Boogie Man: The Lee Atwater Story (2008)

User Rating:

7.8/10   

Director:

Stefan Forbes

Writer:

Stefan Forbes (written by)

Release Date:

26 September 2008 (USA)

Genre:

Documentary | Biography

Tagline:

"He taught the Democrats to sing the blues." -George H.W. Bush

Plot:

Boogie Man is a gripping political thriller about Lee Atwater, a blues-playing rogue whose rambunctious...

Plot Keywords:

Republican | Politics | Interview | George W. Bush | Republican Party

Awards:

1 nomination

Cast

Eric Alterman	...	Himself
Lee Atwater	...	Himself (archive footage)
George Bush	...	Himself (archive footage)
George W. Bush	...	Himself (archive footage)
Connie Chung	...	Herself (archive footage)
Joe Conason	...	Himself
Tom DeLay	...	Himself
Sam Donaldson	...	Himself
Michael Dukakis	...	Himself
Tucker Eskew	...	Himself
Howard Fineman	...	Himself
Bryant Gumbel	...	Himself (archive footage)
Willie Horton	...	Himself (archive footage)
Chuck Jackson	...	Himself
Mary Matalin	...	Herself
Terry McAuliffe	...	Himself
Jim McCabe	...	Himself
Robert D. Novak	...	Himself
Rich Peterson	...	Himself
Ronald Reagan	...	Himself (archive footage)
Ishmael Reed	...	Himself
Ed Rollins	...	Himself
Karl Rove	...	Himself (archive footage)
Joe Sligh	...	Himself
Roger Stone	...	Himself
Tom Turnipseed	...	Himself

Also Known As:

Boogie Man (Australia) (TV title)

Runtime:

86 min | UK:90 min

Country:

USA | UK

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Certification:

Australia:M

Company:

InterPositive Media

Movie Connections:

Edited into "Frontline: Boogie Man: The Lee Atwater Story (#26.14)" (2008)

All in the game

Much of what is worst in American politics is on display in the career of Lee Atwater, a bogeyman for Democrats he put to the sword with underhand tactics both offensive and dishonest. Two interesting things emerge from this documentary: firstly, that far from being an ideologue, Atwater played the game for its own sake, with a ruthless cynicism so naked as to almost be disarming: sometimes it's easy to love an unashamed rogue, even if that rogue does more harm than a conventional hypocrite. Secondly, although Atwater died (of a brain tumour) in the early 1990s, in many ways, George W. Bush is Atwater's legacy; and indeed, Karl Rove was Atwater's protégé. Michael Dukakis, floored by Atwater's dirtiest campaign, is an interesting interviewee here: he comes across as naive in expecting anything better, and maybe that's the saddest aspect of the way that Atwater changed politics. It's probably mistaken to assign too much influence to one man; but it's also possible to fear that the demon of spin will never return to the box.