“What was it propagandizing?”
I got the impression that the movie was a subliminal hit against “conservatives” who oppose the current president’s “progressive” agenda. Something about it rubbed me the wrong way. Maybe it was the presence of Sally Field who annoys the hell out of me.
She was horrible and the worst thing about it.
That is what the movie is really all about.
Spielberg used century-and-a-half-old events as a coded analogue for current events. Most here are fooled by his unfavorable treatment of Democrats. The viewer is lead to look through that feint to equate Obama with Lincoln.
The implication is that Obama, like Lincoln, should be given authority to take draconian action to save the Union through expanded Federal state powers, such as ObamaCare.
Far from seeing Spielberg's intent for what it was, numerous FR threads come alive with the customary litany of Southern grievances and Dixiecrat discussions. Meanwhile, Spielberg has communicated the subliminal message to the low-information citizen, like Obama's middle finger to his temple, and cognitive biases close the door to further discussion.
My current technique is to throw in a grenade to re-start their neurons. In this case it is: "Did you know that Martin Luther King was a Republican?" Then we discuss Jim Crow legislation, Robert Byrd, etc.