WaPo Finds the 'Fascist' In Michael Jackson, 'Transformers' Sequel

June 27th, 2009 11:06 PM

The Washington Post is still on the lookout for the reemergence of fascism, long after its World War II heyday. Here was a weird place to find it: in fashion writer Robin Givhan’s Saturday review of the styles of the late pop star Michael Jackson:

As his career progressed, Jackson became more enamored with militaristic style. He took on the look of a toy soldier ruling over a Willy Wonka empire....There were times when the military jackets were discomforting. When they turned dark and threatening and vaguely fascist and Jackson didn't seem to understand how the images resonated in the real world. That, after all, wasn't where he was fully living.

What do you want to bet she’s thinking about how it was "vaguely fascist" for Jackson to wear the "militaristic" duds and stand next to the Reagans at the White House?

Washington Post movie reviewer John Anderson, meanwhile, found fascism in the new "Transformers" movie, from the very top of the review on Wednesday:

With its fascist sensibility, assortment of smutty asides, illiterate gold-tooth-wearing homie robots and the hero's brainless mother, much of "Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen" is simply despicable. So complaining about one's physical discomfort seems petty. But given the relentless din, the Leni Riefenstahl-inspired music and the headache-inducing visuals, OSHA should probably be investigating the conditions under which human beings made this thing.

Anderson’s review concluded that the movie’s like a really bad fast-food factory:

In the current documentary "Food, Inc.," American gluttony and ill health are portrayed as being the result of a corporate force-feeding of a passive population. Such tactics aren't limited to food: At an inexplicable 2 1/2 hours, "Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen" is subscribing to the institutionalized conclusion that Americans don't care what you feed them, as long as the portions are dangling off the plate.

In its chattering, noisy, malnutritious excess, "Trans 2" is the studio version of a genetically modified, growth-hormone-enhanced chicken. Consume at your own risk.