Asserting that patriotism is not politics, Mike Rowe is releasing a movie timed to the Fourth of July weekend to remind Americans they have something to be proud of.
The “Dirty Jobs” host, whose film “Something to Stand For” arrives in theaters on June 27, said it is “an unapologetically patriotic movie that gives me, I think, permission to say that in spite of the imperfections of our Founders and in spite of the world we find ourselves in today, we still have a lot to be proud of, we still have a lot to be grateful for — and we still have a lot to celebrate.”
“It’s not like any other film I’ve seen,” Rowe, whose first film follows a career in TV, books and podcasts, told Fox News.
“Frankly, I’m not sure what to call it,” he said. “It’s not a documentary, although there’s a lot of historical information in it, and it’s not a classic narrative. There are probably 300 actors in it, but they don’t really talk to each other. They’re all there to help bring nine individual stories to life.”
The movie contains nine vignettes, shows Rowe visiting Washington and includes encounters with veterans.
The film includes some historical recreations “with Oklahoma actors and an Oklahoma crew.”
“This is not a Hollywood production. This is a message from the heart, and we shot it in the heartland. I’m really proud of that,” Rowe said.
He visited the World War II memorial and came upon an unplanned addition to the film after an Honor Flight had arrived, bringing veterans to D.C.
“Volunteers [were] pushing them around. And I saw this guy, 91 years old. His name was Andy Michael,” Rowe said, adding, “He’s my dad’s age. He was in Korea at the same time as my dad.
“And he saw some some hard things and and did some hard things. But he had never been to D.C. He had never been to this memorial. Here he was for the first time in his life, looking around at all those stars on the walls and all of those beautiful — all that statuary” in the memorial.
“And I tell you what, man. You see a 91-year-old man who risked his life a generation ago for you with tears of gratitude running down the wrinkles of his leathery face — well, if you don’t put that in a movie, shame on you. So he’s in the movie,” Rowe said.
On his website, Rowe said he was “inspired by the ongoing war on the symbols of America, a war of vandalism waged by those who believe the present can be improved by erasing the past.”
He said the film is not aimed at them but at those who are influenced by them.
“I do, however, believe there are lots of people on both sides of the aisle who are disgusted by their behavior and still love America, in spite of the imperfections of our founders, and the obvious fact we have not yet achieved the ‘more perfect union’ they envisioned,” Rowe said.
“This movie is for them – that still sizeable population who identify as Americans, first and foremost,” he said. “Americans of all races who genuinely care about our shared history, and understand that even though our nation is still a work in progress — and always will be — there are still a great many things worth standing for.”
On his Facebook page, Rowe explained why the film is not about politics.
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“There is nothing political about a film that celebrates the principles on which this country was formed. Nor is there anything political about celebrating the people who have defended those principles over the centuries — especially those who died doing so,” he wrote.
“Unless of course, you’ve been taught that our country is fundamentally flawed, systemically racist, incurably intolerant, and beyond redemption,” Rowe said.
“But it might make a lot of Americans who share my concern about the collapse of patriotism feel better about the country we call home, and the people who paid the ultimate price defending it.”
