Posted on 11/07/2003 2:26:14 PM PST by FlyLow
The big news this week has been about made-for-TV movies, specifically, the Jessica Lynch movie on NBC and the Reagan docu-drama that was pulled from CBS. There's been a lot of controversy over these two projects, and I'm not sure why.
Let's start with the Jessica Lynch movie. People on the left are upset and suspect that the Lynch movie is a Bush-inspired bit of hagiography, the implication being that the reports of the Lynch affair were greatly exaggerated and that she didn't really do anything brave. (I'm not making this up; I get emails making this case all the time.)
Let's stipulate that the nitty-gritty details of the Lynch capture and rescue are unknowable except to those who were present. So what do we know? Jessica Lynch is a young woman who joined the military, went to Iraq, saw a bunch of her buddies killed, was wounded, and then taken prisoner by Iraqis soldiers. She was later rescued. (New reports suggest that she didn't shoot anyone before her capture and that she was raped as a prisoner.)
That she endured all of that doesn't make her brave? I think women who fight breast cancer are brave; people who endure physical peril and face death for their country are pretty darn heroic in my book, whether or not they inflicted any enemy casualties. Jessica Lynch is soldier; she did her duty and shed her blood so that the people at DemocraticUnderground.com can embarrass themselves in the safety of their local Starbucks.
Clearly, what's going on here is transference. People who hate George W. Bush hate him so much that they're taking it out on Lynch. Shame on them.
As for "The Reagans," haven't we seen this before? We have an entertainment program that some people find offensive. This group of people puts pressure on the broadcast network not to air it. The network acquiesces. When's the last time you saw this? Dr. Laura's show!
Remember how outraged the gay community was about Dr. Laura and how they petitioned TV outlets not to air her show and advertisers to boycott it?
Now that the shoe's on the other foot, the liberal community is crying censorship. Raise your hand if you're surprised.
But there's one question I have about both of these controversies: Since when did we start caring about made-for-TV-movies? There was a made-for-TV movie about "Three's Company." It's not like it's either an honor or a definitive entry in the historical record. It's only entertainment.
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