A new low for the Wall Street Journal happened today, which will no doubt inject the neocons with yet more mouth-frothing fury against anything that might point to, gasp, Obama’s successes. So you’re going to see a lot of articles like this. The Wall Street Journal is continually being called out by Media Matters for having undisclosed Romney advisors writing op-eds for their site. But it’s probably a new low to have them actually use some dumbass comment as legitimate news – I guess the beast must be fed.
The badly written article, Could ‘Zero Dark Thirty’ Boost Obama’s Campaign?” doesn’t even do the research on what Kathryn Bigelow and Marc Boal have said about the film. Any good reporter would have done this. A simple google search is all he needed to do. And yet – it’s 2012. Who cares about the truth.
Christopher Farley writes:
On the movie website Comingsoon.net, one user posted “Propaganda film…nothing more.” Bill Weir, an ABC Nightline anchor, tweeted that the trailer was “the best campaign ad Obama 2012 didn’t have to pay for.” Several conservative commentators have also complained that the movie–even thought it’s still unreleased–could boost Obama’s image.
Director Bigelow is one of the most critically-acclaimed directors in Hollywood, and became the first woman to win the Oscar for best director for her 2008 movie “The Hurt Locker.”
So let’s see. Sourced by an anonymous comment on a website and a tweet by a news anchor. Where’s the beef? You expect a story like that on a website like this. But not on the Wall Street Journal. Sure, it’s just a blog entry on the Wall Street Journal but to me it matters. A headline is a headline and soon to become another blowhard lecture by Rush Limbaugh.
It’s a shame that the media is so timid when it comes to accommodating a shrill and hysterical political party of whiners. They whine and everyone has to offer them a new piece of candy to shut them up.
Zero Dark Thirty will be as apolitical as THL, and the Wall Street Journal is way out of line to suggest otherwise.
If they want to report on scandal, manipulation and trickery, all the WSJ has to do is look out the window and scan their own neighbourhood. Stories aplenty right there.
The right is just bitter that they can never create good films, ever. I mean, didn’t they release that mockumentary just to somehow influence the race? And that horrible piece of shit Atlas Shrugged was just released as well. All republican propaganda.
Andre,
I can send you of links about articles and public debates about THL with people saying that. In “Folha de São Paulo” and “O Estado de São Paulo” arquives and probably in the left-wing political web site “Vermelho” (“Red”) (www.vermelho.org.br), you will find stuff like that. The Leni Riefenstahl statement was given in a public debate.
Two days after the Oscar-2010 “O Estado de São Paulo” publizes a lenghty coverage about the cerimony. A brazilian filmmaker (I know who is it, but I will not name it) did an article saying that the THL won over “Avatar” at the Academy Awards, was a strategically right wing choice to avoid a true and rare left-wing movie that came from HOllywood (Fox News will not agree with him…) to win the Oscar.
Some people even say that the fact the movie has the title “Guerra ao Terror” (“War on Terror”) proves he is pro Iraq War, forgeting – or not even knowking – that, this is not the original title of THL, and it was given here, in Brazil. Try to googled words like “Guerra ao Terror”, o filme / direita”, “Guerra ao Terror, o filme / reacionário”, etc, something close to that, and you know what I mean.
Anyhow, I agree with you. THL is a neutral film. It’s neither “The Green Berets” or “Rambo II” or “Coming Home” or “Born On the Fourth of July”. THL is about the exciment, the vice in adrenaline, in fighting on the war field. You can get the movie and puts in any war, and the result will be the same. In fact, I can remember that the words Iraq War, etc, were barely spoken on debating during THL.
Oddly I agree with you that a Dench tour de force in a 007 film could merit a BSA nod. But it would have to be in a year like 2006, when the category widened its net to two actresses from “babel” – neither of whom have been seen since. Dench as M could have snuck in then. But this year? With this slate? No way.
Phantom,
Thank you for your post about Skyfall, I have been a James Bond junkie since I was a little girl, my dad got me hooked on them. I think Skyfall looks great in the trailers but I wasn’t sure about the critics so I took a risk when I said what the hell and went ahead and planned a huge afternoon tea and Skyfall event with my movie club. Now I have hope I didn’t make a mistake.
And shame on the WSJ they have gone down the tubes!
Unlikely hood
Sorry for the hijacking, I just came across those rave reviews and was so genuinely shocked I had to share it with someone, so I hid behind the rather convenient ‘OffTopic’ mask. Sasha’s right, no Bond-film will be (ever) taken seriously by the Academy, so my wordwomit was basically just a vague theory thought out loud…but thanks anyway 🙂
Phantom you win at Internet. You thread-hijacked on comment one, got a later commenter to apologize to you and the piece’s author to go “hey good point.” My emoticons bow to you.
Haggar you got 1 out of 5 right: hooper. You’d be crazy to bet against Russell, Affleck, or Spielberg getting nom’d. The 5th one might be from your list but those four have about the same odds as Peter Jackson or benh zeitlin.
Joao:
I’m also brazilian and I have NEVER heard that type of rhetoric to describe “THR”. Even the ultra-leftie-everything-american-is-bad kids from my film class loved it. Very few people I know have actually SEEN it, in fact.
But I have a hard time seeing how both these films can be seen as politically biased… they just seem like damn good military action films to me!”The Hurt Locker”, in my opinion, is a completely neutral film, politically speaking. This looks to be the same. And that is good.
The Wallstreet journal USED to be a good and respected newspaper before Rupert Murdoch got his grubby paws on it. Now the only good part of the paper that remains is the news section, the op-Eds are nothing more than right-Wing propaganda and a mouth piece for the Republican party. It became the print version of Fox news. My parents used to be royal WSJ customers, not anymore.
This war on ZD30 as pro-Obama propaganda is as ridiculous as their yearly manufactured ‘war on Christmas’ stories. These loons really can’t handle the truth about Obama’s admin taking down American’s enemy #1, something their side had been promising to do for years with nothing to show for it.
Comment Going to call Best Director now. I really think it’s going to be:
KB – Zero Dark Thirty
QT – Django Unchained
TH – Les Miserable
AL – Life of PI
PTA – The Master
The Django Unchained trailer has also convinced me that it will be, alongside Life of Pi, a strong contender in the cinematography category.
Oh, Lord there is such an bittersweet irony in all that for a brazilian. As a center-right man (but I guess Sean Penn would have a good time having a beer with me, as my tons lefties buddies has; besides I will not vote for Romney in this race if I’m american) I must say: here in Brazil, “The Hurt Locker” is almost universally hated by the left (but also for the non political people), as a disguting piece of far right propaganda gloryfing the Iraq War, Bush, and USA.
I’m dead serious about that.
The most over-the-top commentary I heard in a public debate: “This woman is the Leni Riefenstahl for Bush crusaders”. Again, I’m not kidding…
For several times, I almost lose my voice and had pain in my fingers, for trying to convince people that they are totally wrong about this. And a lot of them didn’t have a clue that Mark Boal from THL is also the mand behind for the original source of inspiration for “In The Valley of the Elah”, a movie tha a bunch of these people use as the example for a decent cinema about the subject.
So, when “Zero” will open here, and people will noticed that is from the “fascist” woman from THL, I guess my ears will burn with these incredible misinterpretation of art.
Ah yes, Liberal Hollywood trying to influence the election by pumping out propaganda in the months leading up to November 6th. Shameful!! You’d never see the Right stoop so low.
Oh wait..
http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/2016_obamas_america/
Sorry Phantom, missed your comment.
I am just befuddled how Zero Dark Thirty can be accused of being propaganda. If, God forbid, Romney were elected, how exactly is it going to help Obama when its released six weeks (or so) after the election.
Anyone?
Also, considering the whole recent Lincoln screening/anonymous viewer quoted by well known writer, does anyone else here see a theme developing … ?
LOL, and here I live in Europe and completely under the impression that The Wall Street Journal is one of the most prestigious publications in the US. I guess not. Sure, ‘Zero Dark Thirty’ is such a huge propaganda film that it will be even released before the election with the sole purpose to manipulate viewers just like ‘2016 : Obama’s America’ and ‘Atlas Shrugged Part II’, two outrageous shitfests claiming to be ‘films’ with producers proudly stating that their film’s sole purpose is to ‘influence voters’. Oh, but wait a second, Zero Dark Thirty does NOT come out before the election…so what, now they are going after the trailer ? Based on a comment on Comingsoon.net ? Really ? WOW ! Just…WOW ! Idiots !
Articles like this only work in Obama’s favour I believe. His detractors are best off not making any correlation with Obama’s accomplishments. And if he hadn’t accomplished anything in the first place they would have no need to complain. They’re basically admitting he has done some good.
OT : It was worth hiring Sam Mendes, SKYFALL has just received early raves from THR and Variety.
http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/review/skyfall-review-daniel-craig-378796
http://www.variety.com/review/VE1117948556?refcatid=31
Apparently Judi Dench’s M is a bigger presence this time around and – gasp – she nails it. With her well-received sleeper hit (The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel) earlier this year AND her excellent track record with the Academy, could she actually enter the supporting actress race ? Thoughts ?
Even if it is a masterpiece, after seeing the Academy ignoring genre films like ‘The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo’, ‘Drive’, ‘Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows’, ‘The Dark Knight’ etc., I’m not dellusional enough to believe that a Bond-film could have a viable shot at any main category (picture, director, screenplay, actor), but a bunch of technical nods will probably happen…and I think Dench is the wild card.
Phantom – I don’t know about this and Oscar. No matter how good it is it is still James Bond. But who knows right?