August 23, 2024

‘Reagan’: The Movie

Hollywood’s leftists never give conservatives a fair shake, but a new movie about Ronald Reagan just might be different.

Hollywood loves to celebrate American political figures. From Kennedy to LBJ to Obama, our understanding of these leaders has been shaped to a large degree by what we see on the big screen or on television.

But Tinseltown doesn’t make many movies or shows about Republicans unless it’s through a leftist prism. When TV documentaries or movies do portray Republicans, it’s often done to distort their record or mock their character.

Later this month, though, a rare movie about one of our nation’s greatest presidents will open in theaters around the country. And that president happens to be a Republican. Titled “Reagan,” the movie’s website reads, “From dusty small-town roots, to the glitter of Hollywood, and then on to commanding the world stage, REAGAN is a cinematic journey of overcoming the odds.”

The short description alone makes it worth considering. After all, the Left has spent more than 40 years tearing down Reagan’s legacy, diminishing his contributions to domestic and global affairs, and portraying him as “an amiable dunce.”

The truth, of course, is that Reagan was both a visionary and a revolutionary, and his writings, as cataloged in the 2001 book Reagan, In His Own Hand, make this indisputably clear.

Despite this, objectivity isn’t to be expected in Hollywood. But the good news is that actors like Jon Voight and Dennis Quaid are starring in the film. Both Voight and Quaid are known for their criticism of Tinseltown’s entrenched political correctness and its blacklisting of conservative actors.

Quaid plays the role of Reagan, which gives the movie more credibility from the start. Quaid, after all, is well aware of the one-sided nature of Hollywood when it comes to telling stories of American historical figures. In a recent podcast, Quaid named one of the main problems with Hollywood today: “Everybody’s trying to be so politically correct. Back in the ‘70s, Hollywood may have been skewed to the Left, but everybody was trying to be politically incorrect back then. That was the thing, and it was an exciting time. We had a real dialogue with people instead of trying to fit into a mold.”

Quaid, who describes himself as an independent voter but is planning to vote for Donald Trump in 2024, isn’t the only prominent voice in the entertainment industry to express concerns about bias in Hollywood productions.

The World of Reel reports, “An assortment of filmmakers and actors have recently come out with practically the same conclusions as Quaid, including Quentin Tarantino, Terry Gilliam, Kenneth Lonergan, Paul Schrader, Martin McDonagh, Walter Hill, Vince Vaughn and Jerry Seinfeld, among others, who also railed [against] PC, woke, or whatever you want to call it, as stifling creative expression.”

They add, “Are all of these creatives correct? Has PC stifled movie quality? It’s no big secret that quality American filmmaking has been struggling this decade, and the major studios’ obsession with franchises has surely not helped. However, it’s not just the mainstream — indie filmmaking has also seen a dip in great films. There’s definitely the need to be less offensive, less edgy, in terms of storytelling and character. As a whole, people are now too scared to offend.”

The problem is that anything the Left doesn’t like is considered offensive, which constrains moviemaking into a narrow box of politically acceptable topics.

Quaid calls Reagan his favorite president, but “he was initially hesitant to take on the role of President Ronald Reagan, citing his iconic status and the challenge of portraying him authentically,” The Daily Wire reports. “The actor revealed that visiting Reagan’s ranch was a turning point in his decision to accept the role, and emphasized the importance of capturing Reagan’s essence beyond mere impersonation.”

From all accounts, it’s a movie worth seeing. But you may not have heard much about it. Quaid claims Facebook has censored ads for the movie as well as podcasts in which Quaid talks about his role in the production.

According to the Washington Examiner, “Eric McClellan, director of digital marketing for the Reagan film, had attempted to ‘boost’ an ad on the platform but discovered that he could publish the ad but could not turn it into a paid advertisement to garner a broader reach for the film.”

It’s not surprising. The Left will do anything to keep new generations of Americans from knowing the real Reagan and appreciating his leadership.

Longtime conservative columnist Cal Thomas writes, “If you are under 40, go see it and learn something beyond what biased historians and the media have said about the man. If you are over 40 and lived through his presidency, go see it and be reminded of what real leadership looks like and how one man, in collaboration with a British prime minister and a pope, helped bring freedom to millions in Eastern Europe and restored the faith of many Americans in their country.”

For those who might be discouraged that Reagan’s legacy has been tarnished over the years by the media, historians, and film producers, the film “Reagan” gives us hope that time will be on his side.


For more about our nation’s 40th president, visit our comprehensive resource page.

Who We Are

The Patriot Post is a highly acclaimed weekday digest of news analysis, policy and opinion written from the heartland — as opposed to the MSM’s ubiquitous Beltway echo chambers — for grassroots leaders nationwide. More

What We Offer

On the Web

We provide solid conservative perspective on the most important issues, including analysis, opinion columns, headline summaries, memes, cartoons and much more.

Via Email

Choose our full-length Digest or our quick-reading Snapshot for a summary of important news. We also offer Cartoons & Memes on Monday and Alexander’s column on Wednesday.

Our Mission

The Patriot Post is steadfast in our mission to extend the endowment of Liberty to the next generation by advocating for individual rights and responsibilities, supporting the restoration of constitutional limits on government and the judiciary, and promoting free enterprise, national defense and traditional American values. We are a rock-solid conservative touchstone for the expanding ranks of grassroots Americans Patriots from all walks of life. Our mission and operation budgets are not financed by any political or special interest groups, and to protect our editorial integrity, we accept no advertising. We are sustained solely by you. Please support The Patriot Fund today!


The Patriot Post and Patriot Foundation Trust, in keeping with our Military Mission of Service to our uniformed service members and veterans, are proud to support and promote the National Medal of Honor Heritage Center, the Congressional Medal of Honor Society, both the Honoring the Sacrifice and Warrior Freedom Service Dogs aiding wounded veterans, the National Veterans Entrepreneurship Program, the Folds of Honor outreach, and Officer Christian Fellowship, the Air University Foundation, and Naval War College Foundation, and the Naval Aviation Museum Foundation. "Greater love has no one than this, to lay down one's life for his friends." (John 15:13)

★ PUBLIUS ★

“Our cause is noble; it is the cause of mankind!” —George Washington

Please join us in prayer for our nation — that righteous leaders would rise and prevail and we would be united as Americans. Pray also for the protection of our Military Patriots, Veterans, First Responders, and their families. Please lift up your Patriot team and our mission to support and defend our Republic's Founding Principle of Liberty, that the fires of freedom would be ignited in the hearts and minds of our countrymen.

The Patriot Post is protected speech, as enumerated in the First Amendment and enforced by the Second Amendment of the Constitution of the United States of America, in accordance with the endowed and unalienable Rights of All Mankind.

Copyright © 2024 The Patriot Post. All Rights Reserved.

The Patriot Post does not support Internet Explorer. We recommend installing the latest version of Microsoft Edge, Mozilla Firefox, or Google Chrome.