finethen wrote:

But until you see "Syriana," nominated for best screenplay (and George Clooney, for best supporting actor) you have no idea how self-flagellation and self-loathing pass for complexity and moral seriousness in Hollywood

UGH. So this is the new right-wing rant? Hollywood is out of touch with the rest of the God-loving country? Fuck that.

This is a regular subject on AM radio. Apparently they don't like the "immoral" images that hollywood sends people about how to live. Secretly some of them are probably worried about the societal influence of people on McCarthy's list.

I didn't really get this take from Syriana, but its at least interesting enough to mention. This almost makes me want to watch it again. I didn't really think that any of the people in the movie were heros. I thought that was the point.

I'm somewhat disturbed by the characterization of this film and Munich by conservatives as "morally confused" because they portray Americans or Isrealis as complex people who are not always right about everything. The idea that Americans must not be protrayed in a critical light is childish at best, and fascist at worst. Will the new movie awards I link above be a short lived and widely ignored experient, or will they become a central institution, like Fox News, growing in influence until what is today declared immoral is declared illegal?

Failure to allow serious criticism is weakness. Totalitarianism is where weakness leads.

RE: Oscars for Osama