Skip to main content

tv   The Mehdi Hasan Show  MSNBC  May 1, 2022 8:00pm-9:00pm PDT

8:00 pm
that is all the time after today, i'll see you back here next week and 6 pm eastern for more american voices. but for now, i handed over to many hassan. hello mehdi. >> thank you very much, look for things to eat. and goods to buckle stinger show, we missed you. >> thank you, i missed you, i missed the audience, i missed being here. i'm happy to be back. >> i am sure. they're delighted to have you back, and thanks for your work this evening. have a great rest of your sunday night. >> thank you. >> tonight on the mehdi hasan show, the michigan gop has to 2020 election deniers on the ballot this november, and they can hand the next election to donald trump. michigan secretary of state is here to respond, it's a big deal. plus, nancy pelosi's surprise visit, the speaker of the house makes an unannounced trip to meet with president zelenskyy, we're live in kyiv with the latest. and 20 years on what beckham is still such an iconic and important movie.
8:01 pm
i'll be joined by award winning narrator gurinder chadha. ♪ ♪ ♪ >> good evening. i am mehdi hasan. in america, in 2022, there are people who believe that yoga is a satanic ritual. people who like an abortion to human sacrifice. people who claim that beyoncé, yes the queen herself, this quote, working overtime to pull more black americans into patriotism. let's face it, if you saw anyone holding up signs, sharing these conspiracy theories and matt statements on the media and outside your grocery store, you look at the other direction and drive away as quickly as you could. but in america, and the year 2022, every one of these outlandish and alarming beliefs belong to the official republican candidate looking to oversee elections in the crucial swing state of michigan. meet christina karamo, the trump backed election denier who was nominated last week at
8:02 pm
the michigan gop's choice for secretary of state. and at a convention that was steamrolled by the maga movement. earlier this month, at a trump rally in michigan, karamo, that would be secretary of state for michigan, refused to tell nbc that joe biden won in michigan in 2020. >> you don't disagree with a statement that joe biden won michigan? >> i'm not going to comment on that. i personally witnessed illegal ballots being cast. you're >> not willing to say that joe biden won the michigan election? >> i will say this, i personally witnessed illegal ballots being cast. and i think instead of trying to pigeonhole me into a position about that, i think -- that's what you should scrutinize more so than what i personally think about that because i myself witnessed illegal ballots being cast. other people witnessed illegal ballots being cast, and when we testified before the oversight committee -- >> but every single county
8:03 pm
clerk, every single board of canvassers certify the election -- >> just because they certified it doesn't mean i didn't witness illegal activity. how good day. >> i said, good day! christina karamo just might be the one person in this country who talks faster than i do, which is saying something. what else can i tell you about karamo? she's never held elected office. she opposite the teaching of evolution, maybe that's why she has called public schools, quote, government indoctrination camps. no, i'm not getting! and she alleges that insurrectionists at the capitol on january 6th where anti-for, meaning posing as right-wing trump supporters. and i'm not saying that karamo was the only extreme republican in the race to be on the ballot for michigan secretary of state in november, which is the only one with a quarter million dollar or just of the only one preferred by trump, which catapulted her to the front of the pack, along with fellow election denied republican nominee, matthew deperno. he's running for state attorney general, the tax lawyer has also never heard elected office, and wants to lock up the
8:04 pm
current attorney general, dana nessel. charming! their rapid rise, karamo and deperno's turn the michigan gop apart, the smallest violence in the world. with the parties old guard distinct where the party is heading. one prominent michigan republican quit the state party republican board despite this close ties to former trump education secretary, betsy devos, calling trump a deranged narcissist in his resignation letter. he said it publicly. the problem is you can put the toothpicks back to the tube once you've squeezed out. it's impossible. the republican party is the party of trump now. if modern publicans quote unquote ever really did have a chance to stop trump and i'm not sure that they did, their window of opportunity is closed. you can't embrace the guy, so long as he's bringing you massive tax cuts and back in federal court to a lifetime conservative judge, and then suddenly be alarmed he's
8:05 pm
positioning extremist conspiracists candidates, to help him steal future elections, or autocracy isn't an à la carte menu. and that's why, what's happening in michigan right now is a national story. as michigan as one second position to be one of the key swing states that will decide the next presidential election. and trump's chosen candidate for secretary of state is the one that's closer to overseeing the count. for years now, if something this is happening is an american policy, especially on the right-wing, has been out of the trend. for instance, when michigan's democratic governor extended a stay-at-home order during the early days of the pandemic, hundreds of armed protesters stormed the michigan state capital, demanding an immediate end to the order. they even try to enter that isolated chamber, chanting, that is in! it was a chaotic scene that preface what would unfold in washington, d. c., just eight months later. so pay close attention to michigan. pay close attention to the michigan secretary of state race. because what happens in michigan politics definitely won't stay in michigan. nothing less than the future of
8:06 pm
american democracy is on the line right now. joining us now to talk about this is the democrat that kristina karamo is trying to unseat, michigan secretary of state jocelyn benson. last week, she was ordered a jfk profiles in courage award, along with volodymyr zelenskyy and others. the committee praised her for not wavering in the face of protesters who would even gather outside of her house, and called her a traitor for refusing to back down and reverse the results of the 2020 presidential election. secretary benson, thanks for coming back on this show. i know this is hypothetical, and it's hard to think about it. but i have to ask you this question, if you lose the secretary of state race to this extremist gop candidate, do you fear it will be an automatic win for donald trump, or for ron desantis in michigan, come 2024? that she will just hand that state to her party, no matter how michigan voters vote? >> yes, first, thank you for having me in for covering this important issue so clearly.
8:07 pm
actually what is happening in michigan is a microcosm for the country, because this fall, voters in several states will be selecting secretaries of state, chief election officers, who will determine. and he will oversee elections in 2024. where the same individuals who pulled various levers in 2020, to try to overturn election results, including putting pressure on secretaries of state to do so like in georgia. those will be attempted again. so what is happening is a clear national campaign, nationally coordinated, based on conspiracy theories and lies, to get voters to select individuals, like my opponent, who will be more than willing to, and where these positions, refused to certify election results that they disagree with. they want my collection changes prior to an election day, that confuse voters and make it more difficult for crooks to run our elections. and they will also use these increasingly high-profile platforms, that secretaries of state, despite false information about our election system, an order to have additional stopped amongst citizens about the security and integrity about the process,
8:08 pm
and to scare voters from believing in or participating in democracy at all. that is why we say, democracy is at stake in these elections. >> so, you are on the frontline of the fight for democracy. it's at the state and local level that these big lie gop candidates have the most chances, the most energy. do you feel let down by the democratic colleagues, when capitol hill and the senate who failed to pass a freedom to vote and john lewis bills, and have just moved on to other things, leaving you and michigan and american democracy exposed? >> yes, it was a missed opportunity, to be sure. it wasn't the first or last opportunity they'll have to help us in this states protective democracy. we've asked, for example,
8:09 pm
federal funding, increased funding in our elections. we've asked for changes to the electoral contact to protect against election subversion that was attempted in 2020 from happening again. so there's more that they can do. the fight is not over. but make no mistake, the fight has certainly shifted to states like michigan, where voters over the next six months will be at the center of our storms like a decision in my race, as to who will oversee elections in 2024, which will have steep ramifications for our democracy. >> so that trump-ification of the michigan gop is not just poisoning the world of republican politics. it hasn't even been two weeks
8:10 pm
since democratic state senator moreau gave her viral searing speech, responding to republican colleague who falsely accused her of grooming children for abuse. how do you carry on fighting back? relentlessly against misinformation, when it's so outrageous, yet still so widely believed in places like michigan? >> yeah, and it's growing. it's increasing. it's reflected in these endorsements of the candidate she spoke of and my opponent.
8:11 pm
speak now or forever hold your peace. (emu squawks) (the crowd gasps) no, kevin, no! not today. only pay for what you need. ♪ liberty. liberty. liberty. liberty. ♪ it's time to get outdoorsy. only pay for what you need. it's hot! and wayfair has got just what you need. we need a rug. that's the one. yeah. yeah we're getting outdoorsy.
8:12 pm
save on outdoorsy furniture, decor, and more. you're so outdoorsy honey. what are you... spend less on everything outdoorsy at wayfair. ♪ wayfair you've got just what i need ♪ does daily stress leave you feeling out of sync? new dove men stress-relief body wash... with a plant-based adaptogen, helps alleviate stress on skin. so you can get back in sync. new dove men. a restorative shower for body and mind. this is a game changer who dares to be fearless even when her bladder leaks. our softest, smoothest fabric keeping her comfortable, protected and undeniably sleek. depend. the only thing stronger than us, is you. why give your family just any eggs when they can enjoy the best? eggland's best. the only eggs with more fresh and delicious taste. plus, superior nutrition.
8:13 pm
which is now more important than ever. because the way we care... is anything but ordinary. only eggland's best. ♪♪ >> america stands firmly with
8:14 pm
ukraine. that was how speaker nancy pelosi's message today, after meeting with ukrainian president, volodymyr zelenskyy.
8:15 pm
it's all part of her surprise visit to kyiv this week and, with members of a congressional delegation. speaker pelosi is now the highest ranking u.s. official to visit ukraine during this war. congressman adam schiff joined speaker pelosi in kyiv and said this about their trip earlier on msnbc. >> it was really, i think, an important opportunity to speak directly to president zelenskyy. and as well show support by having the speaker of the united states congress, as well as a delegation of the board committees, come to kyiv to meet with him, discuss how the war is proceeding and what more we could do to help. >> nbc's cal perry is in kyiv for us. cal, what more can you tell us about this surprise congressional delegation to kyiv. and the reaction to it from the ukrainians. >> according to the presidents office they put out a read out earlier, and it was more than
8:16 pm
four hours long. we understand that it centered around two things. possible continuation, and i should say, expansion of sanctions on russia by the u. s. congress. and then of course, more military aid, and specifics on exactly the kind of weapons that ukraine has been asking for. of course, this visit punctuating the 33 billion dollars of military aid that has been earmarked for ukraine 's unprecedented and in any number of ways, the least of which are the kinds of weapons that they're sending here. the u.s. recently sending these howitzers artillery pieces. this is something that the president has been asking for, something that he says they need in the eastern part of the country, as we continue to see fighting over there. the backdrop to this visit, and what we've been hearing a lot from ukrainian officials, and people around the world really, the situation in mariupol. there was finally an evacuation there today, of at least 100
8:17 pm
citizens, civilians, according to the ukrainian president. and we have this new video that was provided through the ukrainian defense forces. we can't independently verify when this video shot. though it does seem to correlate with the evacuation that we heard took place today. that was created by the red cross, this video showing ukraine defense force this actually getting civilians out of this steel plant. this steel plant has been the focus of much attention here and around the world. of course, they're still thousands of people sort of in and around this compound, including 600 civilians, we are told, who are wounded. as well as 600 ukrainian defense force fires that we are told are wounded. this is the first bid of success, mehdi, that we've had here in and around that site, getting those people out. certainly, officials are hoping this could be the sign out of we could see continued evacuations throughout the week, mehdi. >> cal perry, thank you for the update. and please do stay safe. >> coming up, is ukraine a reminder that u.s. foreign policy isn't at all consistent at issues like freedom and democracy?
8:18 pm
i'll ask political analyst peter beinart, but first, richard louis is here with the headlines. hello, richard. >> mehdi, very good evening to you. some stories we're watching for you this hour. police fatally shooting one of the suspects involved in alleged gunfire. that was just outside jackson, mississippi. authorities saying several shooters exchanged gunfire during saturday's, five people were transported to local hospitals with injuries, nothing rest has been announced so far. at least two confirmed tornadoes ripped through the wichita kansas area. the storms damaged hundreds of buildings and thousands without power. at least four people were also injured. fortunately, none of the injuries are important to be life-threatening. and several european countries are easing coronavirus travel restrictions. these boarding flights are, rather, those boarding flights will no longer have to show proof of vaccinations or negative covid test. and italy is dropping what vaccination requirements for entering public venues like restaurants, cinemas and gyms. more of the mehdi hasan show, right after this.
8:19 pm
translation: the mercedes of your dreams is closer than you think.
8:20 pm
welcome to allstate. where you can bundle home and auto insurance. right, frank?
8:21 pm
i saved 25%. booyah. and now you're relaxing! we're working from home. save up to 25% when you bundle home and auto with allstate. okay everyone, our mission is to provide complete balanced nutrition for strength and energy. woo hoo! ensure, complete balanced nutrition with 27 vitamins and minerals. and ensure complete with 30 grams of protein. ♪ ♪
8:22 pm
here's to real flavors... real meals. real good. all of knorr's high quality pasta and rice sides are now made with no artificial flavors or preservatives. knorr. taste for good. >> speaker pelosi's visit to
8:23 pm
kyiv this week and, signals a deepening u.s. commitment to ukraine. at a time when russia has struggled to make much progress and its offensive in the separatist-controlled east, and sent its highest ranking uniformed officer, general valerie gerasimov, to the front line there. they last week, according to both u.s. and ukrainian officials, a big deal for russia to do that. but, question. how does this war and? through military victory or diplomatic negotiations? and how can the united states take its loud message of freedom and democracy for ukraine, and apply it to other parts of the world, where we're often not on the side of those two principles, sadly? joining me now to discuss all of this and more is peter beinart, author of the peter beinart news there, and an msnbc political analyst. peter, thanks for coming back on the show. you have a u.s. congressional delegation in kyiv today, a 33 billion dollar aid package i,
8:24 pm
think, it is for ukraine, proposed by this president. the country making it very clear, the u.s., that we are 100 and 10% behind ukrainian government in this war. is that the right posture in your view, because there are some who would say we have to be more realistic, sadly? there is no military solution to this conflict which the ukrainians come out on top and get their entire country back. so is a negotiated solution backed by the u.s. the only way to end this carnage? or is it the right thing to do to keep giving ukrainians as much arms as they need? >> i think we have to do both. we want to support the ukrainians as much as possible, so that ultimate settlement, not ultimate deal is as just as it can be, knowing that it will never be fully robust, given the power imbalance. what worries me is not the military support, it's the fact that the u.s. has signaled in various ways, that its goal now is not simply to make sure that
8:25 pm
ukraine can stay a sovereign, independent country, but to use this to weaken russia, to use this as a kind of a front in a larger cold war, against russia. that worries me, it seems, it makes this about much more than ukraine, and it actually seems to be it makes it harder and less likely that putin is gonna make the kind of ultimate deal that we need to, if he thinks that the u.s. is just using ukraine as a proxy, in an effort to try to make russia a week or nation. >> when i mention proxy wars, a few weeks back on this show on peacock, a lot of people criticize me on social media, saying, this is not a proxy war! this is defending ukraine against illegal invasion, which is true, but even former secretary of defense on obama, called a proxy war several years ago, and now as you point out, defy secretary austin when he was in kyiv was talking openly about degrading the russian military. that should be, you know, beyond, beyond defending ukraine. i think there is a difference between defending ukraine and trying to defeat russia. and i think conflating the two is not always helpful. i was at the white house correspondents dinner last night, peter, where there was this tribute to the people of ukraine, both from the organizers, and from the
8:26 pm
president, which is good to hear and see. but at what point do we, as a country, say we also offer our support to all people fighting repression it occupation, not just brave ukrainians, because in places like yemen, and the occupied palestinian territories, we are not on the side of those people, are we? our allies are the ones doing the oppressing and occupying in those places. >> absolutely. i mean, we've been reminded in ukraine that there are certain fundamental principles about the way countries conduct themselves. they are unbelievably precious. you can hold them international law, you can call them route international liberal older that sometimes the biden administration. but they go down to a couple of things. first of all, you can't attack a country, if it doesn't pose an immediate threat to you. and even if you do attack it, you can't randomly just massacre large numbers of
8:27 pm
civilians. and yet, that is what the united arab era and saudi arabia have been doing for years now in yemen, with u.s. bombs. we know now that in the state department, the state department's legal advisers worrying that u.s. officials could be charged with war crimes, the very kinds of things we're talking about now charging putin with war crimes. our own government lawyers are ready to charge work rhymes, because we are supplying those bombs to saudi arabia and the uae, who have contributed to making yemen the worst humanitarian crisis in the world. so, if we're gonna lecture russia, and we should lecture russia, we should also hear our own order, and yemen is one of the places to do. >> yeah, we had senator ben cardin, democratic senator for maryland on the show. i asked him, should we sign up to the international criminal court, if you want to talk about trying vladimir putin? should we set an example by joining -- he said, no, he wasn't interested. even now, he said, we can have and --
8:28 pm
not the icc. and i know all democratic's have to disagree with him, but there's still a big tendency even within the democratic party, to not join the icc, which is bizarre. beat, let me ask you, is the saudi crown prince -- go on. >> america's a little bit like a family, that is incredibly angry about the things that are happening in the house next door. and it should be angry. it wants to prevent those abuses from happening. and yet, there is much less comfortable looking at what's happening in its own house. i mean, if you look in ukraine, where it's been occupied by russian out since 2014. the west bank, the palestinians in the west bank in gaza have been occupied by israel since 1967. it's an absolute clear case of a violation of international law, for a much longer period of time, called apartheid by israel's own two leading human rights organizations, and the u.s. still gives unconditional, military aid to israel, to allow that to continue. and then, americans are surprised that people allowing around the world see us as hypocrites! they see things that we need to be able to see better rights organizations, and the u.s. still gives unconditional, military aid to israel, to allow that to continue. and then, americans are surprised that people allowing around the world see us as
8:29 pm
hypocrites! they see things that we need to be able to see better ourselves. >> well said. what's so fascinating is that we're now at a point where the argument in favor of some of our alliances was, look, human rights are important. democracy is important. with american interests are more important. but we're not even getting into the american interests, in our favor either. you have the saudi crown prince not pump much oil as the biden ministration might like, reportedly dressing down the national security adviser jake sullivan in person, and refusing to take president biden's calls, i think the white house has denied that. you have the israelis blocking the u.s. from reopening its own consulate in jerusalem, and not fully back in the u.s. position on ukraine. these are our middle east allies, top allies, the state of israel in the kingdom of saudi arabia, we funded and arm them. what exactly do we get in return again? >> i think that, whatever we
8:30 pm
got in return, it certainly doesn't justify the u.s. violating its own core principles, because that ultimately violates the u.s. interests. if we are heading into another kind of cold war environment, against russia and china, over the long term, one of the key determinants is going to be, do people see the united states as a different kind of superpower than they see china and russia? they never see us as perfect, but do they make the kind of distinction that some people ended up making by the end of the cold war, saying you know what, the united states is not that take the same western europe's, and the same way they behaved in eastern europe. to do that, we have to show again, not that we can ever be perfect, but we have to show that we take at least to some degree, seriously, and that the international principles that we are talking about so passionately in ukraine, and we are not doing that at all vis-à-vis the saudis or the israelis or other u.s. allies. in fact, we simply, we give them an absolute carte blanche
8:31 pm
to do things that violate the exact same principles, in moral principles, between four so strongly about in ukraine. >> do you think, peter, that there's any sign of positive change? because you and i have discussed stuff like this for many years now. we've written about it. do you think things are changing, not just because of ukraine, but they're changing because of that democratic on party in congress. you have members of the squat talking much more openly about things like the occupation of the west bank, issues like selling arms to saudi arabia. you have the democratic party voter base, according to the polls, is much more interested in things you've been talking about like human rights, and inconsistency abroad. is there change, is there enough change? where you stand on the democratic party right now one comes to foreign policy debates? >> there's a lot of change at the grassroots. a lot less in washington. and the question is whether those grassroots will create the kind of moral movement that we've seen in other moments in american history. the apartheid movement, for instance. remember, the u.s. was a very
8:32 pm
strong backer off south africa, the apartheid government of south africa for a long time. the u.s. called the african national congress a terrorist organization, for many, many, many years. but it's a grassroots efforts by americans who saw that we were implicated in an injustice. we're further along, i think, vis-à-vis that on yemen, and we are on israel and palestine. but whenever people go to see for themselves what palestinian life is like under israeli control in the west bank, life without any basic rights, for more than 50 years, they come back asking the same question, how can our government be supporting this unconditionally, and claim that it believes in human rights? >> last question before we run out of time. you think we're gonna see a sudden change in d. c.? you think we're gonna see any change from the biden administration, when it comes to major policy issues between now in 2024? >> i have very little hope, honestly, for the biden administration on israel palestine, and saudi arabia. unless pushed by the american
8:33 pm
people. these things always happen from the bottom up, not the top down. if we had people, people all over america you know, flying flags for the ukrainians, showing their solidarity. and politicians listen to that. if we had people showing the same kind of solidarity with palestinians, with the yemenis, with people in western sahara, with people who have been denied the same basic right to self-determination, individual freedom, the people in ukraine are being denied, then i think it will get the biden administration's attention. >> very well put, and i think you're right about that. i think the problem of course is partly that a lot of americans aren't aware of what's happening in places like yemen and the western sahara and the occupied territories, which is why it's important to have conversations like this one. peter beinart, the thank you so much for your analysis. appreciate it. >> thank you. >> we'd love to have you again on the show. >> coming up, the best moment from the white house correspondents dinner. plus, you can now listen to the
8:34 pm
mehdi hasan show on the go anytime, free wherever you get your podcast. ♪ ♪ ♪
8:35 pm
8:36 pm
8:37 pm
>> so, i went to the white house correspondents dinner in washington d. c. last night, for the first time. it was an interesting, funny, weird experience. all of people there. 2600 people. it was the first correspondents
8:38 pm
dinner for three years thanks to the pandemic, and the first time in six years that a president and a comedian shared the stage. not since larry welmore ended that is that with a deeply personal standoff to break obama in 2016. a lot of change and with our politics and comedy since then. no, one including msnbc, was left unscathed last night in the set from daily show host trevor noah. we also singled out a five-year republican affair a few times. >> what if i make like a really mean joke? about like kellyanne conway and her husband rushes up on the stage on thanks me. nobody knew how to make vaccines until i made them. beautiful, beautiful vaccines. but i like about ron desantis's if trump was the original terminator, desantis is t 1,000. you're smarter than him, you're slicker than him, you can walk down ramps. >> even president biden found
8:39 pm
himself in no sites. >> i was a little confused, but i was told you get your highest approval rates on biracial african guy sits next to you. ever since you came into office, things are really looking up. gas is up, rent is, up food is up. everything. not to mention, no presidents in mind memory has given more marginalized groups opportunities. i'm talking about women, lgbtq community, the taliban, the list goes on and on. >> but the most memorable part of trevor noah set was his closing message to the reporters in the room where he challenged them to use their first amendment rights, their unique freedom in this country, for goods. for serious stuff. >> as we sit in this room tonight, people, i really hope you all remember was the real purpose of this evening as. yes it's fine, yes we just, nice but the reason we are here is to honor and celebrate our states.
8:40 pm
and we stand for. what you stand for. an additional check and balance that hold power to account and gives voice to those who otherwise wouldn't have them. -- [applause] i'm not just talking about like cnn or fox or any of the other major organizations, i'm talking about everyone. they are in journalists we saw today. and trump in journalist who aren't in this room, in flint, michigan, northern flinching new boston apostle, texas. every single one of you, whether you're elected or not, is a bastion for democracy. >> well said, trevor noah. next, the award-winning director of the iconic mended like beckham joins me to discuss the 20th birthday of that classic, brilliant movie. ♪ ♪ ♪
8:41 pm
8:42 pm
8:43 pm
8:44 pm
♪ ♪ ♪ >> 20 years ago, a lot mark
8:45 pm
from there was a release and level a big impression on me back then at a young british south asian. in april 2002, the wonderfully named, blended like beckham, premiered in the uk. and the world was introduced the daughter of indian immigrants living in london who was caught between her dream of playing professional soccer, and the expectations of her street by little parents. the movie grows more than $70 million of the box office, became the first ever wasn't made from the be shown in totalitarian north korea. >> i don't have to be go to football. there was a scout from america there today. and he's offered me a place at a top university with a free scholarship and a chance to play football professionally. >> the films lasting impact was somebody this month by cultural writer catherine saying, and the like become is the first piece of what and we're showing
8:46 pm
itself was asian girl who not only could exist between two cultures, it can be seen on screen and in real life long before hollywood caught up. and thrilled to be joined now by the director, gurinder chadha. thanks for joining me, a pleasure to have you on the show. before we go forward, i want to warn everyone that i will be referring to it as football. this movie, bundling beckham, 20 years old, still so iconic today, still so fondly remembered globally. my senior producer and i, we're just reminiscing about it this morning. how would you define it as a movie? is it a movie about sport, or about race relations, or about identity, coming of age, romance, comedy, but is bundle like beckham? >> i think bend it like beckham
8:47 pm
is a british film that really touches on what british culture is. and it was then, when i made it, and it absolutely is how it is today. , and it feels like a very diverse movie that covers a lot of ground in terms of sport, female empowerment, sexuality, culture, racism, everything. but you type it altogether, and it's a vague contemporary british film. it speaks to people all over the world. >> yes, how much that it mattered back in 2002 but this was a movie directed by an asian woman, you, and starting as the lead role and asian woman? how unprecedented was that? and how hard was that for you to pull off at the time? >> well, it's so unprecedented that it's rarely happens, even today, 20 years later. it was really hard. when i first suggested that i want to make this movie, that i thought would do well. there was the zeitgeist. i can see things changing in
8:48 pm
britain in terms of nationality and national identity and i thought this put an indian girl in the heart of british soccer. and creates this drama from the center. and everyone was laughing at me inside, are you mad? no one wants to watch a film about an indian girl that likes football. and a lot of people, you know, they thought it was never gonna work. in fact, one of the major bits of financing that i really needed was from the uk from council. and someone tip me off, recommending that the film doesn't get financed because, he said, there will never be an indian girl that can bend the ball like david beckham. i was like, harrison ford jumped out of helicopters! >> you struggled with financing, but the film made a lot of
8:49 pm
people a lot of money. let me ask you this, how much do you think the portrayal of brown people and hollywood has improved over the last 20 years? brown people now, even in marvel superhero movies, and miss marvell on disney+ very soon. when i was growing up, the only brown people you saw on the screen where either snake charm or an indiana jones movies, or a terrorist on planes in chuck norris movies. >> yeah, i think it's very gratifying to see as many different kinds of actors in so many different movies, although we still have a long way to go. my contention is, by the like beckham's a phone made from the inside looking out. there are references, their culture references that if you come from the same background as me, or similar background, you get those references. and if you don't, it doesn't matter. another thing, for able to have hollywood on other companies finance our films, when they
8:50 pm
come from our cultural point of view. because hollywood isn't cultural point of view. it's often a very male point of view. and that doesn't mean that we all have to go, oh my god, how my gonna relate to this, i'm not now? it's the same. i made a film that invited you to come into the home of a british asian family, sit at their table, and understand their dilemmas, their struggles, and when he realizes how universal that was for everybody. >> yeah, and i think the cultural references, i know you say the prince of the movie are based lightly on your own parents, but it could be my parents, the parents of many people i know. who grew up in the uk. actually, i'm sure a lot of minority communities enjoyed it, not just d. c. communities. that sounds like our friends to. i have to ask, though, are you
8:51 pm
surprised are not surprised that it was the white supporting actor, not the wrong lead actor, who went on to become the global superstar, karen nightly? >> well, i was disheartened, but not surprised. i mean, i have to say that kira exuded an awful lot of charisma and charm, and so it wasn't surprising that she got picked up very quickly into the pirates of the caribbean movies. but i feel that she didn't get picked up. she wanted to er, and then she ended up in different territory. but those people just don't see brown faces as commercial. people don't think their audiences want to see brown faces. unless their particular type of character. and i think that is slowly changing no. it's got to change. we're seeing a change in front of our eyes. but it is sad that she didn't have the same opportunities because she was a brilliant
8:52 pm
actor. and it's good to see her take off. again, in television, but both really great actresses. >> yes, and i would say this, you look at people like res amit winning oscars, i think this stereotype has been knocked down. let me ask you before we run out of time, what was david beckham's response to this movie? he was not the global superstar then that he was today, but he let you use your name to the in the title, we let you support the movie. >> yes he did, that because when he french approached him, he was this young lad who was living a dream. manchester united was the team he'd supported as a kid. and now he was playing for my new, and he was going on with spice girls. so is all about girl power.
8:53 pm
when we approached him, david beckham's main concern was that there should be more families that come and see, because it was such a male aggressive domain. so for him, making a film about an indian girl who loved football pointed the way to opening it up football to bigger audience. so, that really worked. but at the same time, we like that to be a merger. nobody knew david beckham was, and so i wanted to actually change the title of the film, because they said people won't get it. i remember doing an interview for the washington post, and the guy there said to me, who is beckham? who is this beckham? and honestly, people didn't know who he was. so, many years later, he got that massive paycheck from galaxy. and he now owns a team in miami. >> he's so huge in america now, it's ironic. we'll have to leave it there, 20 years of success,
8:54 pm
congratulations on a cultural icon, and thank you for coming on the show tonight, appreciate it. >> thank you very much. >> next up, the least responsible people in news media get called out for the horrendous lies. ♪ ♪ ♪
8:55 pm
8:56 pm
8:57 pm
everyone had to prove they are fully vaccinated, and boosted. so if you are home watching this, and you're wondering how to do that, just contact your
8:58 pm
favorite fox news reporter. they're all here, vaccinated and boosted, all of them! [applause] >> president biden getting a jab in at fox last night at the white house correspondents dinner, following months of anti-vaccine remarks from propaganda network, and years of minimizing the very real covid threat, this after abc news chief washington correspondent jonathan karl bizarrely praised boxes coverage of the covid, somehow calling, it very responsible. yeah, because it is one thing i would use to describe fox, that's the one, responsible. >> i'm not afraid of the coronavirus, and no one else should be that afraid either. >> zero people the united states of america that from the coronavirus. zero. >> at worst, worst-case an aerial, it could be the flu. >> the more i learned about this, the more they also worry about it. >> but let's say the same
8:59 pm
thing. >> all this talk about coronavirus being so much more deadly doesn't reflect reality without a vaccine. the flu would be far more deadly. >> this speculation could get worse. some say, like the president, it could miraculously disappear. >> it's actually the safest time to fly, i don't i know that's my right now, terminals are pretty much that. >> this is yet another attempt to impeach the president. and sadly, it seems like every little friend you the destruction they're leaving and their wake. >> hearing the living hell out of people, and i see it again as, let's bludgeon trump with this new cooks. >> i'm actually going to have doubts, i've been telling my friends i'm gonna get the vaccine, half of them, agree that there have think absolutely nuts. >> so maybe doesn't work, and they are not doing that. medical jim crow has come to america. if we still have water fountains, the vaccinated have support was. >> if they really wanted to return to normal, it would drop the mandates and leave people
9:00 pm
alone. >> she responds when you see children wearing masks as they play should be no different from a response to seeing someone beat a kid and walmart. call the police immediately. >> a new scary variant is another liberal cover-up for joe biden's ongoing and many failures. >> very responsible indeed. coming up this hour on the mid house on show, elon musk's fundamental misunderstanding of democrats and republicans, my final sign straight. then, expect a political writer who thinks trump can be stopped in 24. just by calling him a loser, repeatedly. can really be that simple? i'm not sure. plus, five years after danika became the first openly transgender legislature, lgbtq rights and more peril than ever. she joins us to discuss the fight, i had.

224 Views

info Stream Only

Uploaded by TV Archive on