If youre among the liberals licking their lips with glee that few if anyone came out to see Palins documentary, ask yourself: Would you rush out to see a similar documentary about someone more of your political persuasion? Raise your hands if you went to a theater and saw Going Upriver: The John Kerry Story back in October, 2004? I did, but Im a movie nut who, especially when I was unmarried and without kids, try to see anything that may or may not inspire some kind of discussion (its why I most certainly checked out The Passion of the Christ over opening weekend in February 2004). But judging by the box office numbers, you probably didnt. The film opened with $279,219 on 163 theaters and eventually grossed a whopping $614,138 in theaters. Would anyone of you take time away from work and family to race out to see a completely uncritical and overtly partisan documentary about Barack Obama? How about Russ Feingold or Alan Grayson? Anyone? Sure, we might check out such a thing on television or on Netflix Instant, but there is a big difference between turning on our car stereo and listening to political talk radio and going out to a movie theater. Preaching to the converted only works when the converted can be easily accessed. Again, speaking through free talk radio or basic cable television is a lot easier than getting people to pay $10 (and possibly pay for babysitting) in order to be basically preached to about a philosophy that you already endorse.

Michael Moores Fahrenheit 9/11 made $119 million in 2004, the highest-grossing documentary in history, and George W. Bush still won re-election (say what you will about electoral votes in Ohio, it was a clean popular-vote victory). The two biggest films of 2008, The Dark Knight and Iron Man were (wrongly in my opinion) held up as right-wing apologetics, and Barack Obama still handily won the 08 presidential election. All the box office failure of Sarah Palins The Undefeated means is that her fans are no more willing to spend money and time to watch a glowing portrait of someone they already endorse than we are. So Sarah Palin is not a movie star. Neither is anyone on our side. That doesnt make her any less impressive to her fans or any less dangerous to her foes. It certainly makes her no less relevant to the political discourse as long as those who choose what to report continue to hang on her every offhand comment.

 

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