Trump presidency—life imitates art

Trump presidency—life imitates art

By Managing Editor

While no one was quite prepared for Donald Trump to win the Nov. 8 presidential election, it is a reality the world has to deal with.

With the policies, hate and divisive words Trump spewed throughout his campaign, he resembles a leader from a dystopian world much more than any U.S. president ever should.

Trump has said he wants to make Muslims in the U.S. register in a database, much like Senator Robert Kelly from 2000’s “X-Men,” who tried to pass the “Mutant Registration Act.” The act would have required mutants to reveal themselves and their abilities. Kelly used the guise of trying to protect the American people from “dangerous” people but was really only perpetuating fear and hate of a minority group.

That fear and hate can be a terrifying, and even violent, beast. Since Trump’s campaign started and now since his win, hate crimes against the groups he has targeted in speeches have increased nationwide, according to a Nov. 10 Guardian article. In The CW’s “The 100,” Charles Pike—a man who has only hate for the Earth natives, the Grounders—is chosen as chancellor of the Sky People who rejoined Earth after 97 years in space. He started a war with the Grounders when he led a team to ambush 300 of their Grounder allies. Pike incited a fear of the Grounders because they had customs and lifestyles that were different than his own, which led to his own demise and a sword to the stomach.

One of the most shocking and memorable promises Trump has made during his campaign is to build a wall on the Mexican-American border and have Mexico pay for it. With a fear of outsiders coming into a “great” America, Trump wants to close off the country to anyone who might disrupt that vision. Though Long Feng was not the real king of the Earth Nation city Ba Sing Se, the “Avatar: the Last Airbender” character was the closest adviser to the king who was able to use his influence to run the city. He used the walls around Ba Sing Se to keep up the illusion that the Hundred Year War wasn’t happening and keep the city a “utopia.” Even the king was in the dark about what was really going on in the world.

Pretending he knows what’s best for America, spreading lies about minority groups and even hiding things about himself—like his tax returns—Trump has tried to keep knowledge and truth out of people’s hands through banning news media from events. In both the novel and movie adaptation of “The Giver,” only one person is allowed to have all the knowledge of the past—the Receiver of Memory. When the new Receiver of Memory is chosen and decides to share his new knowledge of emotions, colors and history with his friend, the Chief Elder hunts him down. The Receiver thinks knowledge should not be limited and should be shared with everyone, and he is persecuted because of it.

It seems more and more every day that Trump modeled his campaign and will continue to model his presidency after the aspects of fictional totalitarian leaders. Hopefully, “The Purge” won’t actually be implemented in 2017 like it was in the movie to “keep America great” as the tagline of the third movie reads, which sounds eerily familiar.