And you thought you had enough to worry about, what with a Nuclear Persian Lunatic wanting to move Israel to Germany ...
Well, just read this week's Media Monitor by Jason Maoz in The Jewish Press: Spielberg's Munich Massacre
Here’s Spielberg ... on the non-judgmental tone of his new movie: “I think the thing I’m very proud of is that [screenwriter] Tony Kushner and I and the actors did not demonize anyone in the film. We don’t demonize our targets. They’re individuals. They have families. Although what happened in Munich I condemn.”So nice of Spielberg to assure us of his condemnation of the Munich massacre, especially after speaking of the terrorists who perpetrated it in such nauseatingly understanding terms. “They’re individuals. They have families.”
Liberal psychobabble at its gaudiest ....
Okay, so we're a little nervous. This review in The Telegraph (UK) confirms our anxiety:
... there are no one-dimensional baddies here; even the hit squad's targets are sympathetic or well-rounded. One Palestinian is a charming, civilised author; another is the loving father of a young daughter. A third has a calm, rational chat ... about his dreams for a homeland."The Palestinian targets are not demonised,"
[Spielberg's long-time producing colleague Kathleen] Kennedy said.
Calev Ben-David, writing for the Jerusalem Post, takes Spielberg to task for not personally speaking with any of the surviving participants, using a discredited source, and choosing Tony Kushner to co-write the screenplay. Don't know Tony Kushner? Back at the Jewish Press, Maoz outs him with this quote:
“I think the founding of the State of Israel was for the Jewish people a historical, moral, political calamity.... I wish modern Israel hadn’t been born.”
A reviewer at Fox News is already calling Spielberg's Munich "The Best Movie of 2005." S/he writes:
If it weren't based on a historic tragedy, you would say that "Munich" was a better version of the "Mission: Impossible" movies. It's hard to put the facts aside, but if you do, "Munich" is very good entertainment.
The problem lies in that it's NOT hard for most people to "put the facts aside," and if ever there was a time when facts mattered, it is now.
For your reference, the Jewish Virtual Library has a factual rendition of the Munich Massacre. Reading that factual account, we learn that the murders of 11 Israeli athletes "was not considered sufficiently serious to merit canceling or postponing the Olympics."
"Incredibly, they're going on with it," Jim Murray of the Los Angeles Times wrote at the time. "It's almost like having a dance at Dachau."
Just keep telling yourself that Spielberg "condemns" what happened at Munich. A nice Jewish boy would never dance at Dachau.... would he?
The movie premieres December 23, if we should live so long.
UPDATE: Esther Sarah highly recommends One Day in September for the real story.
Posted by: RR | Friday, 09 December 2005 at 01:37 PM