The Bain/Bane Video I Never Made
Agh, I am kicking myself! I’m sure you’ve heard of this pseudo-controversy about Rush Limbaugh and the new Batman movie. Rush wondered out loud if the fact that the movie’s villain is named Bane was an attack on Mitt Romney’s tenure at Bain Capital — and the Mainstream Media toadies immediately tried to make him sound like some kind of crazy man (because… Hollywood would never attack a Republican?). Anyway, as it turns out, Obama’s team was planning on spinning the film in exactly the way Rush said, so, as always, the Maha Rushdie got the last laugh on these heel-nipping clowns (and even mentioned yours truly in the process!).
But with all respect to El Rushbo, I was on this Bain/Bane stuff half a year ago! Back then, Justin Folk and I were experimenting with making some animated videos for the Manhattan Institute (they’re worth watching by the way). In February, I wrote one in which a comic book superhero Obama took on Bain Capital, represented by Batman’s evil Bane. The joke was that, in the end, the superhero Obama laid waste the nation while the “evil” Bane actually made things great.
Well, my script made us all laugh, but basically we decided the work involved in producing it was way beyond what any of us could afford to do, so I put it aside. Here’s the script — I don’t know if you can get the feel of it, since it’s very visual, but I offer it as evidence of my far-seeing wisdom. Since it’s, like, the only evidence I have.
INVESTMENT THUNDER DOME: OBAMA VS. BAIN
Andrew Klavan: The Manhattan Institute Presents: Investment Thunderdome: Obama vs Bain!
Hi, everyone, I’m City Journal contributing editor Andrew Klavan for the Manhattan Institute and I’m here today with an exciting adventure: Investment Thunderdome: Barack Obama Versus Bain Capital!
Barack Obama is on a mission to invest in America.
[Comic book graphic: Obama looking heroic with angel chord and admirers.]
AK: Bain Capital also wants to invest.
[Monstrous Bane from Batman]
Bain: Baaane.
Nicely done.
Can’t you still adapt this for use on “Klavan on the Culture”? Little doodley drawings, combined with action-figure stop-motion, could be lots of fun…
Bravo. Both entertaining and true!
You know I don’t think Romney’s campaign should bother formulating any specific strategy against Obama. All they need to do is monitor Obama’s campaign speeches and just scoop up the pearls that Barry scatters in front of them. The “you didn’t build that” sound bite is probably worth its weight in gold and should be replayed ad infinitum between now and November.
Regards,
John
Does anyone else find the irony as delicious as I do that Obama is spending all these millions to “define Romney” as an out-of-touch, heartless, rich guy who used Bain to outsource thousands of American jobs and in one brief non-telepromptered moment of candor defined HIMSELF to millions of Americans?
I guess giving a speech without a teleprompter can be chalked up to just one more failed Obama experiment.
Rush should have kept his mouth shut, he should have done some research first before he opened his mouth. He’s making conservatives/Republicans look bad. Why?
The character of Bane was created in 1993 nearly 20 years ago, he first appeared in Batman: Vengeance of Bane #1 published January 1993. I honestly doubt that writers Chuck Dixon, Doug Moench, and artist Graham Nolan were that prophetic that they knew that the furture presidential candidate who worked for Bain Capitol would be running at the exact same time The Dark Knight Rises was released with their character as the villian.
Does Hollywood take shots at conservatives & Republicans? Heck yes! However, we need to counter it intelligently, with reason, wit, and satire as appropriate. Instead of glorifying the Hollywood types we need to make fun of them, show them as just how ridiculous and detached from reality they are.
Couldn’t have said it better myself. Bane is not a new character, and Rush and his researchers should’ve known better.
Limbaugh didn’t say the character was created to influence the vote, he simply said that the Obummer team would try to capitalize on it, as they clearly plan to.
This.
I was listening to that entire Limbaugh show, and his follow-up the next day over the ridiculous hubbub by the left about insane conspiracy theories from the lunatic right. He clearly stated that the left would try to make the make the Bane/Bain comparison, and the author here states that they have had plans all along to do so.
Rush did wonder about the timing of the film’s release, so conveniently for the left at the same time that they are trying to define Romney as an evil rich guy. Apparently he didn’t know that the producer is not just another leftist Hollywood partisan.
As someone who is about to be a co-producer for the first time of a SAG feature film (if it ever actually happens at all), I am curious about the timing though, Andrew. Is the producer the major determinant of the release date, or is it the studio doing the promotion and distribution? That could definitely alter the perception of whether this is just a coincidence or not.
Remember, as one of the PJ posters who is in the business said last year, it is nearly impossible to get a hard release date nearly a year in advance. Yet that was the case for the movie to be released in a couple months portraying the fearless superhero Commander O piloting the chopper and personally executing Bin Laden, despite the incompetence of those Seal corpse-men.
First, I am not a Dittohead, never have been, never will be. However, when it comes to researching and knowing a subject, the few times I have listened to Rush and his comments, especially the ones like he made about the left trying to connect Batman Bain to Romney Bane, he knew what he was saying, he knew the character was not recently introduced and he knew exactly what the left would do to use the move as a club to pound Romney. And, you can bet that after the massacre at the Colorado theater, they will compound the issue by connecting as many unrelated dots as they can and use the lies to attempt to completely destroy Romney in the eyes of America, especially the undecided and independent voters.
The first thing ABC did was check to see if the shooter was connected to the right and found someone on the Colorado Tea Party register with the same name. Wonder if they checked to see if he was connected to a left wing organization or if he was a regular contributor to a leftist website. Guarantee you they didn’t.
No, any criticism of Rush is unwarrented on this one.
As for the timing of the release of the movie, since it has been in production for a couple of years, well before the Republican primaries, it is doubtful there is a correlation between the release of the movie and the campaign. No one knew in 2010 that Romney would be the Republican nominee. However, that does not preclude the fact that since Bane is an intelligent monster villian, liberals, Democrats, and the media will use the name to label Romney as the “Bain Monster” who is intent on destroying America. What you have is a perfect scenario for the easily influenced minds of voters who still dwell in an adolescent world and cannot distinguish fiction from reality. They will draw a comparison between Bain and Bane and it will influence their vote, that is if they show up to vote.
I saw the movie last night, the only one of this trilogy I have seen. I had been vaguely aware of the Bain/Bane issue before last night but had not really paid any attention. Based on what I saw, the lefties should be careful about drawing attention to the Bane character. He is a leftist terrorist and his tactics remind one of a militant Occupy Wall Streeter. Plus, Bane delivers a couple of rip-roaring speeches during the movie skewering the wealthy. These speeches could be transcribed for Dear Leader’s teleprompter and sound perfectly appropriate. Of course, the hero of the movie is Bruce Wayne/Batman a rich, selfless white guy. So how is this movie positive for the left? Beats me.
Rick:
Your impressions of the film are not only accurate, they are the reasons the leftist film critics are panning the show. You don’t need a degree in film to see Obama and the Occupiers as the main villans of the piece.
Bane has been part of the Batman myths since 1993. Like all bat-villains, he represents part of Batman, in this case his physicality, unchecked. From what I’ve heard, in DKR, he talks like an Occutard.
If you follow the Animated Series canon, then by the time of “Batman Beyond” Bane, due to taking too much Venom “stimulus”, is a helpless and withered old husk and shadow of his former self. Makes you think, no?
We need a “You didn’t build that” stupid statement dance mix* pronto. Get on it, internet.
* http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/StupidStatementDanceMix
In his book “Capitalism and Freedom” (1962) Milton Friedman (1912-2006) advocated minimizing the role of government in a free market as a means of creating political and social freedom. An excerpt from an interview with Phil Donahue in 1979.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RWsx1X8PV_A
Washington76,
True dat. Freedom is freedom, whether in servitude or economics. There is either freedom… or there isn’t.
• • •
Dr Everett V. Scott’s Zeroth Law of Economics:
1. Government is force
2. Good ideas do not have to be forced on others
3. Bad ideas should not be forced on others
4. Liberty is necessary for the difference between good ideas and bad ideas to be revealed
You could pay $250,000 for an Econ education at Harvard and never learn the above. Every action taken by the Obama administration has been an attempt to sabotage those basic American economic truths, and thus restrict human liberty.
PROOF: Mitt Romney Is As Liberal As OBAMA!!!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i1fThdWagJ4&feature=player_detailpage
Bravo, Andy.
We’ve known each other a while and I have to say…you really do put the meat into your posts and you don’t hold back. That’s why I adore you.
You are a good man.
I think in the ends? Obama’s presidency will be (hopefully) a Laugh your arse off comedy tour.
And, perhaps…a very harsh lesson.