Praise | July 4 | American Presidents of Hollywood

July 04, 2020

Praise | July 4 | American Presidents of Hollywood

My admiration for American presidents sort of began with this film 'Independence Day', it only grows, irrespective of who is at the helm. I vividly remember watching this film at my holy place Madurai Mappillai Vinayagar theatre (Sri Mappillai Vinayagar) along with my father and brother on 8th of November 1996, evening 6:30pm show. I was excited and watched it at least 20 times at my holy place. This speech is considered to be one of the well written, inspirational, and spoken in the film history.

He was a former fighter pilot, now an intrepid president of the United States of America. When humanity is faced with the threat of extinction originating from outside the Earth, he not only plays the role of a President, but a soldier in a direct combat with the alien. He is a caring father and a husband as much as an ordinary civilian.

#characterstudy

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'Good morning. In less than an hour, aircraft from here will join others from around the world. And you will be launching the largest aerial battle in the history of mankind. "Mankind." That word should have new meaning for all of us today. We can't be consumed by our petty differences anymore. We will be united in our common interests. Perhaps it's fate that today is the Fourth of July, and you will once again be fighting for our freedom... Not from tyranny, oppression, or persecution... but from annihilation. We are fighting for our right to live. To exist. And should we win the day, the Fourth of July will no longer be known as an American holiday, but as the day the world declared in one voice: "We will not go quietly into the night!" We will not vanish without a fight! We're going to live on! We're going to survive! Today we celebrate our Independence Day!'

#IndependenceDay (1996)

#4thJuly

One of the most inspirational speeches ever. Even though, it is fictional, this is one of the reasons why I'm an admirer of US Presidents.

https://youtu.be/9t1IK_9apWs

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I didn't know until I watched Wolfgang Petersen's "Air Foce One", starring Harrison Ford as the President of United States of America that any plane, which carries the President automatically designated the status or code "Air Force One".

Back in 1997 upon the film's release, my father took me to Madurai Ambiga theatre to watch this film. It was one of the first English language speaking films, I happened to watch in the DTS (Digital Track Sound) format. The experience was. memorable because of Jerry Goldsmith's sound.

American Presidents portrayed by the Hollywood are not only patriotic but morally obliged and brave. It happens in this film as well. A moral obligation makes the president to order the seizure of a military general of a neighbouring country who had killed innocents and planning on a military coup. Consequently, after a brave and bold politically disruptive speech capable of jeopardizing his political career in a country torn by communism and cold war, his plane (Air Foce One) gets hijacked by a group of radicals who gained entry into the plane in the disguise of a foreign nation journalists crew, who were scheduled to interview the president.

The president doesn't flee the plane. He stays back. He fights the radicals and wins the battle. This inspirational story is not only told technically but emotionally. Air Force One is among the films that taught me leadership traits and reinforced my admirations for the president of the United States. It doesn't necessarily mean that I endorse their political policies. Moreover, this post is apolitical.

The "Be Afraid" speech:

https://youtu.be/kjOZokqiPaA

[translated from Russian]: "The dead remember our indifference. The dead remember our silence." [in English] I came here tonight to be congratulated. But today when I visited the Red Cross camps, overwhelmed by the flood of refugees fleeing from the horror of Kazakhstan, I realized I don't deserve to be congratulated. None of us do.

Let's speak the truth. And the truth is, we acted too late. Only when our own national security was threatened did we act. Radek's regime murdered over 200,000 men, women, and children -- and we watched it on TV. We let it happen. People were being slaughtered for over a year, and we issued economical sanctions and hid behind a rhetoric of diplomacy. How dare we. The dead remember. Real peace is not just the absence of conflict; it's the presence of justice.

And tonight, I come to you with a pledge to change America's policy. Never again will I allow our political self-interests to deter us from doing what we know to be morally right. Atrocity and terror are not political weapons. And to those who would use them: Your day is over.

We will never negotiate.

We will no longer tolerate and we will no longer be afraid.

It's your turn to be afraid.

Remember, this blog or post is not exhaustive as these are some of the American Presidents of Hollywood I could remember from the top of my memory.

For Real:

The more people hate someone or something, the more I will find reasons to admire that someone or something.

The generalization that #left represents #good and #right is #evil, is not only unacceptable but irrational. It is increasingly becoming a fad for the politically correct individuals to identify and associate themselves with the left only to remain acceptable or gain fame. Both sides have their vested interests to be met. It is naive of us to take sides. After all it is politics. No politician can be always good, nor can be always bad. It is always a combination of both. I do not take sides. I have zero tolerance, when the politically correct pretends to be a purist or a righteous and blames everything the right does. Then this idea gets provoked in me: "The more you hate someone, the more I will find reasons to admire them". I start advocating for the opposed. Because no one is a purist. And no one can ever be. Therefore, I'd accept anyone if they submit that they are in the business of politics, hence the resistance shown, but not when they pretend to be a politically correct individual and criticize everything the right does either for better or worse.

Irrespective of the winner, the fact remains that I enormously admire the official capacity of the #president of one of the greatest nations on planet Earth, #UnitedStatesofAmerica. It doesn't necessarily mean that I endorse the individuals who hold the office and their political ideologies. Therefore, I congratulate the #PresidentElect Joe Biden. However, I must deeply appreciate (former) president #DonaldTrump for putting #AmericaFirst during his term, and his relentless fight against the apparent conspiracy, betrayal and deception during the election. Even though, you have lost or made to lose, you will not only be remembered as one of the greatest presidents of the United States, but as one who truly shook the entire world either for better or worse. You truly are a #disruptiveforce.