We were catching up with that CBS 75th anniversary special, and I was fascinated by when they discussed the Orson Welles “War of the Worlds.” At the time, law suits were filed that costs CBS milions of dollar.s I can’t help but think, though, that if it occurred in the modern era, then–inflation notwithstanding) the judgment might be well into the billions. It might even have drven CBS out of business altogether, because absolutely everybody and his brother who was distraught or willing to say they were would have been after CBS brass.
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That one was called “Special Bulletin,” and it aired on NBC in 1983.
Ah, many thanks!
You know, from what I’ve read, it sounds like a big old bad stinker of a movie.
But I think CBS should have aired it. Would I have watched? No. But to bow to political pressure…come on. How many really bad depictions of the Kennedys have we seen in TV movie form, some of them even when Jackie Kennedy was alive? Do I balk at those? No.
If CBS wanted to cast a “Clintons” movie, with Tom Selleck as Bill and Ann Coulter as Hillary, would I balk? No. I might not watch it. Others might. Who cares?
It’s not a documentary, as others have pointed out. It’s a TV movie of the week. Treat it as such. If you don’t want to watch, don’t. If you do, feel free. But to bow to political pressure because some people have this quasi-religious image of Reagan, while it’s CBS’s call, I think its a bad call. It’s cowardice. It’s self-censorship based on negative press.
Politics is a dirty business. Reagan wasn’t a saint. Almost every President in this country’s history has had shades of gray. We’ve had TV movies that have explored the darker sides of Lincoln, of Franklin, of Jefferson, of Washington, of FDR, and of Truman, and there are probably others. Why should Reagan be any different?
It’s not a documentary. It’s a dramatization.
Luigi Novi: Bûllšhìŧ. JFK has LONG been criticized for its lies and propaganda. And I seem to recall people posting links here to newstories about what really happened during Jessica Lynch’s captivity and rescue.
skrinq: The JFK comments occurred AFTER the release of the film, and did not preclude nor prevent the film from being shown. Apples and oranges, Luigi. This instance is a priori.
I am at a loss as to what links posted here have to do with any of this. The point was that there is no similar hue and cry for so-called ‘accuracy’ about the jingoistic, and demonstrably incorrect, Lynch film.
Luigi Novi: I have to wonder why, in the photograph of Judy Davis as Nancy Reagan on that page of the Drudge Report, Judy is scowling. It almost seems to telegraph what her portrayal of Nancy Reagan will be like. (Oddly enough, I remember that Nancy Reagan was supposedly criticized for the way she would gaze at her husband in public, like at his inauguration, for example.)
skrinq: For maximum emotional effect, Drudge chose a picture to elicit a reaction from those that may choose to visit his site that bolsters Drudge’s views, and the views of those he links to on this topic. Simple, basic propaganda, or, if you prefer, editorial judgment.
Upshot: let the dámņëd thing air and stand or fall on its own merits. Informed, even rabid, comment, rebuttal and opinion after the fact will be infinitely more valuable.
Personal opinion: the onset of advanced Alzheimer’s was clearly evident during RR’s 2nd term to anyone familiar with the pathology. One can even espy traces of the onset of Alzheimer’s back when RR was Governor of California.
(opinon here, your may vary): won’t be watching regardless. Couldn’t stomach watching the real RR at the time, who, up until the current resident of 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, was the President who did the most damage to the country, its foundations, poltical structure and people.
I am at a loss as to what links posted here have to do with any of this. The point was that there is no similar hue and cry for so-called ‘accuracy’ about the jingoistic, and demonstrably incorrect, Lynch film.
I haven’t seen anything “demonstrably false” about the Lynch film or the Pentagon’s version of the rescue.
(quote): I haven’t seen anything “demonstrably false” about the Lynch film or the Pentagon’s version of the rescue.
(response): With all due respect, then perhaps you haven’t been paying much attention.
The writer of the Lynch film has admitted to inserting and including falsehoods.
As for the Pentagon ‘version’ – too much to be debunked than space or time here allows. Just for starters: her doctors in U.S. facilities, repeatedly announcing that she actually had no gunshot wounds. Pentagon claims that she ’emptied her weapon’ before being taken into custody. Then there were the Iraqi medical personnnel who tried to deliver her, in an ambulance, to the U.S. forces before the ‘rescue’ and were turned back at gunpoint.
Trying to get this topic a little bit ‘back on track’:
Given the state of “reality” tv nowadays, I’d be surprised if somebody sued CBS because there really wasn’t any Martians!
(And no, Ray Walston’s old character doesn’t count folks.)
\\(quote): I haven’t seen anything “demonstrably false” about the Lynch film or the Pentagon’s version of the rescue.
(response): With all due respect, then perhaps you haven’t been paying much attention.
The writer of the Lynch film has admitted to inserting and including falsehoods.
As for the Pentagon ‘version’ – too much to be debunked than space or time here allows. Just for starters: her doctors in U.S. facilities, repeatedly announcing that she actually had no gunshot wounds. Pentagon claims that she ’emptied her weapon’ before being taken into custody. Then there were the Iraqi medical personnnel who tried to deliver her, in an ambulance, to the U.S. forces before the ‘rescue’ and were turned back at gunpoint.\\
I have been paying attention, more than some of the knee jerk responders here. The Pentagon never said that Lynch emptied her weapon. That was leaked raw intelligence (intercepted from the Iraqis). The CENTCOM briefers and Gen. Brooks never claimed that or that Lynch was shot. Like Instapundit says, those canards have been long discredited: http://www.instapundit.com/archives/012398.php
As for the ambulance story, what actually happened, as reported by Nicholas Kristof in the NYT (no friend of the Bush administration) was that the Fedayeen in control of the hospital ordered Lynch to be killed in an ambulance and make it look like the Americans did it. The driver managed to avoid it by claiming that it was too dangerous.