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Iraq Movies: Why They Fail
In his latest column, NY Times Op-ed writer Frank Rich gets it wrong (as usual) when talking about Iraq. This week in particular Frank misses the mark with his explanation of why movies about the Iraq war do so poorly at the Box Office.
He claims Americans want to avoid talking about the war or seeing images of it, because it’s all too depressing and horrific to come to terms with.
It would take another column to list all the movies and TV shows about Iraq that have gone belly up at the box office or in Nielsen ratings in the nearly four years since the war’s only breakout commercial success, “Fahrenheit 9/11.” They die regardless of their quality or stand on the war, whether they star Tommy Lee Jones (“In the Valley of Elah”) or Meryl Streep (“Lions for Lambs”) or are produced by Steven Bochco (the FX series “Over There”) or are marketed like Abercrombie & Fitch apparel to the MTV young (“Stop-Loss”).
Frank says in the above quote that movies about Iraq “die regardless of their quality or stand on the war”, but that is a misleading statement in itself. The only “stand” movies about Iraq have taken up to this point is an anti-war, anti-American, and anti-military stand. Which is precisely why they have been total and complete failures, and will continue to be no matter who stars in them or how many of them are made.
Americans would flock to see a kick-ass movie about the Iraq war that wasn’t laden with anti-war/anti-American sentiments. When people go to the movies they’re not looking to be preached to or indoctrinated by a hardcore left-wing agenda. They want to be entertained for 92 minutes and leaving the theater feeling good, or at least not leave feeling worse than when they went in.
Hollywood thinks the military is a bunch of country bumpkins turned war criminals who only joined the service to escape a miserable life of poverty and despair. I think John Kerry said it best when addressing a group of high school kids a year or so ago.
“Education — if you make the most of it and you study hard and you do your homework, and you make an effort to be smart, you can do well,” said Kerry, a Massachusetts Democrat. “If you don’t, you get stuck in Iraq.”
The idea that only idiots without an education end up fighting for their country shows an ignorance about just who the men and women in the military are that is nothing short of breathtaking.
The vast majority of Americans are proud of their country and don’t see it as the evil, “torture nation” that many misguided liberals do. Our effort in Iraq has taken a toll on the American people, because of the incredible sacrifice in both blood and dollars.
Which is why it’s so damn insulting for Hollywood to constantly promote the idea that our soldiers are victims or pawns and America is a terrible country.
As Frank mentions in his column, Hollywood distributor “Lions Gate” is holding back the release of their latest Iraq movie called “The Lucky Ones” which is said to be “sympathetic” to the veterans and allegedly made with full Army support.
In case your waiting for the other show to drop, it’s starring Tim Robbins as one of the veterans which is sure leave moviegoers feeling warm and patriotic when they leave the theater.
What Hollywood should do is another movie like “Blackhawk Down” which is both accurate and highly entertaining. It’s a movie that depicts the battle accurately while capturing the bravery and humility of the American soldier.
Take that formula and make a movie about the battle of Fallujah without anti-war activists as soldiers and you will have a hit movie. Get Ridley Scott to direct it and Joel Silver to produce it, and you’ll have the biggest hit of the year.
-Chris Jones
Why The Far-Left Is Terrified of Rudy Giuliani
Frank Rich and other ridiculously far-left columnists never miss an opportunity to write a hit piece on Rudy Giuliani. They love to show pictures of him in costumes that they allege shows he’s a “cross dresser.” They love to mention how many wives he’s had and the funniest of all the charges is that he was a terrible Mayor for the city of New York.
That last charge is probably one of the most foolish claims ever uttered in an election campaign. People who live in New York and are not blinded by far-left ideology know damn well that Rudy may be many things, but a bad Mayor he was not.
Anyone who has either lived in or at least visited New York before Rudy was Mayor, while he was Mayor, and after he was Mayor know the truth. New York City was a dirty, dangerous, and crime ridden, stink hole before Rudy was Mayor. Central Park was not a place for anyone except crack heads, and the only thing the subway was good for was a good old fashioned mugging.
Columnists like Frank Rich and Paul Krugman love to mock Rudy when he rattles off his accomplishments as Mayor of New York. Rich and Krugman are without a doubt two of the most dishonest columnists in the country anyway, but what makes their distortions of Giuliani especially egregious, is that they’re New Yorkers. They know full well the sad shape the city was in before Rudy and they know what an amazing place it is now. They try and credit anyone or anything for the 56% drop in crime, or the 66% reduction in homicides, except Rudy Giuliani.
The reason Rich, Krugman, and other far-left ideologues love to attack Rudy is because he is their worst nightmare as a Republican candidate. Unlike George W. Bush, Rudy is someone who appeals to a wide range of political persuasions.
Social conservatives can get behind him, because Pat Robertson is supporting him. Moderate Democrats who at one time were just called Democrats can support Rudy, because of his liberal views on abortion, gay marriage, and other social issues. Democrats who believe this country should have a strong National Security are gonna support Rudy as well.
In effect Rudy represents the best qualities of the old Democratic party (the Lieberman, JFK wing) and the best qualities of the Republican Party.
That is why the far-left is feverishly trying to create any controversy possible that might cast doubt in voters minds about his candidacy.
Frank Rich’s column today is about the Bernard Kerik Idictment, and the recently filed lawsuit by disgraced publishing diva Judith Regan. Regan makes the charge that officials at Newscorp (which owns Fox News) encouraged her to lie to the Feds about her relationship with Bernard Kerik, because it could possibly damage the Giuliani campaign.
What that has to do with her being fired after bringing a ton of heat down on Rupert Murdoch and Newscorp after the O.J. Simpson book debacle, is anyone’s guess. I think she may have just been spending too much time with Dan Rather, but lets hope his insanity hasn’t spread any further.
There has been nothing but vociferous condemnation of Rudy Giuliani from the left, even when it was only a whisper that he was thinking about running for President. I expect this will continue, because after all this is politics. I just think it’s important to separate fact from fiction about all the candidates, and the attacks on Rudy’s record as Mayor of New York are quite simply nonsense.
Frank Rich: The Cynical “American”
Frank Rich has written another cynical piece of garbage in Sunday’s New York Times. It’s basically the usual left wing talking points with an extra dose of cynicism added in for good measure. I will try and briefly summarize the main points below and you can apply these same points to anything Frank Rich writes in the future.
1. Bush lied about Iraq
2. Bush is lying about Iran
3. Iran is not a threat
4. Anyone who believed Bush about Iraq is an idiot
5. Anyone who believes Bush about Iran is an idiot
6. Fox News is in the tank for the Giuliani campaign
7. The Iranian “threat” is propaganda cooked up by the Bush Administration
8. Bush is a lier who lies
-Chris Jones
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