Giancarlo Esposito Quote of the Month: September 2008

It's amazing how well Bob Roberts has aged since it was first made sixteen years ago. Tim Robbins stars as an opportunistic politician who paints himself as a "rebel" against popular culture and clearly draws a line down the middle of the country for a poisonous "Us vs. Them" mentality. Conservatives lap it up, and Roberts is soon on his way to the top.

In the middle of this is Giancarlo's character Bugs Raplin, an independent journalist who's out to expose Roberts. Because Raplin is a bit scruffy looking and shouts out his questions in a manic tone, the Roberts campaign labels him as some sort of fruitcake. Having created the image of Roberts as the Dylan-esque folk singer patriot, the campaign knows that image is everything.

The scruffy looking rabelrousers of today are, of course, political bloggers, and Republicans are quick to insult these intelligent folks who speak truth to power. And just as how geeks have inherited the earth, bloggers will reign supreme in the long game through their dedication. Bugs, it seems, could have written their mantra:

Bugs Raplin: "If you want the truth in this country, you have to seek it out. You must be vigilant, unrelenting, uncompromising. I will get Bob Roberts. I don't need a gun to do it."