Glenn Beck's Set Designs and Sci-Fi Hero Dreams

Glenn Beck's no longer bluffing. A few months ago, around the launch of his Fox News Channel program, he did a creepy segment with a somber rant bordering on hysteria... yeah, like that's any help narrowing it down. OK, but this one was different because throughout his speech, an odd close-up of his eyes loomed overhead or with him in split-screen.

To which people said, "Uh, what?"

Beck replied that the segment was something he wanted to do "because, quite honestly, we don't look each other in the eye anymore."

No. Quite honestly, you were doing it to imitate the totalitarian imagery that George Orwell and Ray Bradbury did so well. The intimidating screens for monitoring, the floating eyes -- it was immediately clear what he was doing. That he gave a lame excuse instead of admitting it isn't that big of a deal. People make lame excuses all the time. What's really weird is that now he's pointing the finger at the Obama administration and declaring they're "marching us to a brand of nonviolent fascism."

"Or to put it another way, they're marching us toward 1984. Big Brother."

So, Beck finally owns up to the real inspiration for his set design. Not some desire to tell it straight to the American people, but -- quite honestly, as Glenn would say -- to command the machines of his sci-fi fantasies. Last night, Beck performed his fascism spiel from the bottom of a movie-screen with gigantic, slow-moving images of the government officials who dominate him in his imagination. 'Fascists, all,' Beck's monitors say.

For what? For employing a Keynesian economic model? Orwell and Bradbury wrote what they did with concern toward censorship and civil liberties. No matter to Beck, who makes himself appear small in the presence of our supposed oppressors, like he is the hero who has valiantly broken into their control room and only has a minute to tell you -- and the world -- to rise up, to throw off your chains. Quick, before it's too late...

Keep dreaming, Glenn.

Comments

[SherryAnn]

Obviously, anyone reading Huffington is not pro-Glenn Beck. That's a given. I'm a conservati­ve....not a republican and although I wasn't particularly happy with the way Bush handled things during his administration, I don't think a person has to be a genius to see that things are starting to get weirder now in our country. I think Beck is the type of person who sees trends and he is seeing a scary trend with the Obama administration that is of concern. Bush was criticized for going into Iraq but we couldn't have invaded Iraq if Congress had not sanctioned it. And we had a Democratic Congress. Now, with the Obama administration, he is obviously attempting to have the government have its hand in everything­....you can't say that is not a scary thought. The more government rules things in our lives, the more we lose our freedoms. If people can't see that the reason America got where we are is because the government has pretty much stayed out of our lives. That allowed every man to run his life the way he wanted, to try to build a future, to start a business, to work a job and go to college. But when people sit back and complain that they don't have anything, the government should be trying to help those people to find ways to make a living, to find a job and provide for themselves. The government should not be in people's back pockets.

[georgefrancis]

He has a point, But he's leaving a lot of it out.

Seek the real truth HuffPosters.

[LMPE]

Fascism, eh?

Tell me, Glenn. What do you call the Bush administration's actions?

[SlashPrower]

"Enhanced democracy", no doubt.

[georgefrancis]

Puppetry.

[Cacaoatl]

Glenn Beck is the king of hyperbole, childish behavior, and faulty logic. I was in what passes for the political science section in either Barnes and Noble or Borders when out of curiosity I picked up "An Inconvenient Book". I was looking at the cover when I read a passage to the effect, "Al Gore claims that one of the effects of Global Warming will be the increase in sever weather. What he doesn't mention is that fewer people have died in natural disasters than ever before". If he is willing to allow that kind of logical fallacy on the jacket of his book, what does he have on the inside? More importantly, what does have Beck have inside? Is he deeper than he seems or his really as shallow and stupid as he comes across on his show?

[Diana]

He's really as shallow as he appears on the show. The reason for this is the powers that be--the Masters of the Universe--need a compliant, unquestioning dupe in order to work their magic.

(Given his fabulous stupidity, can anyone imagine beck earning a decent living, let alone becoming a multi-millionaire, without committing some sort of illegal/immoral activity?)

I've been around a while, and have always had an interest in the media vs. journalism. But I've never, ever been so scared as I am now in terms of the all-out propaganda assault that's going on, with Beck being a metaphor for the horror of it all.

But as cynical and questioning of the media as I've always been, I never envisioned that we would devolve into this. I simply can't imagine a force powerful enough to fight the 24/7 corporate-owned, 24-7, all-pervasive media.

[georgefrancis]

Yes, true, but what happens when the king of hyperbole, childish behavior, and faulty logic becomes aware of information that he is not allowed to tell us, because of him being a rodeo clown.

What does a rodeo clown do? Exactly what Glenn Beck does.

Seek the real truth HuffPosters.

[cobraxus]

I've stated this several times before but let me re-interate:The Glenn Beck Show appeals to pot-heads.­They can sit back light up and wind down while they giggle through this guy's nightly bizarro-ra­nts.It's no different than watching one of their own compadres suffer bad side-effects from his own usage and descending into paranoia and weepy delusionalisms.

[JScott]

It's not about being Orwellian, it's all about ME, GLENN BECK, SEE ME, SEE ME IN CLOSE UP!!!!

Such vanity.


Cue Carly Simon's song (we all know what it is).....

[measie]

All of the comments here seem to be saying the same thing: the writers don't approve of the violence inciting capability of shows like Glenn Beck, Rush Limbaugh; Bill O'Reilly, Hannity, etc. But how can these comments be forwarded on to the advertiser's so that they are heard? There must be some central clearing house where like minded folks could present "the other view". Or at least challenge the hate mongering views presented by Fox. I just hope that some "normal" media outlet puts together a daily video stream of anti-government, fear-inducing, and hate-speech filled video and audio clips of these clowns and plays them every single day. A pattern will emerge. Then maybe, just maybe, many people will stand up and say ENOUGH. It is clear that the Republican Party stands behind these media hate mongers. They let Limbaugh, Hannity and the others do the dirty work for them. Time to keep them linked together daily. Michael Moore can make a TV documentary.

[Brightsong]

Actually you can reach out to the advertisers directly and let them know you won't be turning on FOX as long as Glenn Beck is around. UPS recently pulled ads from O'Reilly's ridiculous show after he went too far. We do need to make hay about this!

For my part....I wrote a song which you can laugh or cry about here http://brightsong.typepad.com

and here is a lyric excerpt, which is as silly as Glenn Beck himself. Only diff is he makes a lot of money being a silly fool!

Copyright 2009 by Camille Bright-Smith with John Bright
All rights reserved

I’m down here in my bunker
Heart breaking while you cry
You are my foxy baby
You are my apple pie

I know Obama voters
Are costumed communists
Turned in my Rabbit Pearl
Savin’ myself for Beck

Don’t cry
Baby please don’t cry
GB please don’t cry
Baby please don’t cry

[Eykis]

What is Faux News putting him on for? Ratings. The ratings will go "over the top" the day he commits suicide on the air or some fringe lunatic goes on a rampage somewhere in middle America and kills half the town in the name of Beck? The majority of Faux News folks are generally as unhinged as Beck, Hannity is right behind him.

[johnsopinion]

they're "marching us to a brand of nonviolent fascism."

Fascism?

Why does no one ever demand that these people publicly
define their terms rather than just say, "Uh, what?"

[kctoad]

Glenn Beck and the rest of his right wing lunatic Fox fringe continue to promote hate and violence toward the President. Will any of these people or the network take responsibilty if one of their worshipers' directs violence toward the President , his family or a member of his administration?

[jacobomorales]

Promoting hate and ignorance, what republicans and their leaders/supporters do best!!

[jayburd]

This raving lunatic makes the fictional Howard Beale look positively sane in comparison.

In the words of Keith Olbermann, "Seriously, Glenn. See a doctor."

Seriously. This man needs a straight jacket, a room with padded walls and a huge dose of thorazine.

[ObamaOma]

Scary, pathetic man. He's losing it.

[unhhockey]

It's not that Glenn Beck scares me per se, rather that a large number of Fox automatons think he makes sense.

[mommadona]

He' s a strange man in a strange land of his own making.

And, he doesn't 'grok' a damn thing.

[FreelanceMinion]

No, I have alwys grokked that he does not grok. Perhaps he can be made to go away...

[JaneK13]

Please excuse my ignorance, but what does "grok" mean? I looked it up in the dictionary & could not find it. Is it foreign, or just a new fad word that I would not have heard because I'm old?
By the way, I see that Glenn Beck is on Fox -- is that the news channel of the American Idol channel? What time?

[surfcitysteven]

Kind of like "absorb". If you watch Fox news too much, the television will "grok" your essence and turn you into a rightie troll.

[MajorKong]

It's from the old Robert Heinlein scifi novel "Stranger in a Strange Land".