Are you pondering what I’m pondering?
Here Frank Rich talks about the refusal of a third of ABC televisions stations to air “Saving Private Ryan,” out of fear the FCC would come down on them. Apparently the film dares to suggest that soliders might occasionally use profanity, or that blood is spilled and bones are broken in war.
You know what I’ve been idly wondering? Whether Spielberg will have anything to say about this apparent censorship of a film that by most accounts is near and dear to his heart. It would seem that if anyone in “liberal Hollywood” has the power and wealth to stand opposed to the Bush empire, he would be the one. Or Tom Hanks, for that matter. He’s supposed to be as hot as any actor can get (“Polar Express” notwithstanding). And again, he’s made it clear in the past that “Private Ryan” was more than just another film to him.
But so far, near as I can tell with a quick “Yahoo!” search, niether man has had anything to say on the subject. Maybe they remembered they’re going to have movies opening in the red states in the next four years. Maybe they remembered what happened to Lenny Bruce & Mort Sahl.
Anyway, here’s a couple of important points from Rich’s piece:
“In this diet of “news” championed by the right, there’s no need for actual reporters who gather facts firsthand by leaving their laptops and broadcast booths behind and risking their lives to bear witness to what is actually happening on the ground in places like Falluja and Baghdad. The facts of current events can become as ideologically fungible as the scientific evidence supporting evolution. Whatever comforting version of events supports your politics is the “news.”
“The reductio ad absurdum of such a restricted news diet is Jim Bunning, the newly re-elected senator from Kentucky. During the campaign he drew a blank when asked to react to the then widely circulated story of an Army Reserve unit in Iraq, including one soldier from his own state, that refused to follow orders to carry out what it deemed a suicide fuel-delivery mission. “I don’t read the paper” is how he explained his cluelessness. “I haven’t done that for the last six weeks. I watch Fox News to get my information.” That’s his right as a private citizen, though even Fox had some coverage of that story. But as a senator, he has the power to affect decisions on the conduct of the war and to demand an accounting of the circumstances under which one of his own constituents was driven to revolt against his officers. Instead Mr. Bunning was missing in action.”
