Texans For Palin: ‘The Power of ‘The Undefeated’: A Review by Josh Painter’

Josh Painter shares his thoughts on the Stephen Bannon documentary The Undefeated:

Here’s a challenging assignment: write a review of Stephen Bannon’s potentially game-changing documentary “The Undefeated” after a number of appraisals have already appeared in both old and new media, from large market newspapers to suburban dailies, from Breitbart’s “Big” websites to “mom and pop” blogs. The film has been evaluated by reviewers of varying political persuasions from conservative to centrist to “progressive” feminist. They have approached “The Undefeated” from nearly every conceivable angle.

Some of the critiques are noteworthy for their excellence, including Dan Riehl’s most eloquent assessment, in which he explains how the movie penetrated through his tough-guy defenses and touched him emotionally; Lisa Mei Norton’s superbly detailed appraisal, in which she dares her readers to see the film; and John Nolte’s politically-charged review, in which he expresses his disgust with a corrupt media which hid the real Sarah Palin from much of America, while inventing and promoting a surrealistic and demeaning caricature of the governor.

These are tough acts to follow. Reviewers of “The Undefeated” at this stage of the game have to try to plow new ground, but we can’t escape a walk down some paths already traveled. So this review is meant to be neither synoptic nor rousing. That’s already been done, and done very well. Instead, I’ll just touch on the three major impressions the documentary left on me after viewing it for the first time.

The first of these is the initial “Three Minute Hate” sequence, which has a powerful emotional impact on the viewer. Much has been made of the foul language used by some of the more notorious among the Palin-hater demographic and how it will require director Stephen Bannon to market two versions of his film so PG audiences won’t miss out on the opportunity to view it. The angrier extremists of the far left can’t seem to communicate without resorting to gutter language, like so many of today’s stand up comedians who use filthy epithets as a crutch to get through their acts. Lacking the creativity and talent of great comics such as Bill Cosby, Bob Hope, Jonathan Winters and Bob Newhart, this generation of comics are more than just several cuts below the greatness of the masters of their craft. But I suspect general audiences who see “The Undefeated” will find the intensity of the hate for Sarah Palin to have more shock value than the four-letter words used to express it. Coming at the beginning of the film as it does, the Three Minute Hate overwhelms the viewer with the irrationality and pathology of the attacks made against Gov. Palin. Viewers with a conscience will not be able to avoid the feeling of revulsion and even outrage over the extreme degrees of nastiness pursued in the efforts to destroy the woman. Those left of center, but of good character, will instinctively want to distance themselves from such vileness, which is exactly what the filmmaker wants them to do. Only then can these viewers, the main targets of the documentary, give Sarah Palin an even break and grant her a fresh appraisal.

This is just a snippet. Please go read the whole thing.