Hacker Cinema
Dear Kelly
2025 · Film · documentary · 89 min
Directed by Andrew Callaghan, Elliot Liedgren
Filmmaker Andrew Callaghan investigates the life of Kelly Johnson, a participant at a 2021 White Lives Matter rally in Huntington Beach, California, delving into Johnson's background and beliefs.
2 positive1 mixedfrom 3 commenters
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3 comments on Hacker News
+1 on the Dear Kelly film! While I don't think it explains everyone's radicalization, in this scenario I can see how Kelly fell down his hole of disillusionment
> It cannot be understated the role that Fox News has played to get us to this level of division.
Yeah, it's been a sharp shift, as someone who've watched/read Fox News (and other news of course) for decades out of the US. Fox News always been a bit strange with it's vitriol, but at one point, I can't remember if it was around the middle of Obama's second term, or later, but it took a really sharp turn further into emotional reporting and partisanship. Again, Fox always been a bit special, and other news channels also did similar turns further into their sides, but I can remember seeing the change as it was happening.
There is another documentary I quite liked in similar vein but on an individual level, called "Dear Kelly", that follows a far-right conspiracy theorist and tries to give some understanding into Kelly's struggles and radicalization. Released independently and can be found here: https://www.dearkellyfilm.com/
I watched "Dear Kelly" the other day, and while the movie isn't all that interesting, I couldn't help but feel like it was the absolute essence of a GenZ take on investigative journalism. I think that's what we got now.