Boogie Man: The Lee Atwater Story
Boogie Man: The Lee Atwater Story
| 26 September 2008 (USA)
Boogie Man: The Lee Atwater Story Trailers

Boogie Man is a comprehensive look at political strategist, racist, and former Republican National Convention Committee chairman, Lee Atwater, who reinvigorated the Republican Party’s Southern Strategy to increase political support among white voters in the South by appealing to racism against African Americans. He mentored Karl Rove and George W. Bush and played a key role in the elections of Reagan and George H.W. Bush.

Reviews
Nat Williams

I expected this documentary to lean left. I expected it to show all of Lee Atwater's warts. I expected it to shine a harsh light on the dirty campaign tactics that define modern politics. However, I wasn't prepared for the severe leftward tilt of its content. Goodness, if only we had known how angelic Michael Dukakis was, we wouldn't have elected him president, we would have proclaimed him pope! Viewing this film it becomes obvious that his political views and poor campaign had absolutely nothing to do with his landslide defeat. It was all because of that awful man from South Carolina and the millions of sheep who were tricked into voting for the vice president! It's a shame there couldn't have been more balance instead of a litany of complaints from defeated opponents and a condemnation of many of the same tactics used by Democrats. I would have preferred a more rounded look at the man and of politics in general, where both sides have committed their share of bashing, scheming and pandering.

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Fara Gold

American politics at it's most revealing, in "Boogie Man: The Lee Atwater Story", illuminating the most destructive forces at work in American politics over the last thirty years.The media, candidates, personal friends and colleagues reveal a deeply troubled man, seeking power at all costs. Lee Atwater is a real bully in every sense of the word, using his somewhat smarmy southern charm to both make himself look like "every man", as well as, the candidates he represents.At one point, the conservative political strategist, Mary Matalin defends Atwater as "brilliant" and appears sentimental about her colleague and his unethical approaches to politics. In every clip, quote and historical reference Lee Atwater appears to be the Devil himself. The scariest part of this film, is seeing Rove groomed to be Atwater's successor.Rove can attribute every one of his devious political strategies to the mastermind evil genius of Lee Atwater. This film portrays the average American as a sentimentalist, carefully "played" at our most basic fears and prejudice.Watch this film and share it with others, to awaken your consciousness to what is truthful and real in the dirty world of American politics. What you hear in the next campaign slogan, should be considered carefully, as a probable misrepresentation of the truth.

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Bill357

I'm not being sarcastic. I really did enjoy this film!I know this was supposed to be a political hit piece but much like antiwar movies, it makes the supposed subject of scorn seem pretty cool, while the Democrats end up looking like the principal on Ferris Bueller's Day Off.The truth is that Democrats bow at the alter of political correctness and can't stand people who don't and (especially ones from the north) can barely hold their contempt for Southerners. Lee Atwater was both politically incorrect and a southerner and that drove them all bonkers.They couldn't take away the fact that the complete waste of humanity, Willie Horton, really was one scary dude that actually committed the crimes for which he was convicted. For some strange reason, liberals cannot handle seeing any black person criticized for any reason, even rape and murder! To this viewer it appears that Atwater and his cronies judged Horton on the content of his character and told it like it is. He was a scary murderer who was let out on a weekend furlough, under a program supported by Dukakis. The accusations of racism look more like sour grapes to me.I especially liked the end where after his supposed conversion to liberalism and eventual death, that he never read his bible and wasn't really sorry. He did die an SOB after all!

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abcdewey

The film is a fascinating look at a man who profoundly changed the tenor of modern political campaigns. Stefan Forbes does an excellent job of charting Lee Atwater's political life, and you get enough of the personal to get a sense of the complexities of the man. As you hear stories told by people who are still very active in politics today—Ed Rollins, Terry McAuliffe and Tucker Eskew —it's easy to make a connection between Atwater's political legacy and current election dramas . . . It's something to see Tucker Eskew speak with such glowing admiration of Lee Atwater knowing that he was recently hired by the McCain campaign!!!I really enjoyed the film—found it entertaining and enlightening.

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