Where’s Frank Capra When You Need Him?
The Los Angeles Times ran an interesting article yesterday entitled The Iraq war movie: Military hopes to shape genre. Here’s a short excerpt…
“With military assistance, moviemakers get access to bases, ships, planes, tanks and Humvees. Military leaders also offer script advice.
And unless a filmmaker agrees to address any problems, the Pentagon generally opts out.
Most movies involving the military have been summer action films, like this year’s “Iron Man,” which was made with Air Force help.
But Army officials are eager to work with filmmakers making serious movies about Iraq — the kind of pictures that have the power to shape the public’s view of the war and its warriors.
“In the past, have there been instances of disagreements with scripts? Yes,” said Maj. Gen. Anthony A. Cucolo III, chief of Army public affairs. “The message I would send is: Give us a try.”
The problem for military officials is that some in Hollywood see their script advice as a subtle form of censorship or an attempt to spin the war.
Paul Haggis, writer and director of the Iraq war movie “In the Valley of Elah,” said he concluded that the Army was not interested in telling honest stories about the war or soldiers.
“They are trying to put the best spin on what they are doing,” Haggis said. “Of course they want to publicize what is good. But it doesn’t mean that it is true.”
Few directors focused on Iraq or Afghanistan have approached the military for help. Haggis did.
Haggis said that after he submitted his script, the producers received 21 pages of objections to parts of the film. Haggis, who did not review the notes, said his producers told him they amounted to a refusal to participate.”
In the article, Army Lt. Col. J. Todd Breasseale claims that Brian De Palma’s Redacted, a film about the true story of the rape and murder of a teenage Iraqi girl and her family by US soldiers, was “wildly offensive”. The reason? Because he felt that it painted all members of the US military as potential rapists and murderers. Ironically, murderers are what most of Muslims has been painted by many in the West over the last seven years and you don’t see anyone making films to correct that misconception.
I own Redacted and I think De Palma did a superb job documenting a very important event - a war crime. I did not walk away from the film convinced that all American soldiers were rapists and murderers – but here’s the thing - some are, whether Breasseale likes it or not. The film that De Palma made was based on an actual event, one that received a nanosecond’s worth of attention stateside. It was an important film to make, as was Haggis’ In The Valley Of Elah and Kimberly Peirce’s recent film Stop-Loss. Added to that list are notable documentaries which should be quintessential viewing as far as I’m concerned, such as No End In Sight, Ghosts Of Abu Ghraib, Why We Fight, and The Road To Guantanamo.
How should the war in Iraq be depicted? The fact of the matter is that the same people that are willing to dole out finances to those willing to put less of a negative spin on the war are the very same that have never bothered to even keep an official count of Iraqi civilian casualties.
And they want to talk about ‘reality’.
Bad news. According to ‘reality’ the mission was ‘accomplished’ in 2003. Remember?
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July 8th, 2008 at 9:05 pm
Maybe they can remake The Green Berets
July 8th, 2008 at 9:12 pm
The “dumbing down of America” by those in control of the media and the government in the United States is indeed a “mission accomplished”. It pains me to generalize, but it seems that the majority of Americans who line up for the summer blockbuster action flick are all too willing to accept whatever story is portrayed; whatever plays into the Rambo-esque hero myth. The REAL stories–such as the excellent documentaries you noted–are not of interest to those who do not question the news reports or the Whitehouse media statements. So although they are great documentaries, and tell the reality of the “war” etc., I fear they are preaching to the choir. Those who avail themselves of these alternative films and information already question what they have been told. Perhaps I am being a jaded Canadian, but the overtly aggressive repression of any news that does not follow the current political agenda in the US is gaining strength (witness the ironic silencing of protesters at GWB’s speech on Friday) and taking over the education system, media, foreign policy, etc. Those who dare question or to portray events as they really are, are discredited and ultimately dismissed. The majority don’t care. Is that a harsh criticism of Americans? Yes, and I would love to be wrong. But I fear that within their own country, these filmakers will not have much effect.
Case in point, this blog, written by a Canadian. We as non-Americans can question, agitate, point out the illogical nature of the arguments, but will it have any effect on the US and the people who ultimately decide who will be in power in Washington?
Susie
July 8th, 2008 at 9:42 pm
Reality - makes my blood boil…
I finally looked up reality in the allmighty dictionary. There are a few points to pick from. So, like any other being I will choose the ones I liked best (the worst one forces you to look up “real” - as in reality is a real event)
Reality - something that is neither derivative nor dependent but exists necessarily.
By this definition, Iraq, Afghanistan and many other “missions” are completely unreal.
The crimes depicted in the documentaries are the daily reality for another point is - reality is the entity or state of affairs.
July 9th, 2008 at 12:59 am
one word….zeitgeist
July 9th, 2008 at 6:14 am
How should the war in Iraq be depicted in movies?
Who cares? We all know what it acutally is.
July 9th, 2008 at 7:29 am
[quote comment="57945"]
Case in point, this blog, written by a Canadian. We as non-Americans can question, agitate, point out the illogical nature of the arguments, but will it have any effect on the US and the people who ultimately decide who will be in power in Washington?
Susie[/quote]
yes… and by doing exactly those things and more.
and as Archimedes said-
“Give me a place to stand and with a lever I will move the world.”
the recent invention and utilization of instant global media,
and the free expression and communication provided-
is the lever with which great shifts in thought (and policy) can occur.
as The New Pornographers say-
“Use it!”
vincent, in buffalo
http://www.louisebrooks.com
July 9th, 2008 at 8:02 am
“The most brilliant propagandist technique will yield no success unless one fundamental principle is borne in mind constantly - it must confine itself to a few points and repeat them over and over”
Joseph Goebels
July 9th, 2008 at 8:03 am
..er Goebbels.
July 9th, 2008 at 8:35 am
The great ‘The Battle of Algiers’ was on tv a while back (I was going to buy it but it was something like $75 on Amazon). If you haven’t seen it, it’s a movie made to look like a documentary based on events during the 1954-1962 Algerian War against French rule.
Berkeley has this extensive resource:
War Movies and War Propaganda: A Bibliography of Materials in the UC Berkeley Library
http://www.lib.berkeley.edu/MRC/Warfilmbib.html
July 9th, 2008 at 9:18 am
“How should the war in Iraq be depicted? The fact of the matter is that the same people that are willing to dole out finances to those willing to put less of a negative spin on the war are the very same that have never bothered to even keep an official count of Iraqi civilian casualties.”
It’s been a war of fantansy from the start. From the creation of evidence of WMDs to justify invasion to embedding journalists in military units to limit their independence and objectivity.
It’s never been about representing reality for the Pentagon and the White House, just the opposite actually. Which is going to create a challenge for any filmmaker trying to make an honest portrail of the war, even if they had Pentagon support, the foundation of lies has already been well laid.
July 9th, 2008 at 10:42 am
Maybe a Disney cartoon?
Not too long ago I picked up a copy the The Three Caballeros at Target. I explained to my wife that the cartoon was made as propaganda in 1944 to woo Latin America to our side in WWII. She remembers seeing the movie growing up in Bolivia but I think it was a cold splash of water when I explained why it had been made.
I don’t think the world is so naive these days and unless The Duke rises from the grave…
July 9th, 2008 at 12:06 pm
#1 problem with war movies is when the makers only consult higher brass. Your never going to get the whole story, much less the specific nuances and details that are needed to tell a reasonably true story.
#2, It’s pathetic how many “war” flicks have been pumped out by Hollywood and else that display instances which are obviously incorrect. From displaying the wrong rank, to seeing an M-16 magically morph into some kind of fully automatic, endless round spitting machine gun. Any private straight out of basic can point out these mistakes….but in the end, it all brings in the $$$….so who gives a shit about telling the truth.
July 9th, 2008 at 4:47 pm
I’ll be the first person to admit that there are a lot of films that are massively bias. But the ones that I used as examples are, in my opinion anyway, not. Nor do I think Platoon bias, for example.
July 9th, 2008 at 6:36 pm
Don’t forget War Inc with John Cusack. That is a movie that I very much want to see.
July 10th, 2008 at 4:24 pm
two of my all-time favorite “war” movies, both from australia-
BREAKER MORANT and GALLIPOLI
see them and i think you may find it time well spent.
and APOCALYPSE NOW, epic.
vincent, in buffalo
http://www.louisebrooks.com