Other than the fact that the digital video aspect of this looked terrible and the filmmaker’s narration was pretty annoying, this movie is well worth seeing. It is sad to me that a good documentary like this will not be seen by as many people as it should be. Network television doesn’t have the courage to broadcast this kind of film. Hell, they even get in trouble for trying to show Saving Private Ryan .
This reminded me of a recent Frontline episode that followed a unit in Iraq. But that was on PBS and was only preaching to the converted. For the most part, these soldiers are not partisan in their beliefs. They are there to survive and to try to make sense of what they are doing. They are young, naive, courageous, smart. They are fascinating to listen to as they expound on why they joined the military, joke about the crappy protective armor they are given (“The shrapnel will stay inside of you instead of going through you”), and show off their rapping skills.
So why isn’t this going to be seen by more people? This kind of film needs to get The Day After treatment. It should be an event. Millions of Americans should sit down one evening and watch it on one of the major networks (Fox?) and then discuss it. Obviously, this won’t happen. For all the talk about how liberal the media is, the networks would never touch something like this. And that is sad because this film isn’t even anti-Bush, it is merely a story of soldiers.
Granted, maybe what the filmmaker left on the editing room floor would have painted a more rosy picture of the situation and thus been a completely different film. Perhaps. And maybe the filmmaker doesn’t want this seen on the networks yet because it might not mean as much money to him or boost his career in the way that a theater run would. Although what documentary filmmaker other than Michael Moore actually gets rich from his/ her films?
And speaking of Michael Moore, why was he going to be offering Fahrenheit 911 as a pay-per-view event right before the election before the plan fell through? If he really wanted to make a difference, shouldn’t he be offering it to one of the networks for free so more people could see it? Obviously, I don’t know what I’m really talking about here. I’m sure there are all sorts of legal reasons why he didn’t do that. Or could it be that he cares more about his career and his financial well-being than getting his message out to as many people as possible?
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5 comments:
Moore's decision (no less crass than money) was Oscar related: he wanted to be considered for Best Picture and therefore could not have the movie shown on broadcast, basic cable, or premium movie channels- only ppv. of course, it was all to no avail.
I think Fat Mike got caught up in the movie biz crap of thinking that lots of people care who won the Oscar ("And Cannes! Wooo!") and that getting a little gold statue (rather than increasing his audience) would be a damning indictment of the Bushies. As in "Dammit Cheney, I'm not gonna stay for my whole second term- Karl Malden, Rosario Dawson, and the key grip on 'White Chicks' obviously don't like me".
Can't wait to see "Gunner Palace" though. Mrs Weasel is scrambling to get it for her theater.
I'm really excited to see this movie - 100% sure it won't come to my area, so I'm going to have to wait for it to go online, but I'm really curious what the day to day aspect of life there is...My cousin would write to us all the time saying "You won't believe all the good we are doing here," and my uncle kept saying he was very frustrated about what was being reported in the media versus "reality," and I've heard that repeated several times by other soldiers interviewed that have been interviewed...but I'm beginning to wonder if they weren't convinced of that by the powers that be - or if it was actually true. I'd love for it to be true - because I'd hate to think he died for nothing - but in the grand scheme of things - it's hard to see. I'm really hoping this movie sheds some light on the reality.
"You won't believe all the good we are doing here,"
Michelle, there was definitely a lot of that in this film. But it seemed as the war dragged on, there was a lot less of that kind of talk.
Listmaker,
Thanks for reminding us about this movie. I heard the directors and some audio clips about 4-6 weeks ago on NPR or Air America.
I just checked the website and it's not coming to Maine, at least initially. Our three art house movie theaters (The Movies on Exchange, Railroad Sq. in Waterville, and The Eveningstar in Brunswick) may run it at some point, as this is the type of movie they show.
As to why it won't be shown on the major networks. TV exists to run ads and sell product. Anything that doesn't fit into that agenda is left out. Obviously, an argument could be made that Gunner Palace would be watched by many, but its the possible controversy; it's not the kind of "reality" show the networks want their audiences to see.
Who is this Jim from Maine? I request that he identify himself as "Maine Jim" from now on. I'm "Jim", dammit. (Just kidding.)
--Brooklyn Jim
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