Blog Wars (2006) (TV)

User Rating:

7.2/10   

Director:

James Rogan

Release Date:

28 December 2006 (USA)

Genre:

Documentary

Plot:

In 2004, political bloggers came of age. They propelled Howard Dean from fringe candidate to front-runner...

Cast

Bob Adams	...	Connecticut Bob
Beau Anderson	...	Spazeboy
John Aravosis	...	Himself
Keith Crane	...	Himself
Jane Hamsher	...	Herself
John Hinderaker	...	Himself
Christopher Hitchens	...	Himself
Charles Johnson	...	Himself
Ned Lamont	...	Himself
Joseph Lieberman	...	Himself
Michelle Malkin	...	Herself
Markos Moulitsas	...	Himself
Andrew Sullivan	...	Himself
Tom Swan	...	Tom Swan
Tim Tagaris	...	Himself

Runtime:

60 min

Country:

UK | USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Company:

Brook Lapping Productions

A good film to catch if you read or write political blogs as it makes good points and is tighter and more interesting than I expected

In 2004 political bloggers became an important factor in US politics. They helped Howard Dean move from a nobody to one of the main runners and also took on CBS News over the story of documents showing GW Bush getting an easy run in the military, essentially taking the story off the table. This documentary looks back at this formative time while also focusing on the Connecticut race for the senate in 2006, where liberal "netwoot" bloggers are a big part of making Ned Lamont a viable contender to incumbent Joe Liberman.

Considering how I spent my time on this site, it is perhaps ironic that I don't really read any blogs and have never written or contributed to any either. However the increasing power of the blog can be seen in them being featured in the Times or increasingly being brought into mainstream media and in looking at this power, this documentary is surprisingly interesting. For the majority of the running time, the focus on the Connecticut race allows this big world of ranting, debating, cataloguing etc to be examined at a level that makes sense. The film is at its best when it just documents the events across this period because it does make wider points while also showing the interesting actions which I was unaware of. The nature of the blogosphere is well shown in this example, with Lamont both strengthened and hurt by those acting in his name but without his control and I found it engaging and interesting (although not knowing what happened in the election probably helps).

The film is not as strong when it focuses on the people involved and it is telling that we don't get the detail of the blogs so much as just looking at their general impact. The people are not individually that interesting with Markos Moulitsas the only one that is really given a lot of time to provide insight. The film does well to balance the focus on the liberal blog with contributions from those on the right (and, although I don't agree with her political views, I did have to concede that Michelle Malkin is as stunning as she is well-spoken).

Overall then, not a perfect documentary but it does do a great of making this big world of blogs into an interesting subject. By stepping away from the nature of them and looking at their place within the bigger picture within a specific example the points are well made. The conclusion that the blogs are not yet all powerful but are certainly now a big part is in a way depressing (because of the polarising nature of the views in blogs) but also cheering in how it shows that the little guy can actually make a difference and is to be ignored at your peril. Regardless of your views, this is a good film to catch if you read or write political blogs.