Barack Obama - The Golden Compass Candidate
Last night my family watched the movie, "The Golden Compass" on DVD. I wasn't very impressed with the film but I can't really say I was disappointed. To have a sense of disappointment, means you already had certain expectations that were not met. In this case, I didn't have any expectations because I really didn't know anything about the movie and had not read the book. I did know it was of the 'fantasy' genre, but I had not paid much attention to the reviews when the film first came to theaters.
I can critique "The Golden Compass" from a general framework by which we critique all movies. I can fault the film for lack of character development, problems with pacing, plot structure or a weak script, however, I can't really go beyond general criticisms to specifics of why "The Golden Compass" didn't work. Because I knew so little about the movie beforehand, I really didn't know what the objective was and what it was seeking to achieve. I knew nothing about the 'vision' of the filmmakers or the author, so it is difficult to explain why I believe the film fell short. Because I had no expectations, I wasn't particularly disappointed. I simply became bored and started folding laundry midway through, so as not to completely waste my time.
If Barack Obama should become our next president, what will be our critique of him after a year or two, or four? I suspect that many people will not be particularly impressed by his performance but won't really be able to say they are disappointed. There is at present a great deal of enthusiasm about his campaign but very little specifics on what Obama plans to do. We hear the endless mantra of 'hope' with little content to what his vision for the country actually entails. We know his philosophy is of the 'liberal' genre but thats about it.
What are the expectations for an Obama presidency? Hopefully that will be clarified in the coming months as he goes head to head with John McCain. As citizens of this great country, we should know the goals of a potential president so that later, we can rightly deduce if he achieved them. Will we stand up and cheer, feel deep disappointment, or simply be unimpressed?
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