#activemeasures

Active Measures | Documentary

Those who need to see the new documentary, “Active Measures,” won’t.

They prefer catchphrases like “Lock Her Up.”

Too bad they’ll never learn that the “Lock Her Up” catchphrase was recycled. It had worked in the Ukraine, when a very brave women spoke truth to power and the best those who opposed her could come up with was a catchphrase. And then she was locked up, by a thug Paul Manafort got elected. And the Ukrainian people revolted. But because that took place in a country far away from the “catchphrase-base,” they’ll miss the opportunity to learn something, which is sad.

It’s terribly sad those who need to see “Active Measures” would rather watch Anchor-Trolls, sharing lies and soundbit fear so they can feel righteous in their wrongness. That’s very sad.

As “Active Measures” could teach them, it was far cheaper for Putin to get a Russian friendly leader elected with a dirty “active measures” campaign than it was to build up his military.

“Putin sees himself as pulling the body of Russia out of the pile, the dustbin of history,” says former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in the film. “He wants to be the Tsar, he wants to be the richest man in the world. He wants to settle scores.”

In his quest for all that glitters, Putin and his addiction to power caused him to test his junkie logic in Estonia, Georgia and the Ukraine, before taking on the United States by backing an easy mark: a man with “shady morals,” as Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse notes. A man with a history of failure, until he was saved by the rubles. Saved by the boys of Brighton Beach. Alas, the “catchphrase-base” won’t know what that means because they won’t see the film. And that is sad.

IT’S KOMPROCATED

Those of us who’ve made investigating Trump-Russia our life’s work already knew the “Active Measures” backstory. We’ve watched the Zembla documentaries on “The Dubious Friends of Donald Trump,” which explained how the Russian mob pumped money into Trump’s orbit when no legit source would spare him a dime. We’ve watched the documentaries on Putin’s rise to power, and how he murders, imprisons and poisons those who interrupt his thieving flow.

But what “Active Measures” does brilliantly is weave all these “komprocated” storylines together in one neat package, so if anyone is interested in filling in the blanks, the gang’s all there.

The crew I roll with is a smart crowd: they’ll watch the film, we’ll have comforting conversations about what we already know, and we’ll recommend books to further our knowledge of facts, cementing them in our brains for posterity. And in case we ever run into someone who’s curious to know what actually happened in the era when lies became “truth” and truth became “lies,” we’ll have the answers. 

But the “catchphrase-base?” They’ll never learn how amazing Hillary Clinton is: her insights and ease in the documentary reveal her to be on par with the great leaders of our world. They’ll never get to hear the soft-spoken profundity of John McCain, as he shares his observations on Putin’s desire to undermine democracies globally.

DESTINED TO FAIL

Facts are comforting. When a world leader isn’t invited to weddings and funerals, we know it’s only a matter of time before he’s “destined to fail,” a line used by casino mogul Steve Wynn in the documentary when referencing Trump’s overscaling in Atlantic City. The center cannot hold. The revival rallies are getting less facetime. All the president’s* men are pleading out and/or going to jail one at a time. The law is winning.

THE SADDEST MEN 

And Putin is failing. His popularity is sinking. No matter how many journalists he murders, another one rises. Watch the eyes of the oligarchs in the documentary as Putin treats them like dogs. It’s only a matter of time. And Trump is failing. His popularity is sinking. No matter how many journalists he maligns, another one rises. Watch the eyes of the politicians around him as he treats them like dogs. It’s only a matter of time. 

THE FAILURE OF MANSPREADING

I’m looking forward to the “Active Measures” sequel: the story of how we put our fragile democracy back together again after these two sad men fail, despite their best laid “manspreading,” a term utilized by Hillary Clinton in the film. 

Indeed, it was never a love story: the mingling of two corrupt hearts never ends well.

And it will end. Because the strongmen are weak. And the people are strong. And that is the truth.

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Author Heidi Siegmund Cuda is an Emmy award-winning investigative producer, free press activist, mother and award-winning director, whose short film “Rigged: A Tail of Corruption” debuted at the Orcas Island Film Festival http://www.orcasfilmfest.com/rigged/.