Monday, September 18, 2006
That Is Not Dead Which Can Eternal Lie...
...and with strange aeons, even the feeling that we've been through this already may die. This is not one of those cases.
So, Cyrus Nowrasteh is claiming that the reason he has been raked over the coals is because he wrote a film that "accurately depict[s] Bill Clinton's record on terrorism." Wow, that's a big change from admitting two weeks ago that he made shit up because "maybe [he could] use that".
It gets better:
It is also indisputable that Bill Clinton entered office a month before the first attack on the World Trade Center. Eight years then went by, replete with terrorist assaults on Americans and American interests overseas. George W. Bush was in office eight months before 9/11. Those who actually watched the entire miniseries know that he was given no special treatment.
You mean, aside from the parts where:
-There is nary a mention of George Bush sitting in a Flordia classroom for a good five minutes, doing nothing, after being told about the first attack.
-There is nary a mention about Bush practically flying around in circles for 35 minutes, then not speaking publically on the matter until 12:30 PM, after both towers had fallen.
-Condoleeza Rice is shown telling two advisors that Bush is very concerned about the "Bin Laden Determined to Attack Inside the United States" memo, despite the fact that Condi testified that the memo was nothing more than a historical document.
And of course, let's not ignore the fact that the film blatantly made shit up about American Airlines, Sandy Berger, and Madeleine Albright. And that ABC pretty much gave up trying to claim the film was fact-based, calling it a "dramatization" and not a "documentary."
Nowrasteh even plays the card of "the poor shat-upon Christian" for his partner, David Cunningham, making it out to be religious persecution that was the cause of skepticism behind the man in the director's chair... despite the fact that Cunningham's dad, Loren, is a noted player in Christian Reconstructionism, the idea of rewriting American law so that it sincs up with the Bible, and that David got his film school training through a branch of Loren's ministry "dedicated to a Godly transformation and revolution TO and THROUGH the Film and Television industry." With a background like that, I can understand some of the criticism, just as I could understand someone viewing an "unbiased" liberal filmmaker with skepticism for a history in the American Socialist Party.
Cyrus, let me be honest with you: This film is over. Yes, the facts, or lack thereof, will be trodded out on right-wing blogs for years to come, but it's not like such accusations weren't being bandied about before. The film failed as anything resembling an educational aid, a ratings winner, or a national talking point. It was an angry talking point for us on the left, and let's face it-- there's a reason Scholastic dropped the film like it was a hot rock. I'm still a little angry at ABC, but this film is done. It had a chance to make a mark, and it didn't.
So, Cyrus, in the words of a man who says these things much better than I do, who experienced similar criticisms from another conservative filmmaker about the way the media works: Just. Stay. Down.
So, Cyrus Nowrasteh is claiming that the reason he has been raked over the coals is because he wrote a film that "accurately depict[s] Bill Clinton's record on terrorism." Wow, that's a big change from admitting two weeks ago that he made shit up because "maybe [he could] use that".
It gets better:
It is also indisputable that Bill Clinton entered office a month before the first attack on the World Trade Center. Eight years then went by, replete with terrorist assaults on Americans and American interests overseas. George W. Bush was in office eight months before 9/11. Those who actually watched the entire miniseries know that he was given no special treatment.
You mean, aside from the parts where:
-There is nary a mention of George Bush sitting in a Flordia classroom for a good five minutes, doing nothing, after being told about the first attack.
-There is nary a mention about Bush practically flying around in circles for 35 minutes, then not speaking publically on the matter until 12:30 PM, after both towers had fallen.
-Condoleeza Rice is shown telling two advisors that Bush is very concerned about the "Bin Laden Determined to Attack Inside the United States" memo, despite the fact that Condi testified that the memo was nothing more than a historical document.
And of course, let's not ignore the fact that the film blatantly made shit up about American Airlines, Sandy Berger, and Madeleine Albright. And that ABC pretty much gave up trying to claim the film was fact-based, calling it a "dramatization" and not a "documentary."
Nowrasteh even plays the card of "the poor shat-upon Christian" for his partner, David Cunningham, making it out to be religious persecution that was the cause of skepticism behind the man in the director's chair... despite the fact that Cunningham's dad, Loren, is a noted player in Christian Reconstructionism, the idea of rewriting American law so that it sincs up with the Bible, and that David got his film school training through a branch of Loren's ministry "dedicated to a Godly transformation and revolution TO and THROUGH the Film and Television industry." With a background like that, I can understand some of the criticism, just as I could understand someone viewing an "unbiased" liberal filmmaker with skepticism for a history in the American Socialist Party.
Cyrus, let me be honest with you: This film is over. Yes, the facts, or lack thereof, will be trodded out on right-wing blogs for years to come, but it's not like such accusations weren't being bandied about before. The film failed as anything resembling an educational aid, a ratings winner, or a national talking point. It was an angry talking point for us on the left, and let's face it-- there's a reason Scholastic dropped the film like it was a hot rock. I'm still a little angry at ABC, but this film is done. It had a chance to make a mark, and it didn't.
So, Cyrus, in the words of a man who says these things much better than I do, who experienced similar criticisms from another conservative filmmaker about the way the media works: Just. Stay. Down.
