tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2693193782781587906.post5339680467878934138..comments2023-03-22T00:08:03.700-07:00Comments on Humanity Against Crimes: Too Unpopular to Talk About?ondelettehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14931892878918352763noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2693193782781587906.post-37034632730867997372008-04-22T20:55:00.000-07:002008-04-22T20:55:00.000-07:00Movie studios want to make money. They'd be happy...Movie studios want to make money. They'd be happy if the these films made money. They have a process, perhaps not a good one, to estimate whether a movie will strike it big or not. Recent independent movies that made it big had small early releases like most such films.<BR/><BR/>I suspect that rk is right, people aren't ready to see such movies. I don't know why, but I suspect the answer is complex. People need to feel safe to see the movie. One must be free to express anger at those who conduct torture. It's a combination of movies, media, bloggers, campaigns, etc., that may bring this to a tipping point. Movies are just 1 component. Of course if McCain had half the courage he's purported to have, he could have brought this to the forefront all by himself.karrsichttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18014372426213645707noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2693193782781587906.post-45524667276500946952008-04-22T13:37:00.000-07:002008-04-22T13:37:00.000-07:00While there are those who will naturally seek out ...While there are those who will naturally seek out such films in furtherance of their pursuit of meaning and understanding, there are probably many more who will only be prepared to confront meaning and understanding retrospectively. <BR/><BR/>While this may not be the perfect example, I'll guess that most, if not all, of the most popular and critically acclaimed movies about the war in Vietnam were released long after the last helicopter left Saigon.<BR/><BR/>But perhaps more to the point, there is literally nothing of redeeming value to be found in the war stories of today to temper the unmitigated horror.<BR/><BR/><I>Rendition</I>, while not exactly mainstream Hollywood fare, not only finds several American heroes (the Jake Gyllenhaal and Peter Sarsgaard characters), but conjures up a fitting punishment for the torturer, too.<BR/><BR/>In other words, the story that lies at the heart of this particular movie manages to create the redemptive illusion that we're only a hero or two away from putting an end to this abomination. And, in the end - or was that the beginning? - justice will be served (if you've seen the film, you'll understand the reference).<BR/><BR/>Therefore, one could argue that this movie has almost nothing to do with the reality of rendition (most people don't even know about the movie, let alone the practice) or the reality of torture (the only time American hands are laid on the victim, a crisis of conscience immediately ensues). <BR/><BR/>Perhaps, at some instinctive level, the American audience knows that preventative war and torture are not subjects for feature films, because redemption is not possible...and why pretend otherwise?<BR/><BR/>I was reading just recently that German cinema has only recently (2007) dealt with the subject of the holocaust and the Nazi regime for the first time. Not sure whether this is true, but it speaks to my point.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com