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Documentaries – From Truth to Power to Progressive Propaganda

Amazon's 'Mayor Pete' shows Democratics have a friend in today's doc filmmakers

Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg is under fire for being MIA for two-plus months while the globe’s supply chain hit “crisis” mode.

The nation is reeling as it tries to sort out the shipping crisis that is hitting Americans in the wallet and causing a shortage of clothing, sneakers, bicycles and cars.

The supply disruption threatens to increase the cost of toys as much as 10 percent and jeopardize the likelihood of in-demand gifts even being in stock this Christmas — but Buttigieg didn’t indicate any sense of emergency over the crisis.

“Mayor Pete” to the rescue!

Mayor Pete | Official Trailer | Prime Video

The Amazon documentary, out Nov. 12, offers a fawning look at the former South Bend, Indiana mayor as he crashes the Democratic primary in 2020.

Here’s the official description from Amazon PR:

Mayor Pete brings viewers inside Pete’s campaign to be the youngest U.S. President, providing an unprecedented intimacy with the candidate, his husband Chasten, and their ambitious team. From the earliest days of the campaign, to his unlikely, triumphant victory in Iowa and beyond. This film reveals what really goes on inside a campaign for the highest office in the land – and the myriad ways it changes the lives of those at its center. Recently appointed to U.S. Secretary of Transportation, Buttigieg serves as the first openly LGBTQ Cabinet member in U.S. history.

Indiewire.com’s review wants a deeper dive into the real Pete Buttigieg, but it acknowledges the obvious about the film’s intentions.

Consciously or not, this admiring portrait can’t help but feel like an ad for Buttigieg’s next attempt at the throne…

Even the far-left TheWrap.com, which supports Cancel Culture, questioned the validity of the film. “Decent Documentary, or Cleverly Crafted Campaign Ad?” asks the review’s headline.

Did anyone think Amazon, a platform which routinely lashes out at right-leaning content, would share a warts-and-all documentary on Buttigieg?

It’s only a fraction of the overall documentary picture, though.

RELATED: Media Rush in to Save ‘Fauci’ Documentary

Filmmakers routinely use the genre to boost progressive politicians, sharing their very best sides to buoy their future prospects. Their efforts greeted with near-unanimous praise by film critics.

Consider the following, fawning documentaries and their respective Rotten Tomatoes scores:

  • “Hillary” – 80 percent “fresh”
  • “Knock Down the House” – 99 percent “fresh”
  • “All In: The Fight for Democracy” – 100 percent “fresh”
  • “Fauci” – 90 percent “fresh”
  • “Time for Ilhan” – 94 percent “fresh”
  • “Becoming” – 93 percent “fresh”

Most Oscar-season entries can’t generate that kind of critical love. “Mayor Pete” lacks a Rotten Tomatoes score at the moment, but the reviews listed on the site currently are all “fresh.”

By comparison, the few documentaries lauding conservative figures are treated far differently by the critical masses.

“Created Equal: Clarence Thomas in His Own Words” has a 33 percent “rotten” rating on the site.

RELATED: How Liberal Media Bias Extends to Arts Coverage

“Becoming” showcased Michelle Obama, the former First Lady with no obvious political life at the moment. She still routinely uses her clout to push political causes and would be an instant contender should she throw her hat into a future presidential ring.

Plus, the film came from Higher Ground Productions, the company run by … Barack and Michelle Obama.

Becoming | Official Trailer | Netflix

The best documentaries don’t pick sides. They illuminate the subjects in question and leave audiences with a better understanding of the larger issues in play. Some have a discernible bias, but they also share inconvenient truths that leave audiences wiser on the subject in play.

The genre, at its best, extends what journalists can bring to a topic. And, thanks to cable and streaming outlets, a documentary’s shelf life is infinite.

Except today’s journalism is corrupt and hopelessly one-sided, something the public increasingly understands.

Is it any wonder that political documentaries followed that troubling path, or that critics are happy to play along?

UPDATE: Breitbart News reports that two of the aforementioned documentaries, “Fauci” and “Mayor Pete,” just nabbed nominations from the Critics Choice Documentary Awards. Editor’s note: This reporter is a member of CCA but not a voting member of its documentary wing.

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