WP: rates "DC 9/11" movie as 'an insult' & 'primitive propaganda'

[diamond14]

Dull Paean
Showtime's 'DC 9/11' Is A Shameless Bush Booster

By Tom Shales
Washington Post Staff Writer
Saturday, September 6, 2003; Page C01

-snips-

Simultaneously dull and disgraceful, "DC 9/11: Time of Crisis," a new Showtime movie, uses the tragic attack on America in 2001 as the basis for a reelection campaign movie on behalf of George W. Bush.

The film is an insult to those who perished in the attacks and, really, an insult to America generally, but it's so insanely boring that people aren't likely to become very outraged over it. Written by conservative Republican Lionel Chetwynd, who admits to a bias in Bush's favor, the film -- premiering on Showtime tomorrow night at 8 -- is primitive propaganda that portrays Bush as the noblest hero since Mighty Mouse.

Obviously some of the most troubling issues raised by the attack -- including the horrendous failure of U.S. intelligence -- are not mentioned or are briskly glossed over. Chetwynd is determined to show Bush and all the little Bushkins behaving like living saints. Even sinister adviser Karl Rove, the Dr. Strangelove (Strangerove?) of the administration, is turned into a human platitude, though at one point he does dare to note it would be "politically wise" for the president to make his speech to the joint session of Congress.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A33336-2003Sep5.html

[JohnKleeb]

1. me, my dad, and my brother were discussing this and agreed

We all laughed too because Tim Bottoms who played Bush on thats my bush plays Bush. I told my little bro about that one line that has shrub acting like a tough guy and he thought it was funny and he now jokes as do I that Bush was really saying goddamnit Osama or thanks Osama.

[ET Awful]

2. Such a glowing review :)

I wonder what the other reviewers will have to say :)

[nostamj]

4. reviews have been uniformly negative...

don't have the links but I've read at least three.

"propaganda" is the word most repeated.

get this... this is the 'tag line' in the TV Guide full-page ad:

It was hard enough being you that day.
This is what it was like to be President.

[diamond14]

6. haha...'primitive propaganda'...really good chimp description...

nt

[sham]

19. that tagline is a fucking disgrace!!!

:puke:

[Snoopy2]

32. Rubert Murdoch's News Corp

owns the TV Guide - must be a job requirement that they love the movie.

Fox will probably be giving the movie great reviews also.

[nostamj]

35. TV Guide

they gave the movie a 4 out of 10.

"The film's static approach gives no room for personality, only patriotism."

but, then, there's this puke:

"The Bush administration depicted here seems a weak imitation of the one that helped heal the nation in 2001."

"heal the nation" right. by DEMANDING a full investigation? by HUNTING DOWN bin Laden???

[Cooley Hurd]

3. Download "That's My Bush" if you want historical accuracy...

...especially the ecstacy episode.

[ThoughtCriminal]

5. Maybe

This will be so over the top absurd that the question of Bush's actual behavior on that morning will be re-examined. Maybe a few journalists will ask - what did he really do? How did he react?

I've said before, if the full video of Bush sitting in the classroom doing nothing and asking no questions when informed of the attack, was ever played to a national audience, the game would be over.

[AndyTiedye]

12. You Mean...

This will do for 9/11
What "Mission Accomplished" did for his war record?

[robbedvoter]

7. Another pan from Star ledger. I guess it won't be on networks too soon

http://www.nj.com/tv/ledger/index.ssf?/base/entertainment-0/1062654913166110.xml

Bush's finest hour

Subtlety is victim as 9/11 drama shows a president clearly in charge

Showtime was the perfect place for a trial balloon. It sunk.

[diamond14]

15. haha... like "a Soviet propaganda effort from the 1970s, that was

designed to be aired on May Day."

hahaha....

:bounce: :bounce: :bounce:

shrub...self-destructing on his own 'primitive propaganda'

:nuke:

[proud patriot]

8. Hahahahaha Rove the "Dr. Strangelove" of this Admin.. Ha ha ha

:-)

[chaumont58]

9. The beltway whores will see that it is nominated for an Emmy

I can see Tweety and Margaret Carlson all but crying over the "graphic beauty of the retelling of events of those terrible days." And, of course, we are all so lucky that the Supreme Court stole the election, else Gore would have been President on that day.

[kentuck]

10. Along with his speech....

the movie is part of a propaganda blitzkrieg thought up by Herr Rove and Herr Bush...but it's the dummy that sells the act.

[Tansy_Gold]

31. Yes, the dummy sells the act. . . .

. . . . and many viewers (I hesitate to call them "people") will buy it.

I love that the movie is being panned by all respectable reviewers, but I'm reserving some caution on how effective the reviews are going to be.

No matter how awful this movie is, no matter how inaccurate and propagandistic, you can bet your sweet bippy the repuke core of couch potatoes will love it and will believe every lie in it to be the absolute gospel from god's mouth to their eyes truth. No connection between 9/11 and our "friends" in Saudi Arabia, Iraq as the birthplace of all terrorism, no one in the administration could have guessed they'd use airplanes, and of course it was all Clinton's fault (or at least his penis' fault).

And because it's packaged as "entertainment" and not documentary or news or political campaigning, there will be no call to counter any of its allegations.

I do not like this. I do not like it at all.

(edited for typo)

[ComerPerro]

11. Whats next

Movies about how other countries cannot stand up to the Nazi Supermen of ...

Wait, wrong facist regieme.

[CatWoman]

13. *snarf* -- * as Mighty Mouse

Here I come to save the d-a-a-a-a-a-yyyyyyyyyyy

[Akbar]

14. I Heard a Rumor

I heard that everyone involved with the movie "Showgirls" is lobbying to get this 9/11 flick a theatrical release.

[nostamj]

16. and they've been joined

by the Gigli and Ishtar teams

[tbhpolitoon]

17. I'm glad I don't get shotime any more

[kentuck]

18. This isn't one of their "free" weekends, is it?

I'd better check....

[Sterling]

21. Why Showtime agreed to this escapes me.

Generally the are very progressive, minority and gay friendly. This is really odd.

[librechik]

20. "People can't have an AWOL president!"

har har...

Sounds like a laugh fest worthy of a drinking game. Everytime Bush holds a meeting, take a drink.

[Insider]

22. please help

i must be missing something...

movie starts at 8pm EST. news reports say that junior talks to nation at 8:30pm for about 15 mins. why the odd time DURING the movie?

edit for links:
news story with time for speech - http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/afp/20030906/wl_mideast_afp/us_iraq_bush_speech_030906014857

yahoo TV listings for showtime movie 8pm
www.yahoo.com

[nostamj]

23. damn! that is strange...

i assumed the move was at 9pm.....

[kentuck]

24. To compensate for those that don't get ShowTime ?

They're covering all the bases.

[Walt Starr]

25. It's simple, really

They've seen the movie and they've seen the reviews. They know damn well and good nobody, and I mean NOBODY is going to buy this load of stinking bullshit.

[diamond14]

26. it is awful arrogant...especially coming on the heels of the EPA

lies about the air quality...it's all spiralling out of control for the shrub...even the old stand-by KKKarl rove tactics are failing...

[Buns_of_Fire]

27. The title fits: "Dull Paean"

Boosh certainly is dull(-witted).

And every time he picks up Barney on camera, I sincerely hope he paes on him.

[BeFree]

28. Imagine

It has been two years. How many TV movies have we seen about that day? I can't think of one.

So, in a nation of sheeple, a nation scared of it's own shadow government, imagine what a shock it would be to show the sum of all our knowledge. It'd all be over. The sheeple would run in all directions; chaos would ensue. All systems would freeze and our society would.....well, it wouldn't be a pretty picture.

Imagine this movie as just the first installment on Justice.

Imagine that the next movie will unleash the wolf at the door just a bit more. Imagine.

[devarsi]

29. Remember "Springtime For Hitler?"

The horrible musical designed to fail from the Mel Brooks film/play The Producers?

I wonder if DC 9/11 could have a similar impact, and end up being unintentionally funny? That would be fitting, since this entire administration feels like some nightmarish joke.

[diamond14]

30. great flash that says it all....(caution: disturbing photos of WTC)

Thanks to blah3.com and symbolman for their great work...please support Take Back the Media....this flash video needs to be seen on all media to help Americans focus on the real issues....

http://www.takebackthemedia.com/true911.html

[KC]

33. Here is another article about the show

That’s Our Bush!
The president’s re-election campaign kicks off with a shameless 9-11 docudrama

In the end 9-11 turned out to be a made-for-TV movie, or rather, the basis for one—a shameless propaganda vehicle for our superstar president George W. Bush.

snip

The feature DC 9/11: Time of Crisis is a signal advance in the instant, ongoing fictionalization of American history, complete with the president fulminating most presidentially against "tinhorn terrorists," decisively employing the word problematic in a complete sentence, selling a rationale for preemptive war, and presciently laying out American foreign policy for the next 18 months

snip

A movie that attempted to reconstruct Bush’s actual activities on 9-11 would be fascinating, if not entirely heroic. A detailed attempt to account for the president’s movements and actions on what he later termed that "interesting day" may be found at the Center for Cooperative Research website (cooperativeresearch.org): Bush had just arrived at a Florida elementary school for a pre-planned 9 a.m. photo op when he was informed that a plane had crashed into the WTC 15 minutes before. Bush would later make the impossible claim that he saw the event televised live. (In early December, the president told an Orlando audience he’d been watching TV that morning and saw "an airplane hit the tower of a—of a—you know . . . and I said, ‘Well, there’s one terrible pilot.’") As Secret Service men evidently were watching TV in another classroom, however, news of the second crash reached him almost immediately. Bush’s startled response, documented on video for all eternity and seen by millions, is restaged in the movie: as Chief of Staff Andrew Card appears beside Bush and whispers in his ear, the president responds with visible shock and panic (the real Bush was more expressive than Bottoms). Missing from DC 9/11 is the president’s next move—picking up a children’s book called The Pet Goat.

much more

http://www.ocweekly.com/ink/04/01/film-hoberman.php

[veganwitch]

34. i wonder what the ratings will be

im sure there are those who will watch only because of the nature of the program or just to see if its really that bad.

is it possible to see the number of people watching per half hour??