First I would like to say that I am still alive and Kevin and Jay have not taken away my posting privileges. I have just found it extremely hard to blog lately between doing some work for a candidate here in NC and tending to my kids. My youngest just had her eleventh (or twelfth, I’ve lost count) surgery and we are still recovering from that. Anytime I decide to take ten minutes to write a blog post I typically end up spending several hours online reading other blogs, reading comments, etc., so lately I have just had to say “no” to blogging. Every now and then I have to jump in and say a few words though.
My few words this week are about a post by Sarah at Trying to Grok. If you are not familiar with Sarah’s blog, please stop by and read her. She is funny and interesting and very candid. The post that caught my attention this week is about the recent rash of anti-war (and some anti-troop) movies that are not doing so well at the box office. Here is a bit of Sarah’s post:
The Washington Post put out an article on why the recent crop of Iraq war movies aren’t doing so well. What’s their take?
For now, Kuntz agrees with Bochco: “We’re bombarded by information about [Iraq] 24 hours a day,” he says. “We already know plenty about it. We don’t need to learn more about it from the movies. Right now, it’s something people want to forget and escape from. I speak for the American public when I say, ‘What a bummer.’ “
I speak for my blog when I say, “What a jackass.”
They go through this huge list of anti-war movies and wonder why the public isn’t interested. Hmmm, let me take a stab at it: Make a movie like 300, and people will flock to the theater. Make the soldiers the freaking good guys, and you’ve got yourself a hit; make them rapists or dupes or Tools of the Bushitler Oil Junta, and no one wants to see your damn movie.
Maybe dumb people think the Iraq war is a “bummer” because all your movies present it that way.Follow the link above to read the rest.
I’ll bet if they made more movies about heroes like those on the Vets for Freedom National Heroes Tour people would come to see it. What about a movie about Soldiers’ Angels founder Patti Patton-Bader? If a positive movie about members of the U.S. military is too much for the American film industry to swallow, there are many recent heroes from other countries like Lance Corporal Lance Croucher, a Royal Marine serving in Afghanistan who threw himself on a grenade to save the lives of his patrol. There are plenty of stories like these that are not only interesting, but are inspiring as well. But then they might inspire some to join the military. That might be one reason we aren’t seeing those kinds of movies about our current crop of heroes. All it will take though is a “Passion of the Christ” type movie to break through and turn the tide. A positive depiction of American troops in Iraq that made really big money might just inspire some copycats. Will we ever see a “Saving Private Ryan” that takes place in Iraq? Maybe, but if we do I am betting it will not be until George Bush has left the White House.
