Last night, Steven Spielberg and Joseph Gordon-Levitt introduced the trailer for Lincoln during a “Google+ Hangout,” which, from what I could tell, consisted of dorks trying to ask questions while Spielberg complained about the feedback and everyone standing around while the tech guys tried to troubleshoot. But the point was hype, and hype was built, and now we have a trailer. And what of the trailer? Well, it’s a little hard to focus on anything because there’s so many fades-to-black that I thought I had macular degeneration (Dad gummit, that trailer had more black than a Reconstruction-era southern legislature!). But one thing is for certain, it’s definitely going to have cheesy, overbearing string music. It’d be nice if we got a nuanced portrait of Lincoln as a generally-good guy who was nevertheless still probably pretty racist and colonialist in his thoughts like the vast majority of people of his day, who still managed to do some great things and be on the right side of history through a combination of integrity, strategic necessity, and clever politicking, but that sh*tty string music shouts “NOPE! You’re getting the same reductive, deified portrayal as a fourth-grade American history book, but with costumes and acting!” And Sally Field playing basically the same role she did in Forrest Gump. “Laaahfe is laahke a box of chocolates, Abraham. People is always fahghtin over the dark ones.”

Anyway, there’s a chance it could still be good, but that music is atrocious. I’m still hoping they implement commenter Jessolido’s notes, “Montage where he tries on a bunch of different hats before settling on the stovepipe or GTFO..”