Reaction To The Sarah Palin Documentary 'The Undefeated'

The feature length Sarah Palin documentary 'The Undefeated' directed by Stephen Bannon has not been well received.

In fact, many reports have indicated that the opening of the documentary in select theatres was poorly attended and was viewed as an 'infomercial' to advance her political agenda. In one article on the Atlantic, the documentary played to an empty theatre in Orange County.

The film, which portrays the former Alaska governor in a positive light has been an easy target for ridicule, but criticism in the industry has mounted, and it doesn't look very positive, especially when Razzies founder John Wilson adds his personal overview:

"She's the political equivalent of what the Razzies are all about."

However is there more to this failure than just a general dislike for Sarah Palin? Where was the marketing behind this movie? If people only hear about it being 'terrible' from major press outlets, of course they are not going to watch it.

Sarah Palin Documentary - The Undefeated

I think what happened here was that the documentary was always going to be panned because it was viewed from the word go as a creative 'infomercial'. Documentaries that are made with one side of the argument are controversial, and often divide critics because there is no counter-argument. People would have probably turned up if it had been more subjective and open from the start with various degrees of input, but this is not the case. I am sure there are positive and negative aspects to Sarah Palin that could have been juxtaposed in this documentary to make it more appealing, but the aim for Stephen Bannon was to show her positive side. While a brave move, audiences may not feel it paints the right picture with so much controversy surrounding her in the media.

What do you think? Is this a prelude to her presidential bid?