Ronald Reagan Reanimated

The age-old question—what would happen if Ronald Reagan came back from the dead and tried to turn America into a conservative Muslim paradise—is about to be answered.

Robert P. Young ’06 is finishing up “Reagan Returns,” a film that shows a reanimated Ronald Reagan attempting to conquer the United States. The film, which is unrelated to Young’s VES coursework, has been his pet project since last year.

When an evil Secret Service Agent, played by Nathan D. Turner ’05, reanimates Reagan, the ex-president joins forces with Osama bin Laden and al-Qaeda. After the pair deposes George W. Bush, it’s up to Reagan’s illegitimate son—“a black street person,” says Young, “haunted by dreams of the father who never accepted him”—to battle Reagan’s forces. He takes up the superhero moniker Blackman, joins up with a counterpart named Rushon (a campy reference to Batman and Robin) and George W. Bush as The French Tickler, and the trio ultimately puts Reagan back to rest.

“I wanted to see what would happen if I introduced two poor black street people into the mix,” says Young.

With a troop of bad guys in turbans and plenty of racial humor, “Reagan Returns” seems likely to offend the oversensitive, or even just the sensitive. But Young insists that the movie doesn’t target any particular groups. He himself espouses a “live and let live” libertarian philosophy.

“Reagan Returns” should be unleashed on the unsuspecting public sometime next month.