Hot Docs: Mad As Hell

I am very excited to be reviewing a number of films from 2014 Hot Docs Film Festival.

Mad as Hell, directed by Andrew Napier, follows You Tube political icon Cenk Uygur  through his turbulent but triumphant transition from the early days of creating a public TV show, followed by being a national host for MSNBC, to the overwhelming success of his You Tube show, The Young Turks.

In law school, Cenk was a thorn in everyone’s side, always arguing and asking questions. After graduating, his passion for law sank and his desire for political commentary grew. Seeing all the injustices in the system, he had to do something about it, and something big.

There are many shocking moments, including in this doc that show a skewed reality of what its like to be on the inside of the political spectrum. Is it a bit on the conspiracy theory side? Perhaps, but Cenk pretty much tells it like it is, welcoming whatever repercussions may allude from his actions and risking it all, or as he states, “Balls to the Walls!”

Now that doesn’t always go so well when you’re bashing the President of the United States (Obama) for all the world to hear, but Cenk is not shy from sharing his opinions, on-air or off.

Some may feel that Cenk is boisterous and overly-opinionated, others may see this as yet another agenda, but I’ll leave that for you to decide.

Collaborating with other intelligent and driven news commentators, The Young Turks are indeed a family. Not your typical one by blood, but with those strong ties that bind. Sure, Cenk may need a little refinement from time to time, but the political landscape will never be the same and support continues to grow for getting out the truth.

Now with The Young Turks being to-date, the world’s most popular online news show with over one billion views, this is only the beginning and as crazy as his ideas might sound, there is one thing that everyone agrees on; Cenk wanted to change the world and he’s doing it.