the film is cut to make a specific point, which becomes clear by the end, it was overwhelming at how much people wanted McCain to win this election. Some said they felt that God had put them in place so that they could help McCain triumph. Many believed that the country was headed for imminent doom if Obama won.

There really were all kinds of views expressed among McCain supporters, some saying that they condemned any hate towards one group and simply wanted to support their candidate. There was one scene however, which showed a sign at a rally/congregation that said people believed there was a war in the country between the Christians and the Homosexuals, and that McCain needed to win to protect the lives of unborn children. Others said they felt that the country’s media did not represent their views and the only outlet that gave them the truth was Fox News.

I confess, when I first saw some of these viewpoints, I was legitimately baffled. Because of my personal beliefs, I never judge anyone’s views as totally untrue or unfounded, but I just had so many questions for these people about why they believed what they believe. These views were so different from my own, and I have taken a long time to analyze many different viewpoints to find what I believe to true. Are we really so divided in this country that there can be this huge amount of people whose views are SO inexplicably different from my own?
When Pelosi asked one of the people what all McCain supporters had in common, they replied “We all hate the same things.” A lot of times the sentiment picked up at McCain rallies was just anger. Many of the people interviewed in the film said they felt like the people on the coasts just didn’t care about them and looked down on them. They felt they were just the states people flew over to get other places.

I am not a liberal or a conservative, and I believe that this film, while it can at times show a bias, does address one of the biggest issues facing our country: how divided we really are. There is a total disconnect between the major cities of the country and the smaller, more rural and folksy parts. Culturally, politically, in language, we are very different and this film does show how some people in other parts of the country from my own are feeling. This film showed me how disconnected I really am from other parts of my country, and how much farther we have to go before we will be able to unite and solve first our own problems, and eventually the problems of other nations. After it was over, I can definitely say that I am glad I kept watching.
Rating: 4 out of 5 (It was somewhat biased).