White with Fear

Many of us would likely agree that “truth” is a hard commodity to come by these days, especially in political and social matters. One need only look to the increasingly bombastic claims coming from each end of the spectrum to see that their agendas and perspectives are being driven by their respective polarized viewpoints, some of which probably contain kernels of truth but that have been significantly enhanced with ample doses of hyperbole and exaggeration. So what are we to believe? That’s a good question, one that this latest documentary from director Andrew Goldberg seeks to address, primarily from the standpoint of how right-wing conservative media and politicians have been deliberately engineering well-orchestrated campaigns of disinformation/propaganda/indoctrination (choose whatever word best suits you) to sway the hearts and minds of a largely uninformed and unquestioning public. Beginning with the Nixon presidency and continuing to the present day, this constituency’s game plan, according to an array of observers and experts, has been (and still is) based on implementing programming designed to play on the fears of White Americans who have come to believe they are targets for ever-increasing degrees of victimization and marginalization. Isolated incidents are blown out of proportion to make them seem like the norm, and threats to their well-being are seen as coming from all directions, potential dangers generally attributed to such scapegoats as immigrants, minorities and members of certain religious sects (the specific alleged perpetrators all being easy to figure out). And these dire warnings are typically packaged in gruesome, graphic, frightening detail and embellished with outright fabrications for maximum impact to fan the flames of support for their manufactured validity (after all, fear can be a powerful motivator and source of common ground in scenarios like this). Hence, individuals who might ordinarily not consider themselves racist or prejudiced are manipulated into viewpoints with which they concur that nevertheless are unwittingly laced with such feelings. Through video clips, sound bites and interviews with analysts of these efforts (as well as former participants in these initiatives), the filmmaker builds what seems to be a damning case against these calculated ventures. However, at the risk of playing devil’s advocate, one could also readily contend that the arguments against these undertakings (by implication) are fundamentally just as potentially biased as the criticisms being leveled here, their own version of the “truth” having been slanted to an opposite but comparable degree. This naturally begs the question, “Where is the objectivity in that?” It also muddies the waters when it comes to finding a suitable answer to the inquiry, “What exactly is the truth here?” While left-leaning viewers will undoubtedly cheer on the discussion raised in this film, the picture nevertheless fails to provide the kind of unblemished clarity and impartiality one might hope for when all things are considered. Sadly, the viewers who might benefit most from screening this release probably won’t see it, having already been conditioned into making up their minds about this subject. And, at the same time, for those who do watch it, this would most likely be seen as a case of preaching to the choir. Regardless of where one’s political leanings may lie, as strong a case as this production might be seeking to make, “White with Fear” ultimately probably won’t provide any of us with the answers we seek either way, and that’s a shame considering how badly we need them these days.