Photo by Roger Smith
A Convenient Truth follows Assemblyman Coleman Burleson of California as he presents his plan to cure the ills of our country. From energy efficiency and our dependence on foreign oil to obesity, unemployment, and illegal immigration, Coleman is the man with the plan. The answer? Simple:
Strap the undocumented workers of California to electricity-generating bicycles.
There is an old saying in the film industry that admonishes if you want to send a message, call Western Union. This is not a message film, but it does present an absurd idea with such solemnity that it can’t help but catalyze thought with every chuckle. The issues raised do exist. The facts are real. And, in a world of seemingly ineffectual politicians, we have a story about someone who is going to do something about it – even if ignorance and sheer exuberance are his only tools.
Of course, Jonathan Swift’s oft-adapted A Modest Proposal has seen more than its share of parodies and alterations, but none has ever before been put into the film medium. Bringing the satire to a mass audience with culturally relevant issues is a truly exciting prospect. When Swift wrote the original in 1729 proposing that the people of Ireland eat their children to stave off starvation, he was nearly ostracized from the writing community because it was so well written that it was believed to be real. In that vein, this film will be a true satire with viral marketing and confusion tactics taking the forefront. Following the success of This is Spinal Tap! or even The Blair Witch Project, people will be unaware whether this film is a true documentary proposal to counter Al Gore’s An Inconvenient Truth or a piece of fiction.