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{{short description|2014 film by Dinesh D'Souza}}
{{POV|date=July 2014|talk=We shouldn't purge all mention of the obvious political dynamic at play here}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=July 2014}} {{Use mdy dates|date=July 2014}}
{{Infobox film {{Infobox film
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| alt = | alt =
| caption = Theatrical release poster | caption = Theatrical release poster
| director = {{Plainlist | | director = {{Plainlist|
* ] * ]
* John Sullivan * John Sullivan
}} }}
| producer = {{Plainlist | | producer = {{Plainlist|
* Dinesh D'Souza * Dinesh D'Souza
* ] * ]
}} }}
| writer = {{Plainlist | | writer = {{Plainlist|
* Dinesh D'Souza * Dinesh D'Souza
* John Sullivan * John Sullivan
* Bruce Schooley * Bruce Schooley
}} }}
| based on = {{Based on|''America: Imagine the World Without Her''|Dinesh D'Souza}} | based_on = {{Based on|''America: Imagine the World Without Her''|Dinesh D'Souza}}
| starring = Dinesh D'Souza | starring = Dinesh D'Souza
| music = {{Plainlist | | music = ]
* Bryan E. Miller
* ] (])<ref>{{cite web|last1=Bond|first1=Paul|title=Dinesh D'Souza's 'America' to Feature Megadeth Founder's Heavy Metal National Anthem (Exclusive)|url=http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/dinesh-dsouzas-america-feature-megadeth-707534|publisher=]|date=May 28, 2014}}</ref>
}}
| cinematography = Benjamin Huddleston | cinematography = Benjamin Huddleston
| editing = {{Plainlist | | editing = {{Plainlist|
* Rickie Lee * Rickie Lee
* Jeffrey Linford * Jeffrey Linford
}} }}
| distributor = ] | distributor = ]
| released = {{Film date|2014|06|27|limited|ref1=<ref name="bomojo"/>|2014|07|02|wide|ref2=<ref name="bomojo"/>}} | released = {{Film date|2014|06|27}}
| runtime = 103 minutes | runtime = 103 minutes
| country = United States | country = United States
| language = English | language = English
| budget = $5 million<ref>{{cite web|url=http://powergrid.thewrap.com/project/america-2014|title=America (2014)|work=]|accessdate=December 2, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170306121313/http://powergrid.thewrap.com/project/america-2014|archive-date=March 6, 2017|url-status=dead}}</ref>
| budget =
| gross = $14,444,502<ref name="bomojo">{{mojo title |id=america2014 |title=America (2014)}} ({{as of|2014|09|05|lc=on}})</ref> | gross = $14.4 million<ref name="mojo" />
}} }}
'''''America: Imagine the World Without Her''''' is a 2014 American ] ] by ] political commentator ] based on his book of the same name. It is a follow-up to his film '']'' (2012). In the film, D'Souza contends that parts of ] are improperly and negatively highlighted by ]s, which he seeks to counter with positive highlights. Topics addressed include ] of ] and ], ], and matters relating to ] and ].<ref name="hemmer" /><ref name="fund" /> D'Souza collaborated with John Sullivan and Bruce Schooley to adapt his book of the same name into a screenplay. D'Souza produced the film with ] and directed it with Sullivan. The film combined historical reenactments with interviews with different political figures.
'''''America: Imagine the World Without Her''''' is a 2014 American ] ] by ].<ref name=targets>{{cite web|last1=Bond|first1=Paul|title=Dinesh D'Souza's 'America' Marketing Targets Church Groups|url=http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/dinesh-dsouzas-america-marketing-targets-713396|publisher=]|date=June 16, 2014|quote=Religious leaders will be provided video clips to show parishioners, including one of Ronald Reagan and another of George Washington fighting in the Revolutionary War.}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last1=McKay|first1=Hollie|title=Dinesh D'Souza's 'America' imagines the world without the USA|url=http://www.foxnews.com/entertainment/2014/07/02/dinesh-dsouza-america-imagines-world-without-usa/|website=foxnews.com|publisher=] Entertainment|location=Los Angeles|date=July 2, 2014}}</ref> It is based on D'Souza's book of the same name, in which he examines various accusations against the United States.<ref>{{cite book |url=http://www.regnery.com/books/america-what-if-it-had-never-happened/ |title=America |first=Dinesh |last=D'Souza |year=2014}}</ref> D'Souza was executive producer of the film and co-directed it with John Sullivan. ] also produced.<ref>{{cite web|title=America: Imagine the World Without Her|url=http://www.americathemovie.com/|website=Americathemovie.com|accessdate=16 July 2014}}</ref> He had served as producer of D'Souza's previous film, '']''.

''America: Imagine the World Without Her'' was marketed to political conservatives and through Christian marketing firms. ] released the film in three theaters on {{nowrap|June 27}}, 2014 and expanded its distribution on the weekend of the U.S. holiday ] on July 4, 2014. The film grossed {{nowrap|$14.4 million}}, which made it the highest-grossing documentary in the United States in 2014, though D'Souza's previous documentary ''2016: Obama's America'' had grossed over {{nowrap|$33 million}}. Most professional film critics called the film poorly-made and partisan. Political commentators analyzed D'Souza's rebuttal of ]'s criticisms, the filmmaker's treatment of ], ] and ], and D'Souza's depiction of his own criminal prosecution. Conservative commentators expressed a mix of full and qualified support for the documentary and D'Souza's intentions.


==Synopsis== ==Synopsis==
Setting the stage for a presentation of their views, D'Souza and Sullivan provide ] in which ] is killed during the ], or the country is divided following civil war, creating a world without America that would be vastly worse off.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Buchanan|first1=Jason|title=Synopsis|url=http://www.fandango.com/america_174736/plotsummary|website=]|publisher=Rovi}}</ref> D'Souza identifies himself as an Indian immigrant who chose America, and has been impressed with what a unique force for good it is, something Americans have traditionally agreed with. He claims modern leftists are “telling a new story”, however, contradicting traditional veneration for America in order to “convince a nation to author its own destruction” and “unmake the America that is here now.” He then challenges several "indictments" made against the country and ], including sociology professor and activist ] claim that “Thievery" was the “critical element” for “American empire” and historian and activist ] assertion that the US is the world's new evil empire, and says that 1960s Chicago radical ], historian ], and others have promoted guilt and resentment regarding ] that has helped shape the political careers of ] and ]. Setting the stage for a presentation of their views, D'Souza and Sullivan provide ] in which ] is killed during the ], or the country is divided following civil war, creating a world without America that would be vastly worse off.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Buchanan|first1=Jason|title=Synopsis|url=http://www.fandango.com/america_174736/plotsummary|website=]|publisher=Rovi}}</ref> D'Souza identifies himself as an ] immigrant who chose America, and has been impressed with what a unique force for good it is, something Americans have traditionally agreed with. He claims modern leftists are “telling a new story”, however, contradicting traditional veneration for America in order to “convince a nation to author its own destruction” and “unmake the America that is here now.” He then challenges several "indictments" made against the country and ], including sociology professor and activist ]'s claim that “Thievery" was the “critical element” for “]” and historian and activist ]'s assertion that the US is the world's new evil empire, and says that 1960s Chicago radical ], historian ], and others have promoted guilt and resentment regarding ] that has helped shape the political careers of ] and ].


D'Souza argues that America's wealth has been created, not stolen. He says the $700 used to purchase colonial Manhattan from American Indians could buy many desolate parcels globally today, but that individual industry has made New York real estate worth billions. He states that in Europe, India, and elsewhere most countries have been founded on conquest, and observes that the American pattern of wealth creation hasn't been the universal norm. He cites examples like Arab historian ] preferring looting to trade and says that merchants form Hinduism’s second-lowest social caste. D'Souza argues that America's wealth has been created, not stolen. He says the $700 used to purchase colonial ] from American Indians could buy many desolate parcels globally today, but that individual industry has made New York real estate worth billions. He states that in Europe, India, and elsewhere most countries have been founded on conquest, and observes that the American pattern of wealth creation hasn't been the universal norm. He cites examples like Arab historian ] preferring looting to trade and says that merchants form ]'s second-lowest social ].


The film argues that American Indians exhibited this "conquest ethic" among themselves, and that most of what American Indian depopulation occurred during European colonization resulted from the accidental transmission of plagues that had earlier devastated Europe, not an intent to wipe out a people. It says modern American Indians have little interest in returning to their hunter-gatherer past. In an interview Senator ] compares the ] to the ]. Professor and ] advocate Charles Truxillo is contrasted with an interviewed American of Mexican descent who says he has no desire to return to a poverty and crime ridden Mexico and instead wants to live the "American Dream". The film argues that ] exhibited this "conquest ethic" among themselves, and that most of the American Indian depopulation that occurred during ] resulted from the accidental transmission of plagues (which had earlier devastated Europe), not from an intent to wipe out a people. The film argues that modern American Indians have little interest in returning to their ] past. In an interview, Senator ] compares the ] to the ]. Professor and ] advocate Charles Truxillo is contrasted with an interviewed ] who says he has no desire to return to a poverty and crime ridden Mexico and instead wants to live the "]".


D'Souza says that slavery impeded American development, rather than boosting it. The film argues that slavery was an omnipresent phenomenon for most of human history, but that its abolition was "uniquely Western", noting the rarity of a "great war fought to end slavery" like the ]. According to the film the ] essentially says “liberty is the solution to injustice,” a “promissory note” cashed throughout history by Americans such as ]. ], the black entrepreneur and daughter of slaves who is regarded as America's first self made female millionaire, is cited as an example of the type of individual success story the American system allows that is ignored by historians like Zinn because it undermines their leftist narrative. ] economist ] is shown saying that the “world is embracing the free market,” for which there is “no reason for us to be apologetic.” The film outlines how free enterprise, consumer choice rather than coercion, has raised living standards by making existing goods cheaper and creating new ones. D'Souza says that ] impeded American development, rather than boosting it. The film argues that slavery was an omnipresent phenomenon for most of human history, but that its abolition was "uniquely Western", noting the rarity of a "great war fought to end slavery" like the ]. According to the film, the ] essentially says “liberty is the solution to injustice,” a “]” cashed throughout history by Americans such as ] ], the black entrepreneur and daughter of slaves who is regarded as America's first self-made female millionaire, is cited as an example of the type of individual success story the American system allows that is ignored by historians like Zinn because it undermines their leftist narrative. ] economist ] is shown saying that the “world is embracing the ],” for which there is “no reason for us to be apologetic.” The film attempts to outline how somewhat free enterprise and consumer "choice" rather than "coercion", have possibly raised living standards by making existing goods cheaper and creating new ones.<ref>{{cite news |author = Harrod, Andrew E.|title=Imaging a World without America; Dinesh D'Souza's New Film Refutes Detractors Who Scorn Her History |url=http://p.washingtontimes.com/news/2014/jul/1/harrod-imagining-a-world-without-america/ |newspaper=] | location= Washington, DC| accessdate=July 28, 2014 | date=July 2, 2014 }}</ref>

The film challenges the notion that America is a rapacious conqueror by arguing that Americans have sacrificed for human well being around the world, including places like Afghanistan, Iraq, Germany, and Japan, seeking in return only “enough ground to bury” their dead, as former Secretary of State ] is quoted as saying. A US veteran of ] captivity is interviewed discussing his desire to liberate Vietnam. D'Souza reflects on Lincoln's assassination and the continuing cost of freedom, saying that we no longer have past heroes like Washington and Lincoln, but "we do have us” in “our struggle for the restoration of America.”
<ref>{{cite web |author = Harrod, Andrew E.|title=Imaging a World without America; Dinesh D'Souza's New Film Refutes Detractors Who Scorn Her History |url=http://p.washingtontimes.com/news/2014/jul/1/harrod-imagining-a-world-without-america/ |publisher='']'' | location= Washington, DC| accessdate=July 28, 2014 | date=July 2, 2014 }}</ref>


==Cast== ==Cast==
{{Div col||30em}} {{Div col}}
* John Koopman as General ], founding father, ] general, and 1st President of the United States
* ] – himself
**Jodie Moore as old George Washington
* Don Taylor – President ]
* Michelle Swink – ] * Caroline Granger as ]
**Lynette Bennette as old Martha Washington
* Josh Bonzie – ]
* Don Taylor as President ], American lawyer and 16th President of the United States
* Janitta Swain – ]
* Rett Terrell – ] * Josh Bonzie as ]
* Janitta Swain as ], first female self-made millionaire and philanthropist
* Russell W. Reed – Actor at ]
* Michelle Swink as ], Abraham Lincoln's wife
* John Koopman – ]
* Rett Terrell as ]
* Tina Fortune – Hispanic worker
* Rodney Luis Aquino as ]
* Casey Allen – Crew member
* Rodney Luis Aquino – ] * Michael D. Arite as Major ]
* Chad Baker as ]
* Joey Arguello – East Indian
* Rich Bentz as ]
* Michael D. Arite – Major ]
* Todd Trice as ]
* Oscar Azul – Officer
* Chris Bauza as young John Fer
* Andrew Baker – Lucayan Indian
* Chad Baker – ] * Chad Baker as ]
* Walker Theodore Thomas as ]
* Katy Baker – Audience member at ]
* Corey Dykes as ]
* Diana Baracaldo – Lucayan Indian
* Jen Pierce as young ]
* Mateo Baracaldo – Lucayan Indian
* Chris Barber – Middle Eastern Sheik
* Crystal Barragan – East Indian Lucayan Indian
* Brian Rubright – Priest
* Rich Bentz – ]
* David C Tam - Wagon Master
{{Div col end}} {{Div col end}}

==Interviews==
D'Souza conducted interviews with the following individuals:<ref name="leydon" />
* ], a Native American activist
* Charles Truxillo, a professor of Chicano at ]
* ], a political commentator and ] activist
* ], a professor of ] at ]
* ], the ] ] for ]
* ], the junior United States senator from ]
* Temo Muniz, law student, and Hispanic activist
* ], former ] member and American writer
* ], a scholar on ] and ]
* John Fer, a ] pilot and former ] of the ]
* ], American author and political activist
* ], professor of economics and law at ]
* ], American syndicated columnist and conservative political activist
* ]
* ], American author


==Production== ==Production==
''America: Imagine the World Without Her'' is directed by ] and John Sullivan. The two wrote a screenplay with Bruce Schooley based on D'Souza's book of the same title. The documentary was produced under the director's company D'Souza Entertainment. Sullivan said he was inspired by the ] miniseries '']'', "I really thought that there was something in that style which allows you to tell a bigger story." The director said the fiscal success of '']'' allowed the filmmakers to raise financing for ''America''. Re-enactment scenes were filmed in ]. Actor John Koopman III, a resident of ] who had portrayed General George Washington at state and national parks throughout the United States, was cast to portray Washington in the documentary. Koopman brought his own historical wardrobe and horse for filming, which took place in Camden over the course of four days.<ref>{{cite news | last=Sipe | first=Corey | url=https://www.courant.com/2014/07/08/colchester-actor-plays-george-washington-in-new-film-2/ | title=Colchester actor plays George Washington in new film | work=] | date=July 8, 2014 | access-date=December 10, 2014 }}</ref>


The filmmakers chose to feature clips of celebrities including ], ], and ] to illustrate the documentary's points to audiences who may be unfamiliar with historical figures like ]. Harrelson is shown condemning the United States's treatment of Native Americans. The film also shows Howard Zinn's history book ''A People's History of the United States'' being mentioned by Damon's character in the film '']'' as well as in the TV series '']''. A clip featuring Bono, who did not participate in the production, is shown to illustrate support for ].<ref name="bond20140705">{{cite journal | date=July 5, 2014 | last= Bond | first= Paul | url= https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/why-dinesh-dsouzas-america-features-716708 | title= Why Dinesh D'Souza's 'America' Features Clips of Matt Damon, Woody Harrelson | journal= ] | accessdate= November 23, 2019 }}</ref>
''America: Imagine the World Without Her'' is directed by ] and John Sullivan. The two wrote a screenplay with Bruce Schooley based on D'Souza's book of the same title. The documentary was produced under the director's company D'Souza Entertainment.


The filmmakers also sought to license the song "]" recorded by ], but the licensing was denied by one of the songwriters due to the political premise of the documentary. They instead involved ], founder of ], who recorded a heavy metal guitar version of "]" for the film. The filmmakers also licensed the song "America" by ] and "]" by ].<ref>{{cite journal | last=Bond | first=Paul | url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/dinesh-dsouzas-america-feature-megadeth-707534 | title=Dinesh D'Souza's 'America' to Feature Megadeth Founder's Heavy Metal National Anthem | journal=] | date=May 28, 2014 | accessdate=December 10, 2014 }}</ref>
==Marketing and release==


In addition to the theatrical cut, D'Souza edited an 80-minute cut for educational purposes, removing interviews with political pundits. He said, "It's all purely historical content now."<ref name="atteberry" />
Marketing for the film included the distribution of a sample sermon and film clips to 120,000 churches in the United States.<ref name=targets /><ref name=Harper>{{cite web |author = Harper, Jennifer|title=Inside the Beltway: John Voight Steps Up to Support 'America' Movie |url=http://www.questia.com/read/1G1-373464055/inside-the-beltway-jon-voight-steps-up-to-support |publisher='']'' | location= Washington, DC| accessdate=July 28, 2014 | date=July 2, 2014 }} {{Subscription required |via=]}}</ref> The film was given a ] on July 2 and it finished #11 in the weekend box office for July 4 through 6 grossing $2,743,753<ref></ref> for a total gross of $5,352,705 after its opening weekend.<ref name="bomojo"/> The film did not perform as well as D'Souza's earlier film '']'',<ref name=Wrap>{{cite web|last1=Cunningham|first1=Todd|title=Dinesh D'Souza's Doc ‘America’ Can't Match Box-Office Lightning of His '2016: Obama's America’|url=http://www.thewrap.com/dinesh-dsouzas-doc-america-cant-match-box-office-lightning-of-his-2016-obamas-america|website=The Wrap|accessdate=19 August 2014|date=July 6, 2014}}</ref> but as of August 2014 it ranks as the sixth highest grossing ] documentary of all time.<ref>{{cite web|title=Documentary – Political|url=http://www.boxofficemojo.com/genres/chart/?id=politicaldoc.htm|website=Box Office Mojo|accessdate=15 July 2014}}</ref>


==Marketing==
The ] chain removed the book from its shelves shortly before the film was released. On the ] network show, '']'', D'Souza accused Costco of removing the books for political reasons.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Barnhart|first1=Melissa|title=Dinesh D'Souza Says Costco's Decision to Pull His Book From Stores Was Politica|url=http://www.christianpost.com/news/dinesh-dsouza-says-costcos-decision-to-pull-his-book-from-stores-was-political-123006/|publisher=Christian Post|accessdate=20 August 2014|date=July 9, 2014}}</ref> Costco reversed its decision and announced that the book would return to its shelves in coming weeks.<ref>{{cite web|title='Clearly Political': D’Souza Reacts After Book Is Pulled Off Costco Shelves|url=http://foxnewsinsider.com/2014/07/08/costco-reverses-decision-pull-conservative-filmmaker-dinesh-d%E2%80%99souza%E2%80%99s-book|website=Fox News Insider|publisher=Fox News|accessdate=20 August 2014|date=July 8, 2014}}</ref>
D'Souza released the trailer for ''America: Imagine the World Without Her'' on {{nowrap|January 26}}, 2014.<ref>{{cite journal | last=Bond | first=Paul | url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/dinesh-dsouzas-america-trailer-released-674121 | title=Dinesh D'Souza's 'America' Trailer Released | journal=] | date=January 26, 2014 | accessdate=November 6, 2014 }}</ref> He later screened the trailer to {{nowrap|3,500 attendees}} at the ] in Washington, DC on {{nowrap|March 7}}, 2014.<ref>{{cite journal | last=Bond | first=Paul | url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/new-trailer-dinesh-dsouzas-america-686669 | title=New Trailer for Dinesh D'Souza's 'America': Watch George Washington Killed | journal=] | date=March 7, 2014 | accessdate=November 6, 2014 }}</ref> The filmmakers hired Christian marketing firms to create a sermon, replete with video clips, based on the documentary, and make it available for download. '']'' said on {{nowrap|June 19}}, 2014 that over 1,000 preachers had downloaded the sermon and that insiders expected the number to reach 5,000 before the film's release. The filmmakers also emailed 120,000 evangelical churches asking them to promote the film and hired the company Faithit.com to contact 80,000 Christian consumers.<ref>{{cite journal | last=Bond | first=Paul | url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/dinesh-dsouzas-america-marketing-targets-713396 | title=Dinesh D'Souza's 'America' Marketing Targets Church Groups | journal=] | date=June 19, 2014 | accessdate=November 6, 2014 }}</ref> In the following July, D'Souza and fellow filmmaker Bruce Schooley traveled to the state of ] to promote the documentary on radio and television programs owned by ].<ref name="zuylen">{{cite journal | last=Van Zuylen-Wood | first=Simon | url=http://www.nationaljournal.com/magazine/dinesh-d-souza-is-winning-20140912 | title=Dinesh D'Souza Is Winning | journal=] | date=September 13, 2014 | accessdate=December 10, 2014 }}</ref>

D'Souza wrote the book ''America: Imagine the World Without Her'', on which the documentary is based. Shortly before the film's release, the warehouse club ] pulled the book from its shelves, saying its action was due to low sales. D'Souza called Costco's explanation "preposterous" and noted that his book had only been out a few weeks and was ranked #1 on ]'s bestseller list, while Costco continued to stock hundreds of much lower-selling books. D'Souza asserted the book was pulled because one of Costco's co-founders, ], supported Obama's politics. ] and other media voices on the political right supported D'Souza with widespread criticism of Costco.<ref>{{cite news | last1=Barnhart | first1=Melissa | title=Dinesh D'Souza Says Costco's Decision to Pull His Book From Stores Was Political | url=http://www.christianpost.com/news/dinesh-dsouza-says-costcos-decision-to-pull-his-book-from-stores-was-political-123006/ | accessdate=November 6, 2014 | work=] | date=July 9, 2014 }}</ref><ref>{{cite news | last=Connelly | first=Joel | url=http://blog.seattlepi.com/seattlepolitics/2014/07/08/costco-pulls-book-by-anti-obama-author-dinesh-dsouza-from-its-stores/ | title=Costco pulls book by anti-Obama author Dinesh D'Souza from its stores | work=] | date=July 8, 2014 | accessdate=November 6, 2014 }}</ref> Costco reordered the book and cited the documentary's release and related interest for the reorder.<ref>{{cite news | last=Chasmar | first=Jessica | url=http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2014/jul/9/costco-re-stock-dinesh-dsouzas-america-after-publi/ | title=Costco caves: Dinesh D'Souza's book to be re-stocked after public outcry | work=] | date=July 9, 2014 | accessdate=November 6, 2014 }}</ref>

Since ''America: Imagine the World Without Her'' and its predecessor ''2016: Obama's America'' share "America" in their titles, several film websites, including ], ], and ], had difficulty presenting results for the newer documentary. While these websites resolved the results, the filmmakers contacted the search engine ] to complain about a lack of immediate search results pertaining to the documentary. Other results, including ''2016: Obama's America'' and '']'' and '']'', were being shown instead. They expressed concern that a lack of results, including showtimes, would affect the documentary's gross.<ref>{{cite journal | last=Bond | first=Paul | url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/america-filmmakers-demand-know-why-717081 | title='America' Filmmakers Demand to Know Why Google is Getting Their Search Results Wrong | journal=] | date=July 8, 2014 | accessdate=November 6, 2014 }}</ref> D'Souza claimed that the lack of search results was politically motivated on Google's part.<ref>{{cite news | last=Pulver | first=Andrew | url=https://www.theguardian.com/film/2014/jul/09/rightwing-us-film-maker-claims-google-search-is-politically-biased | title=Rightwing US film-maker claims Google search is politically biased | work=] | date=July 9, 2014 | accessdate=December 10, 2014 }}</ref> A preliminary fix stopped listing results for either of D'Souza's documentaries. Google said the term "America" being common in film titles prevented specific results, and it updated its ] to show results for the 2014 documentary.<ref>{{cite news | last=Patten | first=Dominic | url=https://deadline.com/2014/07/dinesh-dsouza-america-google-missing-movie-showtimes-806191/ | title=Dinesh D'Souza's 'America' Slams Google Again Over Missing Search Results | website=] | date=July 18, 2014 | accessdate=November 6, 2014 }}</ref><ref>{{cite news | last=McKay | first=Hollie | url=https://www.foxnews.com/entertainment/google-responds-to-problems-with-searches-for-dinesh-dsouzas-america/ | title=Google responds to problems with searches for Dinesh D'Souza's 'America' | work=] | date=July 16, 2014 | access-date=November 6, 2014 }}</ref>

In August 2014, the nonprofit organization Movie to Movement invited President ] and members of the ] to a free screening of ''America''. '']'' said the organization "helps to promote small, wholesome movies, many of which seem to have a Christian or conservative theme to them though the group is non-partisan". Movie to Movement's founder and CEO said he budgeted $5,500 to pay for the politicians' tickets and would secure delivery of a digital copy if the documentary was not available in a theater near a politician.<ref>{{cite journal | last=Bond | first=Paul | url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/president-obama-congress-invited-free-723857 | title=President Obama, Congress Invited to Free 'America' Movie Screening | journal=] | date=August 7, 2014 | accessdate=January 20, 2015 }}</ref>

==Release==
], which handled home entertainment distribution for D'Souza's previous film '']'', acquired rights to distribute ''America: Imagine the World Without Her'' in theaters in the United States. Historically, it distributed in theaters two political documentaries, '']'' (2004) and '']'' (2008).<ref>{{cite journal | last=McNary | first=Dave | url=https://variety.com/2014/film/news/lionsgate-to-distribute-controversial-documentary-america-imagine-a-world-without-her-1201173237/ | title=Lionsgate to Distribute Controversial Documentary 'America: Imagine the World Without Her' | journal=] | date=May 6, 2014 | accessdate=November 6, 2014 }}</ref> The UK-based Manifest Film Sales acquired rights to distribute ''America'' outside the United States with the goal of screening the documentary at the ], but the screening did not take place.<ref>{{cite news | last=Wiseman | first=Andreas | url=http://www.screendaily.com/news/manifest-boards-doc-america/5071739.article | title=Manifest boards doc America | work=Screen Daily | date=May 15, 2014 | accessdate=November 6, 2014 }}</ref>

Lionsgate gave the film a limited release in three theaters in the U.S. cities ] and ] on {{nowrap|June 27}}, 2014. The cities were selected for premiering ''America'' since ''2016: Obama's America'' performed well in them in 2012. '']'' said ''America'' "opened to solid numbers" with $39,000 for a theater average of $13,000. The distributor then planned a wide release for the weekend of the U.S. holiday ] on {{nowrap|July 4}}, 2014.<ref>{{cite journal | last=McClintock | first=Pamela | url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/box-office-dinesh-dsouzas-america-715598 | title=Box Office: Dinesh D'Souza's 'America' Enjoys Solid Launch in Houston, Atlanta | journal=] | date=June 29, 2014 | accessdate=November 6, 2014 }}</ref> On {{nowrap|July 2}}, 2014, Lionsgate expanded the release to {{nowrap|1,105 theaters}}. For the weekend of {{nowrap|July 4–6}}, 2014, it grossed {{nowrap|$2.7 million}} and ranked 11th at the box office.<ref name="mojo" /> ] reported that its sample of opening-night audiences gave the film a rare A+ grade on a scale of A+ to F.<ref name=Wrap /><ref>{{cite news | last=Subers | first=Ray | url=http://www.boxofficemojo.com/news/?id=3869&p=.htm | title=Weekend Report: 'Transformers' Repeats On Weak Independence Day Weekend | work=] | date=July 6, 2014 | accessdate=March 4, 2018 }}</ref>

The film concluded its theatrical run after {{nowrap|70 days}} with a total gross of {{nowrap|$14.4 million}}.<ref name="mojo">{{cite web | url=https://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=america2014.htm | title=America (2014) | work=] | accessdate=November 6, 2014 }}</ref> '']'' said the gross was "a very strong showing for a documentary film".<ref>{{cite journal | last=Bond | first=Paul | url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/gosnell-movie-adds-2016-director-757563 | title='Gosnell' Movie Adds '2016' Co-Director John Sullivan as Executive Producer | journal=] | date=December 15, 2014 | accessdate=December 15, 2014 }}</ref> For 2014, ''America'' was the highest-grossing documentary in the United States.<ref>{{cite journal | last=Gray | first=Tim | url=https://variety.com/2014/film/news/15-documentaries-land-on-oscars-short-list-1201368807/ | title=15 Documentaries Land on Oscar's Short List | journal=] | date=December 2, 2014 | accessdate=December 10, 2014 }}</ref> The film did not perform as well as ''2016: Obama's America'', which grossed over {{nowrap|$33 million}}.<ref name=Wrap>{{cite web|last1=Cunningham|first1=Todd|title=Dinesh D'Souza's Doc 'America' Can't Match Box-Office Lightning of His '2016: Obama's America'|url=https://www.thewrap.com/dinesh-dsouzas-doc-america-cant-match-box-office-lightning-of-his-2016-obamas-america|website=The Wrap|accessdate=19 August 2014|date=July 6, 2014}}</ref> To date, ''America'' ranks as the sixth highest-grossing political documentary in the United States.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.boxofficemojo.com/genres/chart/?id=politicaldoc.htm | title=Documentary – Political | work=boxofficemojo.com | publisher=] | accessdate=November 6, 2014 }}</ref>

Lionsgate released the film on Digital HD on {{nowrap|October 14}}, 2014 and on DVD and Blu-ray on {{nowrap|October 28}}, 2014,<ref name="alexander">{{cite news | last=Alexander | first=Bryan | url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/life/movies/2014/08/27/dinesh-dsouza-america-dvd-release/14681891/ | title=Exclusive: Controversial 'America' sets home release | work=] | date=August 27, 2014 | accessdate=December 10, 2014 }}</ref> a week before the ] on {{nowrap|November 4}}. The home media included {{nowrap|40 minutes}} of additional footage, including interviews with ], ], ], and former ] John Fer.<ref name="alexander" /> For the week ending {{nowrap|November 2}}, 2014, it ranked third in disc sales after '']'' and '']''. It ranked seventh in Blu-ray sales with 26% of discs sold being Blu-ray.<ref>{{cite journal | last=Arnold | first=Thomas K. | url=https://variety.com/2014/film/news/x-men-days-of-future-past-holds-no-1-spot-for-third-week-on-home-video-sales-charts-1201349054/ | title='X-Men: Days of Future Past' Holds No. 1 Spot for Third Week on Home Video Sales Charts | journal=] | date=November 5, 2014 | accessdate=November 6, 2014 }}</ref>


==Critical response== ==Critical response==
'']'' reported, "''America'' wasn't widely screened for critics, but the first handful of reviews are... not particularly glowing," saying that the reviews essentially labeled the film as "partisan".<ref>{{cite news | last=Scott | first=Mike | url=http://www.nola.com/movies/index.ssf/2014/07/dinesh_dsouzas_america_movie_r.html | title=Dinesh D'Souza's 'America' movie reviews: What critics are saying about the conservative author's new documentary | work=] | date=July 3, 2014 | accessdate=December 12, 2014 }}</ref> '']'' reported, "''America'' has been criticized by some as offensive, right-wing propaganda."<ref name="atteberry" /> The film review website ] surveyed {{nowrap|11 movie critics}} and assessed 10 reviews as negative and 1 as mixed, with none being positive. It gave a weighted average score of 15 out of 100, indicating "overwhelming dislike".<ref name="metacritic">{{cite web|url=https://www.metacritic.com/movie/america |title=America Reviews |work=] |accessdate=November 3, 2014 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140726003953/http://www.metacritic.com/movie/america |archive-date=July 26, 2014 |df=mdy }}</ref> ] surveyed {{nowrap|24 critics}} and, categorizing the reviews as positive or negative, assessed 22 as negative and 2 as positive. Of the {{nowrap|24 reviews}}, it determined an average rating of 4 out of 10. The website gave the film an overall score of 8% and the site's consensus stated: "Passionate but poorly constructed, ''America'' preaches to the choir."<ref>{{cite web | url= https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/america_imagine_the_world_without_her_2014/ | title= America: Imagine the World Without Her | work= ] | accessdate= July 23, 2019 }}</ref> According to ''The Hollywood Reporter''{{'}}s Paul Bond, the film performed well in its limited theatrical release, "overcoming several negative reviews in the mainstream media". Bond reported, "Conservatives... seem thrilled with the movie."<ref name="bond20140705" /> ''USA Today''{{'}}s Bryan Alexander said, "''America'' was savaged by mainstream critics... It received an 8% critical score on RottenTomatoes.com... But the film received an 88% positive audience score on the same website."<ref name="alexander" />
] reported that its sample of opening night audiences gave the film what ''The Wrap'' identified as a rare A+ grade on a scale of A+ to F. <ref name=Wrap /><ref></ref>


Joe Leydon, reviewing for '']'', called ''America'' "a slick, sprawling celebration of American exceptionalism that could, much like its predecessor, make a bundle by rigorously reinforcing the deeply held beliefs and darkest suspicions of its target audience". Leydon said the acting in the historical re-enactments was of inconsistent quality. The critic found that D'Souza gave screen time to those with whom he disagreed, but said, "For the most part, however, D'Souza gives the impression of someone obsessed with whitewashing any and all dark chapters in U.S. history books." Leydon commended the documentary's "tech values" as well as composer ] opening theme.<ref name="leydon">{{cite journal | last=Leydon | first=Joe | url=https://variety.com/2014/film/reviews/film-review-america-imagine-the-world-without-her-1201253480/ | title=Film Review: 'America: Imagine the World Without Her' | journal=] | date=June 27, 2014 | accessdate=December 11, 2014 }}</ref> '']''{{'}}s Stephen Farber said D'Souza overstated "anti-American tenets ostensibly running rampant in our society" and that his responses to critiques of America "aren't very convincing". Farber said of the film's production quality, "The battle scenes are competent but no more than that, and the performances are perfunctory at best." Farber said the historical re-enactments would not impress moviegoers who had seen many other historical films, though he called Ben Huddleston's cinematography "striking". The critic concluded, "Here is one more dubious piece of agitprop that will delight the author's fans and have very little impact on his opponents."<ref>{{cite journal | last=Farber | first=Stephen | url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/review/america-film-review-716467 | title='America': Film Review | journal=] | date=July 2, 2014 | accessdate=December 11, 2014 }}</ref> Metacritic scored each trade paper's review of the film to be 30 out of 100.<ref name="metacritic" />
The film review website ] surveyed {{nowrap|11 critics}} and assessed 10 reviews as negative and 1 as mixed, with none being positive. It gave an aggregate score of 15 out of 100, which indicates "overwhelming dislike".<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.metacritic.com/movie/america | title=America Reviews | work=metacritic.com | publisher=] | accessdate=November 3, 2014}}</ref> The similar website ] surveyed {{nowrap|24 critics}} and, categorizing the reviews as positive or negative, assessed 22 as negative and 2 as positive. Of the {{nowrap|24 reviews}}, it determined an average rating of 2.9 out of 10. The website gave the film an overall score of 8% and said of the consensus, "Passionate but poorly constructed, ''America'' preaches to the choir."<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/america_imagine_the_world_without_her_2014/ | title=America: Imagine the World Without Her | work=rottentomatoes.com | publisher=] | accessdate=November 3, 2014}}</ref>


Metacritic assessed reviews from '']'', ]'s ''The Playlist'', '']'', and '']'' as fully negative with no merit given.<ref name="metacritic" /> ''TheWrap''{{'}}s James Rocchi said the documentary had ] arguments favoring D'Souza and had anecdotes in place of data, "The film is intellectually and factually spurious, in addition to being... deeply self-serving." Rocchi called ''America'' "technically inept" with "clumsy" editing and added, "The sound mix is incomprehensibly sloppy. Graphics look slapdash; historical recreations are either cheap-looking, unintentionally funny, or both." The critic said while liberal filmmaker ] "may be self-important at his worst", that he could direct a better film than D'Souza and Sullivan.<ref>{{cite news | last=Rocchi | first=James | url=https://www.thewrap.com/america-review-dinesh-dsouza/ | title='America' Review: Another Dinesh D'Souza Doc That's Easy to Mock | work=] | date=June 29, 2014 | accessdate=December 11, 2014 }}</ref> ''The A.V. Club''{{'}}s David Ehrlich also said ''America'' had straw man arguments, " hellbent on pacifying the American guilt they believe was responsible for Obama's election, desperately attempting to assuage the national conscience about the evils of colonialism, capitalism, and racism." Ehrlich said, "It's admirable that D'Souza is so willing to engage people who don't share his perspective, but his editing and the instructive music with which he pushes it suggest that he's not particularly interested in what they have to say."<ref>{{cite news | last=Ehrlich | first=David | url=https://www.avclub.com/review/director-2016-obamas-america-it-again-america-206466 | title=The director of ''2016: Obama's America'' is at it again with ''America'' | work=] | date=July 3, 2014 | accessdate=December 11, 2014 }}</ref>
Martin Tsai of the '']'' wrote that the film was "far more invested in elaborate historical reenactments, hypothetical dramatizations and special effects than interviews, research and data." Joe Leydon of '']'' wrote that "For the most part, however, D'Souza gives the impression of someone obsessed with whitewashing any and all dark chapters in U.S. history books." David Ehrlich of '']'' wrote "''America'' is astonishingly facile, a film comprised entirely of straw man arguments." James Rocchi of '']'' wrote "''America ''isn't a documentary; it's more like the badly-filmed version of a badly-written, meandering op-ed piece from a paper that lacks fact-checking or proofreading."


Rob Humanick, reviewing for ''Slant Magazine'', said "The cynically opportunistic ''America'' descends into another one-note attack on the sitting president, beholden to the same plethora of taboos, half-truths, and outright lies traded en masse by mainstream conservatism for the last seven years." Humanick called the documentary "a carefully cultivated collection of false equivalencies, hyperbolic pronouncements, blatant recontextualizations of others' arguments, and shameless appeals to patriotism, all within a vaguely fear-mongering framework of demonizing the other". The critic said exceptions were cited to excuse America's history and that D'Souza's criticism of Obama did not ask "greater fundamental questions". Humanick concluded, "Anyone who's ever actually studied history outside of public education, or read the texts alluded to throughout America (such as Howard Zinn's ''A People's History of the United States''), will understand the degree to which history has been flattened and narratives simplified for the sake of lending greater legitimacy to these binary-reliant 'lessons.'"<ref>{{cite news | last=Humanick | first=Rob | url=https://www.slantmagazine.com/film/review/america | title=America &#124; Film Review | work=] | date=2014 | accessdate=December 11, 2014 }}</ref> Gabe Toro, reviewing for ''The Playlist'', said, "The film plays out like more of a bullet-point presentation than an actual film, taking each argument he thinks liberal minds are having and dissecting each, cherry-picking anomalies in order to confront some sort of liberal 'truth' that doesn't exist." Toro called the documentary "artless propaganda, uninformed, sensationalistic and devoted to buzzphrases, ...simplicity, ...and grandstanding". The critic said, "Insidiously, these are some of the ways D'Souza and co-director John Sullivan keep the film brisk and conventionally entertaining... Filled with soaring guitars, pointless blacksmith montages and recreations with porn-level production values... it's all fist-pumping anti-thought, consisting of baseless revisionist history and idle contrarianism."<ref>{{cite news | last=Toro | first=Gabe | url=http://blogs.indiewire.com/theplaylist/review-is-dinesh-dsouzas-america-the-worst-political-documentary-of-all-time-20140630 | title=Review: Is Dinesh D'Souza's 'America' The Worst Political Documentary Of All-Time? | work=The Playlist | publisher=] | date=June 30, 2014 | accessdate=December 11, 2014 }}</ref>
] reviewer Christian Toto wrote that ''America'' gives "context to some of the country's sins in a fashion rarely heard in popular culture. Each rebuttal needs more time, more explanation, but for those weaned on Howard Zinn's ''A People's History of the United States'' it will be eye opening."<ref>{{cite web|last1=Toto|first1=Christian|title='AMERICA' Review: Full-throated defense of U.S. in time for the fourth|url=http://www.breitbart.com/Big-Hollywood/2014/07/02/america-review|publisher=Breitbart.com|accessdate=19 August 2014|date=July, 2, 2014}}</ref>

'']''{{'}}s Martin Tsai, whose review Metacritic scored to be 40 out of 100, the highest of its sample of 11,<ref name="metacritic" /> said, "He attempts to debunk Zinn through apagoge, as if finding an exception to Zinn's every rule will invalidate Zinn's entire argument... D'Souza makes some cogent points yet will not concede the existence of any gray area. The possibility that he and Zinn could both be right seems unfathomable." Tsai said, "'America' seems more intent on editorializing, razzling and dazzling than on stimulating civic debate." He summarized, "It's far more invested in elaborate historical reenactments, hypothetical dramatizations and special effects than interviews, research and data."<ref name="tsai">{{cite news | last=Tsai | first=Martin | url=https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/movies/la-et-mn-america-documentary-movie-review-20140703-story.html | title=Review: 'America' documentary rebuts history of exploitation argument | work=] | date=July 2, 2014 | accessdate=December 11, 2014 }}</ref>

==Political commentary==

'']''{{'}}s ] said D'Souza's documentary was intended for conservatives and conveyed the premise that leftist radicals portrayed American history as shameful to win political power.<ref name="hemmer">{{cite news | last=Hemmer | first=Nicole |author-link=Nicole Hemmer | url=https://www.usnews.com/opinion/blogs/nicole-hemmer/2014/07/29/dinesh-dsouzas-america-is-bad-history-and-paranoid-agitprop | title=The Paranoid Style in Conservative Politics | work=] | date=July 29, 2014 | accessdate=December 10, 2014 }}</ref> Simon van Zuylen-Wood, writing in '']'', said the film treated "the radical-left worldview of marginal figures like ]" as representative of American liberalism and that it engaged "in a selective historiography" like minimizing ] by highlighting the existence of ]. Zuylen-Wood also compared D'Souza to liberal filmmaker ] in how both use their roots to convey their messages and how they are both central characters in their documentaries, introducing "one ideological pathology after another" to moviegoers.<ref name="zuylen" />

Mark Stricherz of '']'' said that D'Souza message suffered "the intellectual pitfalls of ignoring the critics", finding that he did not contextualize Obama's phrase "]" in ''America''. Stricherz said, "At times, ''America'' lives up to D'Souza's old intellectual standards. He meets in person with left-wing critics... He argues persuasively that Alexis de Tocqueville is a more reliable guide than Howard Zinn to troubling episodes in early American history such as slavery and the treatment of Native Americans." Stricherz concluded, "D'Souza's pride, his belief he needs neither intellectual nor moral critics, has brought about his fall from the first rank of conservative intellectuals."<ref>{{cite journal | last=Stricherz | first=Mark | url=https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2014/07/what-happened-to-dinesh-dsouza/374939/ | title=What Happened to Dinesh D'Souza? | journal=] | date=July 25, 2014 | accessdate=December 12, 2014 }}</ref> John Tamny of '']'' said, "D’Souza's ''America'' is noble in its effort to discredit myths about the U.S. as a genocidal, thieving, racist, capitalistically rapacious nation, but really, who believes this? It's popular in the victimized portion of the conservative movement to assert that those who love the U.S., freedom, and the prosperity it delivers do so in silence out of fear that the majority haters will persecute them for having those views, but let's be serious. This extreme kind of thinking is all too rare as we all well know."<ref>{{cite news | last=Tamny | first=John | url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/johntamny/2014/07/20/dinesh-dsouzas-america-will-have-some-conservatives-yearning-for-michael-moores/ | title=Dinesh D'Souza's 'America' Will Have Some Conservatives Yearning For Michael Moore's | work=] | date=July 20, 2014 | accessdate=January 19, 2015 }}</ref>

] of '']'' said the documentary was a response to ] critique of the country: "D'Souza's film and his accompanying book are a no-holds-barred assault on the contemporary doctrine of political correctness." Fund said D'Souza's message was "deeply pessimistic" but concluded, "Most people will leave the theater with a more optimistic conclusion: Much of the criticism of America taught in the nation's schools is easily refuted, America is worth saving, and we have the tools to do so in our DNA, just waiting to be harnessed."<ref name="fund">{{cite web | last=Fund | first=John | url=http://www.nationalreview.com/article/381509/dsouzas-america-john-fund | title=D'Souza's America: Dinesh D'ouza takes on Obama, Hillary, Saul Alinsky, and Howard Zinn in a single bold film | work=] | date=June 29, 2014 | accessdate=August 19, 2014 }}</ref> ''National Review''{{'}}s ] said: "Dinesh is the anti-Moore: taking to the big screen to press conservative points... The shame narrators (let's call them) focus on maybe 20 percent of the American story. Dinesh simply puts the other 80 percent back in."<ref name="nordlinger_i">{{cite journal | last=Nordlinger | first=Jay | url=http://www.nationalreview.com/article/383198/dsouza-nation-part-i-jay-nordlinger | title=D'Souza Nation, Part I | journal=] | date=July 21, 2014 | accessdate=January 19, 2014 }}</ref> Nordlinger bisected the documentary: "The first deals with the 'shame narrative.' The second deals with today's politics, and in particular presidential politics." The conservative commentator said: "The second movie confirms for me that one of Dinesh's great advantages is that he is absolutely clear-eyed about the Third World. While liberal Americans romanticize it, he has lived it."<ref name="nordlinger_ii">{{cite journal | last=Nordlinger | first=Jay | url=http://www.nationalreview.com/article/383285/dsouza-nation-part-ii-jay-nordlinger | title=D'Souza Nation, Part II | journal=] | date=July 22, 2014 | accessdate=January 19, 2014 }}</ref>

In the liberal ] blog, Dan Falcone wrote: "D’Souza's film America sets out to report that anyone who tries to make America more democratic or inclusive is motivated by disdain for the country."<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.dailykos.com/story/2014/08/01/1318254/-The-Big-Lie-The-Film-America | title=The Big Lie: The Film, America | work=Daily Kos | date=31 July 2014 | accessdate=31 October 2014}}</ref> ] called the film "racially charged agitprop".<ref>{{cite web | url=http://mediamatters.org/research/2014/07/09/five-media-figures-who-endorse-dinesh-dsouzas-r/200046 | title=Five Media Figures Who Endorse Dinesh D'Souza's Racially Charged Agitprop | work=Media Matters for America | date=9 July 2014 | accessdate=31 October 2014 | author=Boghun, Alexandrea}}</ref> In ], Elizabeth Stoker Bruenig called it a "laughable embarrassment" which ranges "from atrociously bad argumentation to humiliating propaganda".<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.salon.com/2014/07/22/dinesh_dsouzas_laughable_embarrassment_a_review_of_america_imagine_the_world_without_her/ | title=Dinesh D'Souza's laughable embarrassment: A review of "America: Imagine the World Without Her" | work=Salon | date=22 July 2014 | accessdate=31 October 2014}}</ref>

===Rebuttal of Howard Zinn===
], author of ''A People's History of the United States'', was a key focus in D'Souza's documentary]]
In the documentary, D'Souza counters four "indictments" of the United States made by historian ]: the treatment of Native Americans, slavery, the transfer of Mexico, and its colonialist behavior. John Fund in ''National Review'' said, "Consider his treatment of those subjects as his direct rebuttal to... Zinn, whose textbooks treating America's history as one of ceaseless oppression dominate many American high schools and colleges."<ref name="fund" /> Andrew Romano, writing for ''The Daily Beast'', said Zinn was for D'Souza "a somewhat smaller target" than Obama in his previous documentary. Romano said the filmmaker's counterarguments were disingenuous and did not prove Zinn wrong.<ref>{{cite news | last=Romano | first=Andrew | url=http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2014/06/30/in-dinesh-d-souza-s-america-slavery-wasn-t-so-bad-but-hillary-and-barack-are-socialist-devils.html | title=In Dinesh D'Souza's 'America,' Slavery Wasn't So Bad, but Hillary and Barack Are Socialist Devils | work=] | date=June 30, 2014 | accessdate=December 4, 2014 }}</ref> ''U.S. News & World Report''{{'}}s Hemmer said D'Souza's statement that Zinn's book '']'' was part of mainstream education was incorrect: "Though influential, the book was hardly hegemonic. It was even sharply criticized by prominent historians." Hemmer said ]'s textbook ''Give Me Liberty!'' was more common than Zinn's book and was even critical of the book as pessimistic.<ref name="hemmer" />

===Treatment of Alinsky, Obama, and Clinton===

In the documentary, D'Souza says ] and ] were followers of the left-wing activist ]. John Fund of ''National Review'' said "D'Souza is the first filmmaker to mine the rich material showing the radicalism of Alinsky."<ref name="fund" /> ''National Review''{{'}}s Jay Nordlinger said "I myself depart a bit from D'Souza on Alinskyism: I regard Obama and Hillary as mainstream Democrats, no different from Nancy Pelosi, John Kerry, and the rest of the gang. And this gang commands the respect, or at least the votes, of approximately half the country."<ref name="nordlinger_ii" /> Gabe Toro, reviewing for ]'s ''The Playlist'', said D'Souza "flat-out compares" Alinsky to the ] and then suggests Alinsky's influence on Clinton and Obama.<ref>{{cite news | last=Toro | first=Gabe | url=http://blogs.indiewire.com/theplaylist/review-is-dinesh-dsouzas-america-the-worst-political-documentary-of-all-time-20140630 | title=Review: Is Dinesh D'Souza's 'America' The Worst Political Documentary Of All-Time? | work=The Playlist | publisher=] | date=June 30, 2014 | accessdate=December 4, 2014 }}</ref> ''National Journal''{{'}}s Zuylen-Wood said despite Alinsky dying when Obama was a teenager in Hawaii, the film portrayed Obama as one of Alinsky's "most famous disciples".<ref name="zuylen" /> ''U.S. News & World Report''{{'}}s Hemmer said Alinsky was a focus in D'Souza's film because President Obama was not up for reelection in 2016, so his argument about Obama's heritage could not apply to Hillary Clinton if she became a Presidential candidate. With Obama and Clinton both having links to Alinsky, Hemmer said Alinsky "has become the natural conduit to transfer criticisms of Obama to Clinton".<ref name="hemmer" />

'']''{{'}}s Ben Beaumont-Thomas said Hillary Clinton was a key focus in the documentary due to the likelihood of her being a candidate in the ]. Beaumont-Thomas said the TV networks ] and ] avoided producing miniseries about Clinton, "Both right- and leftwing voices expressed concern that the series would be either too favourable to Clinton or too politically cautious. Liberal voices will now likely clamour for a counterweight to D'Souza's film."<ref>{{cite news | last=Beaumont-Thomas | first=Ben | url=https://www.theguardian.com/film/2014/jun/13/dinesh-dsouza-hillary-clinton-documentary-america-obama-2016 | title=Rightwing film-maker Dinesh D'Souza tackles Hillary Clinton in America | work=] | date=June 13, 2014 | accessdate=December 10, 2014 }}</ref>

===Filmmaker's prosecution===

Toward the end of the film, D'Souza shows himself on camera wearing handcuffs, referring to ]. Joseph Amodeo, a political scientist and policy researcher for '']'', said the scene "appears to be an apology to his 'fans' and an awkward show of penance for recent improprieties on his part."<ref>{{cite news | last=Amodeo | first=Joseph | url=https://www.huffingtonpost.com/joseph-amodeo/dsouzas-shameful-treatmen_b_5613929.html | title=D'Souza's Shameful Treatment of Conservatives Highlights Need for a Renaissance of Intellectual Conservatism | work=] | date=July 24, 2014 | accessdate=August 19, 2014 }}</ref> ], also writing for ''The Huffington Post'', said of the scene, " suggestion that his own criminal conviction and his cheating on his wife are the result of political targeting are embarrassing and without support."<ref>{{cite news | last=Berkowitz | first=Michael | url=https://www.huffingtonpost.com/michael-berkowitz/america-dinesh-dsouzas-de_b_5563541.html | title=America: Dinesh D'Souza's Deceptions | work=] | date=July 8, 2014 | accessdate=August 19, 2014 }}</ref> ''National Review''{{'}}s Fund said of the scene, "He clearly conveys his view that he was selectively prosecuted. But viewers should take the film on its own merits, he says, regardless of what they think of him."<ref name="fund" />

==Proposed legislation==
{{multiple image
| align = right
| image1 = Alan Hays (R-20th).jpg
| width1 = 125
| alt1 =
| caption1 =
| image2 = State Representative Neil Combee.jpg
| width2 = 125
| alt2 =
| caption2 =
| footer = Florida's State Senator ] and State Representative ] both filed a bill to require Florida's students to see the documentary
}}
], a ] member of the ], saw ''America'' in theaters in July 2014 and subsequently announced his intent to propose state legislation to require middle school and high school students in Florida's public school system to see the film. Hays said, "I've looked at history books and talked to history teachers and the message the students are getting is very different from what is in the movie. It's dishonest and insulting. The students need to see the truth without political favoritism." Hays said he would not object if ''America'' was paired with a liberal film and that he would requisition copies of ''America'' from charitable groups to give schools to avoid burdening Florida's taxpayers.<ref>{{cite journal | last=Bond | first=Paul | url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/lawmaker-push-bill-requiring-dinesh-721053 | title=Lawmaker to Push Bill Requiring Dinesh D'Souza's 'America' Be Shown in Schools | journal=] | date=July 25, 2014 | accessdate=January 20, 2015 }}</ref> In November 2014, Hays filed a bill in the state senate to require seeing the documentary.<ref>{{cite news | last=Cotterell | first=Bill | url=http://www.tallahassee.com/story/opinion/columnists/cotterell/2014/11/19/cotterell-bill-aims-expose-students-conservative-side/19297647/ | title=Cotterell: Bill aims to expose students to conservative side | work=] | date=November 19, 2014 | accessdate=December 10, 2014 }}</ref><ref name="flsenate">{{cite web | url=http://www.flsenate.gov/Session/Bill/2015/0096 | title=SB 96: Patriotic Film Screening | work=flsenate.gov | publisher=] | date=November 18, 2014 | accessdate=December 10, 2014 }}</ref> The '']'' said Hays "received heavy criticism that he was foisting propaganda on children".<ref name="solochek">{{cite news | last=Solochek | first=Jeffrey S. | url=https://www.tampabay.com/news/education/k12/another-lawmaker-signs-on-to-bill-that-would-mandate-controversial-film-in/2209806/ | title=Bill to require controversial documentary in schools gets a House sponsor | work=] | date=December 10, 2014 | access-date=December 11, 2014 }}</ref> Hays asked ], a ] member of the ], to support his bill. After Combee watched the documentary and discussed it, he agreed to file a companion bill.<ref name="atteberry">{{cite news | last=Atteberry | first=Emily | url=http://www.news-press.com/story/news/education/2015/01/17/proposed-bill-require-high-schoolers-watch-patriotic-film/21929257/ | title=Controversial film could be required in Florida's high schools | work=] | date=January 17, 2015 | accessdate=January 19, 2015 }}</ref><ref name="flhouse">{{cite web | url=http://www.myfloridahouse.gov/Sections/Bills/billsdetail.aspx?BillId=53084 | title=HB 77 - Patriotic Film Screening | work=myfloridahouse.gov | publisher=] | date=December 8, 2014 | accessdate=December 11, 2014 }}</ref> Combee filed the House bill in the following December, and the ''Times'' said the companion bill increased the likelihood of the legislation being adopted.<ref name="solochek" /> The proposed bill required all of Florida's eighth and eleventh graders to watch ''America''. The bill includes an option for parents to opt their children out of the film screening.<ref name="atteberry" />

The liberal advocacy group ] criticized it for supporting a political documentary and as a cinematic selection by legislators rather than educators.<ref name="solochek" /> Southwest Florida's television station ] reported that critics said the legislation was "propaganda and ignorant". The head of ]'s local ], Jared Grifoni, did not contest the content but the attempted requirement, "We should be working to get rid of political and social engineering in schools regardless which side of the aisle is pushing it. This is the right side of the aisle pushing their agenda on students while accusing the left of the same thing."<ref>{{cite news | last=Papageorge | first=Nicole | url=http://www.winknews.com/2015/01/19/lawmakers-may-require-students-to-watch-controversial-film-to-graduate/ | title=Lawmakers may require students to watch 'controversial' film to graduate | work=winknews.com | publisher=] | date=January 19, 2015 | accessdate=January 20, 2015 }}</ref>

The House bill garnered eight co-sponsors.<ref>{{cite news | last=Maxwell | first=Scott | url=http://www.orlandosentinel.com/opinion/os-florida-guns-medicaid-scott-maxwell-20150519-column.html | title=Beer, movies, guns: The issues you aren't reading about this year | work=] | date=May 19, 2015 | accessdate=May 20, 2015 }}</ref> It ultimately died in the K-12 Subcommittee on {{nowrap|April 28}}, 2015.<ref name="flhouse" /> The Senate bill died in the Committee on Pre-K to 12 on {{nowrap|May 1}}, 2015.<ref name="flsenate" />

==See also==
{{portal|Film|Journalism}}
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* ]
{{clear}}


==References== ==References==
{{reflist|30em}} {{Reflist}}

==Further reading==

* {{cite book | last=D'Souza | first=Dinesh | author-link=Dinesh D'Souza | year=2014 | title=America: Imagine a World Without Her | others=Book for which the film is a companion. | publisher=Regnery Publishing | isbn=978-1-62157-203-9 | url-access=registration | url=https://archive.org/details/americaimaginewo0000dsou }}


==External links== ==External links==
{{Wikiquote}}
* {{official website|http://www.americathemovie.com}} * {{official website|http://www.americathemovie.com}}
* {{IMDb title|2785390|America: Imagine the World Without Her }} * {{IMDb title|2785390|America: Imagine the World Without Her }}
* {{Mojo title|america2014}}
* {{AllRovi movie|601696|America: Imagine the World Without Her}}
* {{Rotten Tomatoes|america_imagine_the_world_without_her_2014}}

* {{Metacritic film}}


{{Gerald R. Molen}} {{Dinesh D'Souza}}


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Latest revision as of 15:41, 2 December 2024

2014 film by Dinesh D'Souza

America: Imagine the World Without Her
Theatrical release poster
Directed by
Written by
  • Dinesh D'Souza
  • John Sullivan
  • Bruce Schooley
Based onAmerica: Imagine the World Without Her
by Dinesh D'Souza
Produced by
StarringDinesh D'Souza
CinematographyBenjamin Huddleston
Edited by
  • Rickie Lee
  • Jeffrey Linford
Music byBryan E. Miller
Distributed byLionsgate
Release date
  • June 27, 2014 (2014-06-27)
Running time103 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$5 million
Box office$14.4 million

America: Imagine the World Without Her is a 2014 American political documentary film by right-wing political commentator Dinesh D'Souza based on his book of the same name. It is a follow-up to his film 2016: Obama's America (2012). In the film, D'Souza contends that parts of United States history are improperly and negatively highlighted by liberals, which he seeks to counter with positive highlights. Topics addressed include conquest of Indigenous and Mexican lands, slavery, and matters relating to foreign policy and capitalism. D'Souza collaborated with John Sullivan and Bruce Schooley to adapt his book of the same name into a screenplay. D'Souza produced the film with Gerald R. Molen and directed it with Sullivan. The film combined historical reenactments with interviews with different political figures.

America: Imagine the World Without Her was marketed to political conservatives and through Christian marketing firms. Lionsgate released the film in three theaters on June 27, 2014 and expanded its distribution on the weekend of the U.S. holiday Independence Day on July 4, 2014. The film grossed $14.4 million, which made it the highest-grossing documentary in the United States in 2014, though D'Souza's previous documentary 2016: Obama's America had grossed over $33 million. Most professional film critics called the film poorly-made and partisan. Political commentators analyzed D'Souza's rebuttal of Howard Zinn's criticisms, the filmmaker's treatment of Saul Alinsky, Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton, and D'Souza's depiction of his own criminal prosecution. Conservative commentators expressed a mix of full and qualified support for the documentary and D'Souza's intentions.

Synopsis

Setting the stage for a presentation of their views, D'Souza and Sullivan provide counterfactual histories in which George Washington is killed during the Revolutionary War, or the country is divided following civil war, creating a world without America that would be vastly worse off. D'Souza identifies himself as an Indian immigrant who chose America, and has been impressed with what a unique force for good it is, something Americans have traditionally agreed with. He claims modern leftists are “telling a new story”, however, contradicting traditional veneration for America in order to “convince a nation to author its own destruction” and “unmake the America that is here now.” He then challenges several "indictments" made against the country and American exceptionalism, including sociology professor and activist Michael Eric Dyson's claim that “Thievery" was the “critical element” for “American empire” and historian and activist Ward Churchill's assertion that the US is the world's new evil empire, and says that 1960s Chicago radical Saul Alinsky, historian Howard Zinn, and others have promoted guilt and resentment regarding wealth inequality that has helped shape the political careers of Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton.

D'Souza argues that America's wealth has been created, not stolen. He says the $700 used to purchase colonial Manhattan from American Indians could buy many desolate parcels globally today, but that individual industry has made New York real estate worth billions. He states that in Europe, India, and elsewhere most countries have been founded on conquest, and observes that the American pattern of wealth creation hasn't been the universal norm. He cites examples like Arab historian Ibn Khaldun preferring looting to trade and says that merchants form Hinduism's second-lowest social caste.

The film argues that American Indians exhibited this "conquest ethic" among themselves, and that most of the American Indian depopulation that occurred during European colonization resulted from the accidental transmission of plagues (which had earlier devastated Europe), not from an intent to wipe out a people. The film argues that modern American Indians have little interest in returning to their hunter-gatherer past. In an interview, Senator Ted Cruz compares the Texas Revolution to the American Revolution. Professor and Reconquista advocate Charles Truxillo is contrasted with an interviewed Tejano who says he has no desire to return to a poverty and crime ridden Mexico and instead wants to live the "American Dream".

D'Souza says that slavery impeded American development, rather than boosting it. The film argues that slavery was an omnipresent phenomenon for most of human history, but that its abolition was "uniquely Western", noting the rarity of a "great war fought to end slavery" like the American Civil War. According to the film, the Declaration of Independence essentially says “liberty is the solution to injustice,” a “promissory note” cashed throughout history by Americans such as Martin Luther King Jr. C.J. Walker, the black entrepreneur and daughter of slaves who is regarded as America's first self-made female millionaire, is cited as an example of the type of individual success story the American system allows that is ignored by historians like Zinn because it undermines their leftist narrative. Columbia University economist Jagdish Bhagwati is shown saying that the “world is embracing the free market,” for which there is “no reason for us to be apologetic.” The film attempts to outline how somewhat free enterprise and consumer "choice" rather than "coercion", have possibly raised living standards by making existing goods cheaper and creating new ones.

Cast

Interviews

D'Souza conducted interviews with the following individuals:

Production

America: Imagine the World Without Her is directed by Dinesh D'Souza and John Sullivan. The two wrote a screenplay with Bruce Schooley based on D'Souza's book of the same title. The documentary was produced under the director's company D'Souza Entertainment. Sullivan said he was inspired by the History Channel miniseries The Men Who Built America, "I really thought that there was something in that style which allows you to tell a bigger story." The director said the fiscal success of 2016: Obama's America allowed the filmmakers to raise financing for America. Re-enactment scenes were filmed in Camden, South Carolina. Actor John Koopman III, a resident of Colchester, Connecticut who had portrayed General George Washington at state and national parks throughout the United States, was cast to portray Washington in the documentary. Koopman brought his own historical wardrobe and horse for filming, which took place in Camden over the course of four days.

The filmmakers chose to feature clips of celebrities including Woody Harrelson, Matt Damon, and Bono to illustrate the documentary's points to audiences who may be unfamiliar with historical figures like Frederick Douglass. Harrelson is shown condemning the United States's treatment of Native Americans. The film also shows Howard Zinn's history book A People's History of the United States being mentioned by Damon's character in the film Good Will Hunting as well as in the TV series The Sopranos. A clip featuring Bono, who did not participate in the production, is shown to illustrate support for American exceptionalism.

The filmmakers also sought to license the song "It's America" recorded by Rodney Atkins, but the licensing was denied by one of the songwriters due to the political premise of the documentary. They instead involved Dave Mustaine, founder of Megadeth, who recorded a heavy metal guitar version of "The Star-Spangled Banner" for the film. The filmmakers also licensed the song "America" by Imagine Dragons and "Home" by Phillip Phillips.

In addition to the theatrical cut, D'Souza edited an 80-minute cut for educational purposes, removing interviews with political pundits. He said, "It's all purely historical content now."

Marketing

D'Souza released the trailer for America: Imagine the World Without Her on January 26, 2014. He later screened the trailer to 3,500 attendees at the Conservative Political Action Conference in Washington, DC on March 7, 2014. The filmmakers hired Christian marketing firms to create a sermon, replete with video clips, based on the documentary, and make it available for download. The Hollywood Reporter said on June 19, 2014 that over 1,000 preachers had downloaded the sermon and that insiders expected the number to reach 5,000 before the film's release. The filmmakers also emailed 120,000 evangelical churches asking them to promote the film and hired the company Faithit.com to contact 80,000 Christian consumers. In the following July, D'Souza and fellow filmmaker Bruce Schooley traveled to the state of Texas to promote the documentary on radio and television programs owned by Glenn Beck.

D'Souza wrote the book America: Imagine the World Without Her, on which the documentary is based. Shortly before the film's release, the warehouse club Costco pulled the book from its shelves, saying its action was due to low sales. D'Souza called Costco's explanation "preposterous" and noted that his book had only been out a few weeks and was ranked #1 on Amazon.com's bestseller list, while Costco continued to stock hundreds of much lower-selling books. D'Souza asserted the book was pulled because one of Costco's co-founders, James Sinegal, supported Obama's politics. Rush Limbaugh and other media voices on the political right supported D'Souza with widespread criticism of Costco. Costco reordered the book and cited the documentary's release and related interest for the reorder.

Since America: Imagine the World Without Her and its predecessor 2016: Obama's America share "America" in their titles, several film websites, including Rotten Tomatoes, Yahoo! Movies, and MovieTickets.com, had difficulty presenting results for the newer documentary. While these websites resolved the results, the filmmakers contacted the search engine Google to complain about a lack of immediate search results pertaining to the documentary. Other results, including 2016: Obama's America and Captain America: The First Avenger and Captain America: The Winter Soldier, were being shown instead. They expressed concern that a lack of results, including showtimes, would affect the documentary's gross. D'Souza claimed that the lack of search results was politically motivated on Google's part. A preliminary fix stopped listing results for either of D'Souza's documentaries. Google said the term "America" being common in film titles prevented specific results, and it updated its Knowledge Graph to show results for the 2014 documentary.

In August 2014, the nonprofit organization Movie to Movement invited President Barack Obama and members of the United States Congress to a free screening of America. The Hollywood Reporter said the organization "helps to promote small, wholesome movies, many of which seem to have a Christian or conservative theme to them though the group is non-partisan". Movie to Movement's founder and CEO said he budgeted $5,500 to pay for the politicians' tickets and would secure delivery of a digital copy if the documentary was not available in a theater near a politician.

Release

Lionsgate, which handled home entertainment distribution for D'Souza's previous film 2016: Obama's America, acquired rights to distribute America: Imagine the World Without Her in theaters in the United States. Historically, it distributed in theaters two political documentaries, Fahrenheit 9/11 (2004) and Religulous (2008). The UK-based Manifest Film Sales acquired rights to distribute America outside the United States with the goal of screening the documentary at the 2014 Cannes Film Festival, but the screening did not take place.

Lionsgate gave the film a limited release in three theaters in the U.S. cities Atlanta and Houston on June 27, 2014. The cities were selected for premiering America since 2016: Obama's America performed well in them in 2012. The Hollywood Reporter said America "opened to solid numbers" with $39,000 for a theater average of $13,000. The distributor then planned a wide release for the weekend of the U.S. holiday Independence Day on July 4, 2014. On July 2, 2014, Lionsgate expanded the release to 1,105 theaters. For the weekend of July 4–6, 2014, it grossed $2.7 million and ranked 11th at the box office. CinemaScore reported that its sample of opening-night audiences gave the film a rare A+ grade on a scale of A+ to F.

The film concluded its theatrical run after 70 days with a total gross of $14.4 million. The Hollywood Reporter said the gross was "a very strong showing for a documentary film". For 2014, America was the highest-grossing documentary in the United States. The film did not perform as well as 2016: Obama's America, which grossed over $33 million. To date, America ranks as the sixth highest-grossing political documentary in the United States.

Lionsgate released the film on Digital HD on October 14, 2014 and on DVD and Blu-ray on October 28, 2014, a week before the national Election Day on November 4. The home media included 40 minutes of additional footage, including interviews with Ted Cruz, Ward Churchill, Star Parker, and former prisoner of war John Fer. For the week ending November 2, 2014, it ranked third in disc sales after X-Men: Days of Future Past and Mr. Peabody & Sherman. It ranked seventh in Blu-ray sales with 26% of discs sold being Blu-ray.

Critical response

The Times-Picayune reported, "America wasn't widely screened for critics, but the first handful of reviews are... not particularly glowing," saying that the reviews essentially labeled the film as "partisan". The News-Press reported, "America has been criticized by some as offensive, right-wing propaganda." The film review website Metacritic surveyed 11 movie critics and assessed 10 reviews as negative and 1 as mixed, with none being positive. It gave a weighted average score of 15 out of 100, indicating "overwhelming dislike". Rotten Tomatoes surveyed 24 critics and, categorizing the reviews as positive or negative, assessed 22 as negative and 2 as positive. Of the 24 reviews, it determined an average rating of 4 out of 10. The website gave the film an overall score of 8% and the site's consensus stated: "Passionate but poorly constructed, America preaches to the choir." According to The Hollywood Reporter's Paul Bond, the film performed well in its limited theatrical release, "overcoming several negative reviews in the mainstream media". Bond reported, "Conservatives... seem thrilled with the movie." USA Today's Bryan Alexander said, "America was savaged by mainstream critics... It received an 8% critical score on RottenTomatoes.com... But the film received an 88% positive audience score on the same website."

Joe Leydon, reviewing for Variety, called America "a slick, sprawling celebration of American exceptionalism that could, much like its predecessor, make a bundle by rigorously reinforcing the deeply held beliefs and darkest suspicions of its target audience". Leydon said the acting in the historical re-enactments was of inconsistent quality. The critic found that D'Souza gave screen time to those with whom he disagreed, but said, "For the most part, however, D'Souza gives the impression of someone obsessed with whitewashing any and all dark chapters in U.S. history books." Leydon commended the documentary's "tech values" as well as composer Bryan E. Miller's opening theme. The Hollywood Reporter's Stephen Farber said D'Souza overstated "anti-American tenets ostensibly running rampant in our society" and that his responses to critiques of America "aren't very convincing". Farber said of the film's production quality, "The battle scenes are competent but no more than that, and the performances are perfunctory at best." Farber said the historical re-enactments would not impress moviegoers who had seen many other historical films, though he called Ben Huddleston's cinematography "striking". The critic concluded, "Here is one more dubious piece of agitprop that will delight the author's fans and have very little impact on his opponents." Metacritic scored each trade paper's review of the film to be 30 out of 100.

Metacritic assessed reviews from The A.V. Club, Indiewire's The Playlist, Slant Magazine, and TheWrap as fully negative with no merit given. TheWrap's James Rocchi said the documentary had straw man arguments favoring D'Souza and had anecdotes in place of data, "The film is intellectually and factually spurious, in addition to being... deeply self-serving." Rocchi called America "technically inept" with "clumsy" editing and added, "The sound mix is incomprehensibly sloppy. Graphics look slapdash; historical recreations are either cheap-looking, unintentionally funny, or both." The critic said while liberal filmmaker Michael Moore "may be self-important at his worst", that he could direct a better film than D'Souza and Sullivan. The A.V. Club's David Ehrlich also said America had straw man arguments, " hellbent on pacifying the American guilt they believe was responsible for Obama's election, desperately attempting to assuage the national conscience about the evils of colonialism, capitalism, and racism." Ehrlich said, "It's admirable that D'Souza is so willing to engage people who don't share his perspective, but his editing and the instructive music with which he pushes it suggest that he's not particularly interested in what they have to say."

Rob Humanick, reviewing for Slant Magazine, said "The cynically opportunistic America descends into another one-note attack on the sitting president, beholden to the same plethora of taboos, half-truths, and outright lies traded en masse by mainstream conservatism for the last seven years." Humanick called the documentary "a carefully cultivated collection of false equivalencies, hyperbolic pronouncements, blatant recontextualizations of others' arguments, and shameless appeals to patriotism, all within a vaguely fear-mongering framework of demonizing the other". The critic said exceptions were cited to excuse America's history and that D'Souza's criticism of Obama did not ask "greater fundamental questions". Humanick concluded, "Anyone who's ever actually studied history outside of public education, or read the texts alluded to throughout America (such as Howard Zinn's A People's History of the United States), will understand the degree to which history has been flattened and narratives simplified for the sake of lending greater legitimacy to these binary-reliant 'lessons.'" Gabe Toro, reviewing for The Playlist, said, "The film plays out like more of a bullet-point presentation than an actual film, taking each argument he thinks liberal minds are having and dissecting each, cherry-picking anomalies in order to confront some sort of liberal 'truth' that doesn't exist." Toro called the documentary "artless propaganda, uninformed, sensationalistic and devoted to buzzphrases, ...simplicity, ...and grandstanding". The critic said, "Insidiously, these are some of the ways D'Souza and co-director John Sullivan keep the film brisk and conventionally entertaining... Filled with soaring guitars, pointless blacksmith montages and recreations with porn-level production values... it's all fist-pumping anti-thought, consisting of baseless revisionist history and idle contrarianism."

Los Angeles Times's Martin Tsai, whose review Metacritic scored to be 40 out of 100, the highest of its sample of 11, said, "He attempts to debunk Zinn through apagoge, as if finding an exception to Zinn's every rule will invalidate Zinn's entire argument... D'Souza makes some cogent points yet will not concede the existence of any gray area. The possibility that he and Zinn could both be right seems unfathomable." Tsai said, "'America' seems more intent on editorializing, razzling and dazzling than on stimulating civic debate." He summarized, "It's far more invested in elaborate historical reenactments, hypothetical dramatizations and special effects than interviews, research and data."

Political commentary

U.S. News & World Report's Nicole Hemmer said D'Souza's documentary was intended for conservatives and conveyed the premise that leftist radicals portrayed American history as shameful to win political power. Simon van Zuylen-Wood, writing in National Journal, said the film treated "the radical-left worldview of marginal figures like Bill Ayers" as representative of American liberalism and that it engaged "in a selective historiography" like minimizing slavery in the United States by highlighting the existence of black slaveholders. Zuylen-Wood also compared D'Souza to liberal filmmaker Michael Moore in how both use their roots to convey their messages and how they are both central characters in their documentaries, introducing "one ideological pathology after another" to moviegoers.

Mark Stricherz of The Atlantic said that D'Souza message suffered "the intellectual pitfalls of ignoring the critics", finding that he did not contextualize Obama's phrase "You didn't build that" in America. Stricherz said, "At times, America lives up to D'Souza's old intellectual standards. He meets in person with left-wing critics... He argues persuasively that Alexis de Tocqueville is a more reliable guide than Howard Zinn to troubling episodes in early American history such as slavery and the treatment of Native Americans." Stricherz concluded, "D'Souza's pride, his belief he needs neither intellectual nor moral critics, has brought about his fall from the first rank of conservative intellectuals." John Tamny of Forbes said, "D’Souza's America is noble in its effort to discredit myths about the U.S. as a genocidal, thieving, racist, capitalistically rapacious nation, but really, who believes this? It's popular in the victimized portion of the conservative movement to assert that those who love the U.S., freedom, and the prosperity it delivers do so in silence out of fear that the majority haters will persecute them for having those views, but let's be serious. This extreme kind of thinking is all too rare as we all well know."

John Fund of National Review said the documentary was a response to U.S. progressive critique of the country: "D'Souza's film and his accompanying book are a no-holds-barred assault on the contemporary doctrine of political correctness." Fund said D'Souza's message was "deeply pessimistic" but concluded, "Most people will leave the theater with a more optimistic conclusion: Much of the criticism of America taught in the nation's schools is easily refuted, America is worth saving, and we have the tools to do so in our DNA, just waiting to be harnessed." National Review's Jay Nordlinger said: "Dinesh is the anti-Moore: taking to the big screen to press conservative points... The shame narrators (let's call them) focus on maybe 20 percent of the American story. Dinesh simply puts the other 80 percent back in." Nordlinger bisected the documentary: "The first deals with the 'shame narrative.' The second deals with today's politics, and in particular presidential politics." The conservative commentator said: "The second movie confirms for me that one of Dinesh's great advantages is that he is absolutely clear-eyed about the Third World. While liberal Americans romanticize it, he has lived it."

In the liberal Daily Kos blog, Dan Falcone wrote: "D’Souza's film America sets out to report that anyone who tries to make America more democratic or inclusive is motivated by disdain for the country." Media Matters for America called the film "racially charged agitprop". In Salon, Elizabeth Stoker Bruenig called it a "laughable embarrassment" which ranges "from atrociously bad argumentation to humiliating propaganda".

Rebuttal of Howard Zinn

The writings of historian Howard Zinn, author of A People's History of the United States, was a key focus in D'Souza's documentary

In the documentary, D'Souza counters four "indictments" of the United States made by historian Howard Zinn: the treatment of Native Americans, slavery, the transfer of Mexico, and its colonialist behavior. John Fund in National Review said, "Consider his treatment of those subjects as his direct rebuttal to... Zinn, whose textbooks treating America's history as one of ceaseless oppression dominate many American high schools and colleges." Andrew Romano, writing for The Daily Beast, said Zinn was for D'Souza "a somewhat smaller target" than Obama in his previous documentary. Romano said the filmmaker's counterarguments were disingenuous and did not prove Zinn wrong. U.S. News & World Report's Hemmer said D'Souza's statement that Zinn's book A People's History of the United States was part of mainstream education was incorrect: "Though influential, the book was hardly hegemonic. It was even sharply criticized by prominent historians." Hemmer said Eric Foner's textbook Give Me Liberty! was more common than Zinn's book and was even critical of the book as pessimistic.

Treatment of Alinsky, Obama, and Clinton

In the documentary, D'Souza says Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton were followers of the left-wing activist Saul Alinsky. John Fund of National Review said "D'Souza is the first filmmaker to mine the rich material showing the radicalism of Alinsky." National Review's Jay Nordlinger said "I myself depart a bit from D'Souza on Alinskyism: I regard Obama and Hillary as mainstream Democrats, no different from Nancy Pelosi, John Kerry, and the rest of the gang. And this gang commands the respect, or at least the votes, of approximately half the country." Gabe Toro, reviewing for Indiewire's The Playlist, said D'Souza "flat-out compares" Alinsky to the Devil and then suggests Alinsky's influence on Clinton and Obama. National Journal's Zuylen-Wood said despite Alinsky dying when Obama was a teenager in Hawaii, the film portrayed Obama as one of Alinsky's "most famous disciples". U.S. News & World Report's Hemmer said Alinsky was a focus in D'Souza's film because President Obama was not up for reelection in 2016, so his argument about Obama's heritage could not apply to Hillary Clinton if she became a Presidential candidate. With Obama and Clinton both having links to Alinsky, Hemmer said Alinsky "has become the natural conduit to transfer criticisms of Obama to Clinton".

The Guardian's Ben Beaumont-Thomas said Hillary Clinton was a key focus in the documentary due to the likelihood of her being a candidate in the 2016 U.S. presidential election. Beaumont-Thomas said the TV networks NBC and CNN avoided producing miniseries about Clinton, "Both right- and leftwing voices expressed concern that the series would be either too favourable to Clinton or too politically cautious. Liberal voices will now likely clamour for a counterweight to D'Souza's film."

Filmmaker's prosecution

Toward the end of the film, D'Souza shows himself on camera wearing handcuffs, referring to his criminal conviction for violating election campaign finance laws. Joseph Amodeo, a political scientist and policy researcher for The Huffington Post, said the scene "appears to be an apology to his 'fans' and an awkward show of penance for recent improprieties on his part." Michael Berkowitz, also writing for The Huffington Post, said of the scene, " suggestion that his own criminal conviction and his cheating on his wife are the result of political targeting are embarrassing and without support." National Review's Fund said of the scene, "He clearly conveys his view that he was selectively prosecuted. But viewers should take the film on its own merits, he says, regardless of what they think of him."

Proposed legislation

Florida's State Senator Alan Hays and State Representative Neil Combee both filed a bill to require Florida's students to see the documentary

Alan Hays, a Republican member of the Florida State Senate, saw America in theaters in July 2014 and subsequently announced his intent to propose state legislation to require middle school and high school students in Florida's public school system to see the film. Hays said, "I've looked at history books and talked to history teachers and the message the students are getting is very different from what is in the movie. It's dishonest and insulting. The students need to see the truth without political favoritism." Hays said he would not object if America was paired with a liberal film and that he would requisition copies of America from charitable groups to give schools to avoid burdening Florida's taxpayers. In November 2014, Hays filed a bill in the state senate to require seeing the documentary. The Tampa Bay Times said Hays "received heavy criticism that he was foisting propaganda on children". Hays asked Neil Combee, a Republican member of the Florida House of Representatives, to support his bill. After Combee watched the documentary and discussed it, he agreed to file a companion bill. Combee filed the House bill in the following December, and the Times said the companion bill increased the likelihood of the legislation being adopted. The proposed bill required all of Florida's eighth and eleventh graders to watch America. The bill includes an option for parents to opt their children out of the film screening.

The liberal advocacy group People for the American Way criticized it for supporting a political documentary and as a cinematic selection by legislators rather than educators. Southwest Florida's television station WINK-TV reported that critics said the legislation was "propaganda and ignorant". The head of Collier County's local Libertarian Party, Jared Grifoni, did not contest the content but the attempted requirement, "We should be working to get rid of political and social engineering in schools regardless which side of the aisle is pushing it. This is the right side of the aisle pushing their agenda on students while accusing the left of the same thing."

The House bill garnered eight co-sponsors. It ultimately died in the K-12 Subcommittee on April 28, 2015. The Senate bill died in the Committee on Pre-K to 12 on May 1, 2015.

See also

References

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Further reading

External links

Films directed by Dinesh D'Souza
Categories: