Franken's "God Spoke" documents political divide
By Lisa Wakeland, Staff Writer
March 29, 2007 | 7:20 p.m.
From the opening sequence in “Al Franken: God Spoke,” it’s clear the film reflects the political divide in America. True, the divide he tackles in the film is based in the media, but the documentary touches on more issues facing the country.
Cameras follow the comedian-turned- political-satirist-turned- Senatorial-candidate Al Franken over a two-year period that includes his feud with Fox News commentator Bill O’Reilly, his campaign against President George W. Bush and his pursuit to expose the lies being fed to the American public.
“I take what they say and use it against them,” Franken said. “They say something ridiculous and I subject them to scorn and ridicule.”
Franken said he used Fox News as a jumping point to attack Bush, starting with Bill O’Reilly. At a BookExpo America conference, O’Reilly and Franken began their bitter ideological battle that led to a defamation lawsuit over Franken’s book, “Lies and the Lying Liars Who Tell Them.”
His attacks on media lies are not unfounded. Throughout the film, Franken discusses statistical claims made by Fox News and Rush Limbaugh. During the early years of the Iraq war, a Fox News anchor said the daily death rate of citizens in California was higher than that of soldiers in Iraq.
The anchor’s claim was based on geographic similarities between the two regions, but it ignored the fact that the population of California is much larger than the total number of U.S. soldiers in Iraq. By calculating each region’s death rate as a percentage of the total population of soldiers or citizens, the students to whom Franken was speaking saw that the death toll among soldiers was proportionally higher.
Another example of misinformation Franken called into question was Rush Limbaugh’s argument against raising minimum wage. Limbaugh claimed that 75 percent of people in minimum wage jobs were teenagers. When Franken heard this, he found a different statistic from the Bureau of Labor Statistics – 60 percent of people in minimum wage jobs were over 20.
Franken’s passion for debunking claims of media biases helped land him a radio show on Air America, a liberal radio station. Franken started the show because he said that “politics isn’t about power, it isn’t about winning. It’s about doing good for the people.”
Throughout “God Spoke,” Franken chastises the rhetoric used by Republicans and right-wing pundits, but he is not exempt from making verbal assaults. During an intense conversation with conservative talk show host Sean Hannity, allegations fly between the two opposing radio hosts at the 2004 Democratic National Convention.
The majority of “God Spoke” shows that Franken loves politics. He denounces the Bush administration on many occasions and campaigns for John Kerry. Franken appeared so certain that the Democratic nominee will win that reality of a loss did not set in until final poll counts started showing Bush’s lead.
“Dress-up and make-believe are fun, but we need a real President,” Franken said about Bush’s landing under the “Mission Accomplished” sign in 2003.
Instead of saying Bush won, Franken was quoted saying that “they got away with it.” He appeared to be truly affected by the 2004 election; he even came close to tears while watching Kerry’s concession speech. Franken’s documentary shows how divided the country is when it comes to politics.
Politics, however, were not something new to Franken when he started his radio show. He helped with the re-election campaign for Democratic Minnesota Senator Paul Wellstone, who died in a plane crash two weeks before the election.
Franken became a constant fixture in the political landscape toward the end of his career, mentioning that “celebrity trumps ideology.” On Feb. 15, Franken announced he would seek the Democratic nomination for the Minnesota Senate seat formerly held by Wellstone, which leaves him in a position to make the changes he wants to see.
“God Spoke” is about more than documenting two years of Al Franken’s life -- it’s documenting American society.
The movie is part of the Athena Art Series and is playing Saturday, Sunday and Wednesday. Check theater Web site for show times.