The billboard.


It said "For peace and prosperity", but what specifically was being advertised? The emblem looked like the "Ruptured Duck" discharge medal.

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prob some socialist union government propoganda decades ahead of this fool obama

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It was a common sentiment (and slogan) in the post-war years.

BTW, do you always knock the president when responding on film boards?
Isn't there enough space over at glen beck's site for you to vent your political frustrations?

..........we talk movies here, bubba...







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You tell 'im! Some di-kheads can't seem to keep their politics ( or religion, for that matter ) where it belongs.

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The sign is part of the background theme of the film, which seems to be a dark contemplation of the post-war years: can a working-class slob at the bottom of the hierarchy find a meaningful life in a social system that seems geared to crush him-- if not by war then by classism.


I'm sure our Obama-is-a-socialist mental giant poster would love a bit of class-based analysis.

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Hey folks,

With everyone piling on Francisbt, I don't mind sticking up for his sentiments. If you all do not recognize our nation has been steadily moving from a capitalistic economy to a socialistic society over the past 80 years, you are missing the barn by about 12 yards. No, I do not lay this problem at the feet of the Democrats, but rather, at the feet of the leftist Democrats and Republicans. Both parties are responsible for the unprecedented debt this nation now has.

What does this have to do with films? Films, like any other form of art, are used to push different agendas, and in recent years, the leftist folks seem to have the biggest hammer in the film industry. Henry Fonda and James Stewart have provided me with a lot of enjoyment in their films over many years, and while Fonda and Stewart were very close friends, they were also at different ends of the political and economic spectrums. Fonda was a leftist at heart, and "The Grapes of Wrath" was a leftist story and film. In spite of that fact, the book and the film are great stories and have been favorites of mine for over 50 years.

Francisbt's comments about the film and his tie in to Obama seem fair game to me. They certainly do not make for his being considered a "Bubba." Then again, maybe some folks would include me with the "Bubbas." Give the guy a break. He is entitled to give his opinion. Disagree with him if so motivated, but don't trash him for his opinions.

Best wishes,
Dave Wile






francisbt2003

prob some socialist union government propoganda decades ahead of this fool obama

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First, for a generation now, our deficit spending has exploded under Republicans and gone down under Democrats (as it has with Obama), so if you are so concerned about that, clearly you should vote Democrat.

Second, the idea that the nation has been moving toward socialism is so utterly divorced from any sense of objective reality, that that opinion itself is a good indication of the new, fact-free, editorialism-as-reality era that we have now entered. By any objective measure, the opposite is true. Since 1980, the gap between the wealthy, who have gotten richer, and the poor and middle class, who have gotten poorer, has steadily widened. We have been moving toward greater and greater income inequality and the much-vaunted middle class that built this country has steadily shrunken. That is not opinion; that is demonstrable economic fact.

And finally, in all of his policy positions, in the past Obama would have been considered to the right of Eisenhower. He is a conservative, middle-of-the-road, highly capitalist moderate. The idea that he is socialist is an absolutely absurd assertion, one that evinces the clear influence of the right-wing media. Part of this country has been shifting so far to the right in the last 10 years that ALL Republican moderates have left Congress, and positions that the GOP themselves advanced a mere three or four years ago, they now denounce as socialism. That is an undeniable indication of the goalposts constantly shifting to the right.

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Spot on analysis Local Hero that is thoughtful, knowledgeable and intelligent. I resent those trolls hi-jacking a discussion on movies though. Annoying!

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Yes! Thank you! Annoying.

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Great response. The country had just been through a world war and before that a depression. The billboards were some positive reinforcement.

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I lost the last 5 minutes of this film - it's driving me crazy - what happened?? Please let me know, thank you

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