‘Vice’ Traces Dick Cheney’s Ascent From Yale Dropout To D.C. Power Player
Former Vice President Dick Cheney was the quintessential behind-the-scenes political power player. “He really has no signature speech — there’s no great Dick Cheney moment where he was in front of a pulpit delivering a great line,” says filmmaker Adam McKay. “He’s always kind of just been in the background.”
McKay aims to bring the powerful former vice president into the foreground in his new film, Vice, a dark comedy starring Christian Bale. The movie combines the work of investigative journalists with some speculation and comedy (McKay also directed Anchorman and The Big Short) to tell the story of Cheney’s ascent from Yale dropout, to West Wing operative under president George W. Bush.
“I think a lot of the ways that people like Cheney have gained power is that they rely on us being bored. They rely on us looking at what they do and assuming that it’s just bureaucracy and who cares?” McKay says. But, “when you really dig into it, it’s very exciting stuff. And it’s major stuff that changes the world.”
Gold falcon head
Gold and lapis lazuli jewel representing the head of Horus, the terminal from a collar, circa 1st millennium BC. Now in the Louvre. De Agostini Picture Library.
Brazil’s new far-right President Jair Bolsonaro lowered the minimum wage. He signed a decree that sets the minimum wage to 998 Brazilian reais (approximately US$257) from 1,006 Brazilian reais (approximately US$267) as estimated by former President Michel Temer.
This action will be transitory as it has to be approved by the Congress within the next 60 days.
Taking the helm of their ministries Wednesday, Bolsonaro’s cabinet unveiled sweeping plans to step up privatization, toughen prison sentencing guidelines, and hand control over Indigenous land to the Agriculture Ministry.
Former army captain Bolsonaro, whose election in October marked the rise of the far-right in Brazil, took office Tuesday saying he would free Latin America’s largest nation from “socialism and political correctness.”
Immediately after taking office, Bolsonaro signed an executive order removing policies aimed at protecting LGBTI rights in the country as part of his newly-elected government. The new Ministry of Women, Family, and Human Rights of Bolsonaro’s administration will not have the mandate to protect LGBTI community.
He also issued an executive order Wednesday making the Ministry of Agriculture responsible for deciding on lands inhabited by Indigenous peoples. The move will allow vested interests to exploit the Indigenous population and bring environmental disaster to its Amazon region.
Stela of Khonsu, Egyptian Art
Rogers Fund, 1921 Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Medium: Limestone, paint
