March of the Pigeon Doves

On a hot tip, I checked out the trailer and media coverage of the forthcoming Redford/Streep/Cruise Drama "Lions for Lambs". No surprises here, of course, but I can't help but be a little more disappointed than usual with Hollywood's "slice like a hammer" subtlety. The plot, which switches excitedly between three simultaneous stories, bludgeons the viewer with the "truth" about the war in Iraq that has been so craftily hidden by its proponents - namely that it is a complete failure (of course), an outright sham, and that our brave soldiers are merely victims of their own deluded patriotism.

First, and foremost, the claims of a supposed lack of volition, and intellectual fortitude and foresight, on the part of our armed forces volunteers is the worst form of soft bigotry. But the most telling and intellectually dishonest line from the trailer has got to be Streep's quip to Cruise that his demands for a continued involvement in the War on Terror are easy for "the man in the air conditioned room." This, of course, from the woman in the air conditioned movie studio, being paid 7 figures to assault a war and an administration that she and her colleagues have opposed since before they began. If one who is not on the front lines of combat is unfit to support the war, than how exactly does one become fit to disparage it? After all, blind support is no match for blind antagonism. As Redford's character laments, "The problem is with us, who do nothing." Except, of course, those of us who make movies.

Ironically, of all the times for this movie to begin its media blitz, it comes in the wake of an upbeat report from General Petraeus, collaborating testimony from the New York Times and an encouraging drop in Iraq casualties to a 14 month low (the fourth month straight of declines). And while momentum for a withdrawal is stalled in the Senate, it seems to be all the rage on the left coast, where a lineup of like-minded cinematic endeavors await anxiously in the wings for their chance at a "limited release", brief box office disappointment, and eventual place in Nancy Pelosi's Netflix queue.


(Hat tip: Acai)