Hollywood On Iraq: Take Two
By Joe Mariani (02/11/05)
Having failed to completely undermine public support for the liberation of Iraq by marching, making speeches and throwing money at politicians, the Hollywood Leftists are apparently giving up. As hard as they tried, they just couldn't make America run away from its responsibilities again; they couldn't turn Iraq into another Vietnam. So Hollywood is jumping on the bandwagon and making movies with a positive message about the Iraq war. Or are they?
Remember that to the Liberal elitists, we are the little people, no better than sheep, with opinions that can be easily swayed by an emotional appeal. Our convictions are not deeply held, and based on nothing more solid than the last persuasive argument we happened to hear. What gave them this idea? Unfortunately, visual impressions are more memorable than anything else, so what we see in the movies tends to become the accepted truth... unless the viewer makes a conscious effort to learn the facts. Those who watch movies about historical events but don't read the actual history often think that the Hollywood version is valid. Hollywood has one more chance to make the liberation of Iraq seem to be what they want it to be. So get ready for the Left Coast's best effort to write popular history their own way. According to USA Today, "a proliferation of TV and film projects is focusing on the U.S. military, the war or both." I can hardly wait.
For example, in "No True Glory: The Battle for Fallujah," Harrison Ford will play General James Mattis, a three-star general who numbers a Bronze Star among his decorations. The "mainstream" media recently excoriated Mattis, known among Marines as a "fighting general," for speaking his mind about his job. While speaking to a military audience, Mattis said, "You go into Afghanistan, you got guys who slap women around for five years because they didn't wear a veil. You know, guys like that ain't got no manhood left anyway. So it's a hell of a lot of fun to shoot them." Sounds like a candidate to be the poster boy (oops, "poster person") for the National Organisation for Women, doesn't he?
The movie will focus on the 1st Marine division's assault on Fallujah under Mattis, after terrorists murdered civilian contractors and hung their corpses from a bridge. The Marines surrounded and took part of Fallujah in May of 2004, but backed off when asked to do so by the Iraqi interim government. Of course, Ford himself was vehemently against the liberation of Iraq by force, even after the fact. Ford (with other Hollywood Liberals) traveled to Spain in August 2003 to apologise for Iraq's liberation from Saddam, saying, "I don't think military intervention is the correct solution. I regret what we as a country have done so far." (His opinion on the recent Iraq election is not yet available.) So is he a hypocrite for making the movie, has he changed his mind, or will he take the opportunity to put his own particular spin on Mattis and the war in general?
You can bet that Hollywood's new crop of war films will make individual soldiers look good; even Liberals are forced to recognise the overwhelming respect and gratitude most Americans feel for our troops. However, you can also bet that they'll do their best to make the war itself look like a random, bumbling screwup that could have and should have been avoided. That's "supporting the troops," Hollywood style!
In each movie, the characters will certainly apply civilian morality and judgment to military situations, question their purpose and orders, meet friendly "bad" guys and questionable "good" guys, and try to understand the monumental mistakes and lies that got them involved in "a war no one wanted." That's Hollywood's version of war these days. Anyone who's seen "Black Hawk Down" -- Saddam's favorite "training" film -- has seen those techniques in action. That's how they want you to think of Iraq in ten years, when the words you read today will be eclipsed by the visual images they create.
Where the hell is John Wayne when we need him -- the guy who made war movies to support his country, not tear it down or make it look bad? We have no successor to the man who said, "Sure I wave the American flag. Do you know a better flag to wave? Sure I love my country with all her faults. I'm not ashamed of that, never have been and never will be."
These days, "the Duke" probably couldn't get a job shining shoes in Los Angeles, not with a politically-incorrect attitude like that.
(Printer friendly version) Email: Joe Mariani
