Judging from the Academy Awards, the Bush administration already is in the rearview mirror. The Bush bashing was pretty minimal and tepid Sunday night, on the order of host Jon Stewart’s bit about the commercial failure of movies about Iraq and how “withdrawing the Iraq movies would only embolden the audience.†Michael Moore even lost — though the documentary that bested his “Sicko†was a war-on-terror-themed “Taxi to the Dark Side.†Nice touch: having some U.S. troops in Iraq act as presenters.
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12 Comments
Were the Oscars on last night?
Well I didn’t even know the Oscars were on.
I’ve not given them much credit since they awarded Best Picture to “Annie Hall”.
And now they dis Michael Moore?
“Sicko” was the only Oscar nominee anyone even saw!
Correct, J R.
The corporatocracy had no intention of giving Moore a microphone again.
Capn,
Did you hear what the documentary winner said when accepting the award?
Alex Gibney:
“Wow. Thank you very much, Academy. Here’s to all doc filmmakers. And, truth is, I think my dear wife Anne was kind of hoping I’d make a romantic comedy, but honestly, after Guantanamo, Abu Ghraib, extraordinary rendition that simply wasn’t possible. This is dedicated to two people who are no longer with us, Dilawar, the young Afghan taxi driver, and my father, a navy interrogator who urged me to make this film because of his fury about what was being done to the rule of law. Let’s hope we can turn this country around, move away from the dark side and back to the light. Thank you very much.”
This year the documentaries were all hard hitting, but there has to be a winner, and I doubt it was a landslide for only one.
NO END IN SIGHT
Analyst and scholar Charles Ferguson examines the process behind the Bush Administration’s decision to invade Iraq in 2003. Evidence of errors in judgment, ignored intelligence information, and a lack of any follow-up plan on the part of those in the government who orchestrated the invasion are presented within the context of the history of U.S./Iraq relations.
OPERATION HOMECOMING: WRITING THE WARTIME EXPERIENCE
The experiences of Iraq War veterans are seen through their writings, accompanied by news footage and photographs. Eleven men and women who have served in the conflict chronicle the war and its effect on their lives in their letters and journals, and through works of fiction and poetry, while interviews with veterans of other wars express the common themes of all soldier’s lives.
SICKO
Michael Moore’s look at American health care explores the reasons behind the adoption of a for-profit system and profiles individuals whose lack of proper care and battles with insurance companies have drastically affected their lives. Moore compares the U.S. system unfavorably with the free, government-sponsored systems in other countries as he takes a group of Americans to Cuba to seek treatments they were unable to obtain at home.
WAR/DANCE
Chief among the victims of the ongoing warfare in northern Ugandan are the country’s children. Three students in the Patongo refugee camp, all victims of terrible violence and losses, nevertheless prepare to enter a music competition that offers them a lifeline of hope. For Nancy, Rose, and Dominic, a former child soldier, the contest provides a welcome respite from the desperate circumstances of their daily lives.
TAXI TO THE DARK SIDE
The case of an Afghan taxi driver beaten to death in 2002 while in U.S. military custody forms the heart of this examination of the abuses committed during the detainment and interrogation of political prisoners. When New York Times reporter Carlotta Gall investigates the death of cab driver Dilawar–officially declared by the military to be from natural causes–she uncovers incontrovertible evidence to the contrary.
Interesting Thread Title. We stopped watching the Hollywood crowd when their ceremonies became political statements. Wish they just stuck to acting. But they didn’t and they had the lowest ratings ever. Additionally television viewing is dropping drastically.
Most people no longer care about the hollywood types, their political PR, the media’s preoccupation every time one of them gets arrested for drugs, DUI’s, or murder. Tired of the media putting these events up as the headlines. When in truth, not only do most of us not care – but their personal lives do not matter in America.
Meanwhile, thelistening audience to talk radio continues to climb!
And everyone wonders why.
In short: –ck the Oscars or Grammies.
Interesting Thread Title. We stopped watching the Hollywood crowd when their ceremonies became political statements. Wish they just stuck to acting. But they didn’t and they had the lowest ratings ever. Additionally television viewing is dropping drastically.
Most people no longer care about the hollywood types, their political PR, the media’s preoccupation every time one of them gets arrested for drugs, DUI’s, or murder. Tired of the media putting these events up as the headlines. When in truth, not only do most of us not care – but their personal lives do not matter in America.
Meanwhile, thelistening audience to talk radio continues to climb!
And everyone wonders why.
In short: –ck the Oscars or Grammies.
““Sicko” was the only Oscar nominee anyone even saw!”
The box office numbers say something else entirely.
Just the opposite, really.
A Real Choice for Americans in 2008!
Throw your rug toward “Mecca”
5 times per day!
Throw your rug toward Washington 24 hours a day!
Have your rug taken away by illegal aliens from “Open Borders”
I’m not much on documentaries, but “No End in Sight” looks interesting, as does “Taxi to the Dark Side”.
The oscars is Hollywood’s statement of what they wished we liked. Little regard for the consumer out there.
Hopefully as technology progresses the hold of the current entertainment system will shift to one that is more responsive to its viewers.
ProudMan,
What kind of movies do you like?
I agree that the majority of movies coming out are not something I like to see, but I admit to being hard to please.
fleettwood (and others),
The reason the numbers are low on documentaries is that they’re only shown in specific areas. You won’t get a fair reading of any box office receipts until they’re shown in all venues.
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[...] Ilya Somin wrote an interesting post today onHere’s a quick excerptoscars Judging from the Academy Awards, the Bush administration already is in the rearview mirror. The Bush bashing was pretty minimal and tepid Sunday night, on the order of host Jon Stewart’s bit about the commercial failure of movies … [...]
[...] Ilya Somin wrote an interesting post today onHere’s a quick excerpt [...]
[...] WE Blog » The Wichita Eagle Editorial Department Blog wrote an interesting post today on Oscars mostly gave politics the night offHere’s a quick excerptOscars mostly gave politics the night off Posted6:02 a.m. Judging from the Academy Awards, the Bush administration already is in the rearview mirror. The Bush bashing was pretty minimal and tepid Sunday night, on the order of host Jon Stewart’s bit about the commercial failure of movies about Iraq and how “withdrawing the Iraq movies would only embolden the audience.” Michael Moore even lost — though the documentary that bested his “Sicko” was a war-on-terror-themed “Taxi to the Dark Side.” Ni [...]