At 12:29 PM 1/30/2007, Joseph Riggs wrote:
The film was slammed in many circles.
What circles would those be? All the feedback, reviews and such I've
seen for it have been overwhelmingly positive.
1.) There's been much worse in the film industry. Hollywood's
films in these topic areas are becoming more or less like profanity
from a guy with Touret's Syndrome. You expect it so you ignore
it. Though every now and then a film does manage to draw lots of
flak, like Fahreinheit 9/11. Contrast this with the film that
appeared a few years ago about a historical raid on a PoW camp in
the Phillipines. I didn't see the film myself, so I don't know how
good the acting and script was, but I remember reading at least one
review whose main complaint about the film had to do with the fact
that it had a positive view of a US combat operation (unfortunately,
I don't remember the exact complaint, but that was the gist of it).
I think Letters didn't get flak because it wasn't as obviously
one-sided as something like Fahreinheit 9/11 was; it was designed
from the outset to be a companion film to Flags of Our Fathers, and
that meant it was less about nationalistic zeal and more about
telling both sides of the story (or at least making the attempt).
2.) Part of the reason that Mr. Moore's film drew flak was because
it claimed to be the complete truth, and lots of people disagreed
with that. Films that never pretend to be more than fiction can get
away with a lot more than films that claim to be truth. Similarly,
the Dixie Chicks' pronouncements were what they regarded as fact -
and a lot of people disagreed with them.
No, their pronouncements were opinions that lots of people happened
to dislike. The real issue with them was the fact that they uttered
such opinions while not on American soil, which was a bad idea
regardless of whether or not one happens to agree with them.
As for why Letters didn't get the "Dixie Chicks treatment": Eastwood
insulated himself against such criticism by virtue of his previous
efforts in this arena. Since he already made Flags of Our Fathers he
couldn't exactly be accused of being anti-American.The fact Letters
was based on/an adaptation of existing works probably helped, too.
3.) If you don't want to see V for Vendetta, there's no one forcing
you to go see it. But if you've listened to the Dixie Chicks for
the last five years, and suddenly find out that they've decided to
go preaching against something that you believe in, then it's harder
to avoid that.
Oh, come now; anyone who believes in America has to believe in free
speech. Can't have one without the other. The controversy surrounding
the band is rife with hypocrisy, and pretending its members are
somehow attacking American values just because they voiced an opinion
is absurd. Their only real failing lies in the fact that they chose
to voice said opinion while on foreign soil, which is a bad, bad idea.
Best case in point that I can think of for the film industry
recently would probably be Million Dollar Baby, which was marketed
as a film about a female boxer's struggle against the odds. Sounds
heartwarming and possibly even family friendly. What people didn't
know beforehand, though, was that midway through the film it
suddenly turned into a 'right to die' story.
That's a bit of a red herring, though, since the conflict was
manufactured for dramatic purposes. In truth, anyone in the
character's circumstances can essentially commit suicide by simply
refusing medical treatment, as well as by securing the necessary
paperwork (Do Not Resuscitate orders and the like). If the patient
refuses treatment, the hospital's hands are tied -- they can't do
squat to keep the patient alive against her will. The matter only
becomes an issue when doctors or family members attempt to decide
what's best for the patient without the patient's input.
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