As reported in Think Progress, Fox News analyst Jonathan Hoenig reported this weekend that global warming was “bogus,” and “dreamed up” by environmentalists to stop economic development. http://thinkprogress.org/2006/05/29/global-warming-bogus/ There’s no scientific proof that global warming even exists. To be honest, it’s a bogus consensus dreamed up by Greens because they…
Further to Sarah’s post about films that help make sense of George Bush’s presidency, another film that should be required viewing for anyone trying to make sense of Bush’s America is the movie, “Wag The Dog.” As entertainment, it’s a disappointing movie; but, as political commentary, it utterly anticipates George Bush’s presidency.
The movie, released in early 1998 (note the proximity to the beginning of Bush’s first presidential campaign), is set in modern times, and is about an American president running for re-election. A scandal occurs immediately before the election that threatens to cripple the President’s campaign, but before the scandal can undermine the President’s chances, his political advisors realize that the best way to win re-election is to divert public attention away from the scandal by creating an even bigger story: a war. So, they set out to manufacture a war.
There are certain films which should be required viewing for anyone trying to make sense out of life in George Bush's America. One is Stanley Kubrick's Paths of Glory (1957), shot in black and white on a budget of less than 1 million dollars. Paths of Glory is set…
At one point while making his way through the press questioners, Bush awkwardly referred to a list of reporters whom he was instructed to call on. "This is scripted," he joked. The press laughed. But Bush meant it was scripted, literally. White House spokesman Ari Fleischer later admitted he compiled…
Continuing to sort out my thoughts from the recent Popular Culture Association convention in Atlanta, I recall a discussion about whether the movie Brokeback Mountain told a universal love story or whether the point of the movie lay in its specificity. I think that's the sort of question which doesn't…