Independent movie critic Louis Chilton has caused considerable controversy with a recent column raising concerns over Oppenheimer, a film that is not only a commercial blockbuster but a critically acclaimed work with five Golden Globe (including best picture) and 13 Academy Award nominations. The success for Chilton was ominous and prompted his own Oppenheimeresque moment of wondering if “I am Become Death, the Destroyer of [Movies].” He denounced the film as a return to making movies for “macho dads.”
There is widespread alarm among celebrities over Barbie being “snubbed” from nominations for the Best Director and Best Actress categories. Hillary Clinton joined in by lamenting the nomination of “Kenough” while suggesting that she knew how Margot Robbie and Greta Gerwig felt when you “win the box office but not take home the gold.”
Former Obama Director of Communications Jennifer Palmieri joined the irate crowd in declaring “It’s still so easy for Hollywood to overlook and discount artistic contributions of women – EVEN WHEN ITS THE POINT OF THE YEAR’S BIGGEST MOVIE!”
I did see “Oppenheimer” and I am indeed a Dad — as well as a history buff. I also had no interest in seeing “Barbie” though my wife and daughter loved the film. That all may confirm the demographics for Chilton and critics. However, the Independent went further in the article titled “Does Oppenheimer’s award season domination herald a troubling return to Hollywood’s macho ‘dad movie’ days?”
Putting aside that Oppenheimer was hardly a physics-based version of True Grit or Die Hard, it was a film based on dramatic real events leading to the use of the first atomic bomb. As someone who primarily reads and enjoys historical accounts, it was a refreshing choice.
While acknowledging that the movie was “meaty, intelligent and wonderfully crafted,” Chilton declared that “[n]o matter how reductive this assertion may be – that Nolan’s film is simply “one for the boys” … [with its] bombs and the evils of war – and it’s easy to see why the film has been pigeonholed as a quintessential ‘dad movie.'”
Like many such woke objections, the criticism contains an overtly sexist bias. There are plenty of women who are interested in history and, yes, even “bombs and the evils of war.” Many did not exclusively go only to that movie. Many went to both and loved both — as did my wife.
What is most notable is how the objection is that Oppenheimer represents a regression from the “progress” made in moving away from “Dad movies.” We have been discussing how such social agendas have shaped films at companies like Disney and recently led to various shareholder fights. Disney, for example, has had a string of relative flops and has lost its position as the most profitable film company. Even the CEO Bob Iger admits that the companies political and social agenda has undermined profits.
Disney recently seemed to acknowledge that it is facing its own Bud Light moment. In its annual SEC report, Disney acknowledges that “we face risks relating to misalignment with public and consumer tastes and preferences for entertainment, travel and consumer products.”
Other companies have also faced disasters in moving away from a significant part of their markets. The most vivid example is BudLight and the comments of Alissa Heinerscheid, vice president of marketing for Bud Light, before the company went into a market dive.
Before the devastating boycott over the Mulvaney promotion, Heinerscheid was lionized by many for pledging to drop Bud Light’s “fratty reputation and embrace inclusivity.” Bud Light lost its top position among beers and, despite many insisting that the opposition would be short-lived, it has continued to suppress sales.
Other businesses have faced similar backlash. For example, Sports Illustrated has just laid off most of its staff and previously faced similar criticism.
For these companies, the business and legal question is whether social and political agendas undermine the fiduciary obligation of the boards to shareholders and investors. Notably, Oppenheimer was a massive hit both financially and critically. Yet, the concern is that it is returning to the “bad old days” of movie making.
Chilton noted that “[t]he roster of significant male characters…is deep and illustrious” while objecting that female characters are less prominent and well developed. Yet, this is a movie on a historic secret program where the principle characters were almost exclusively male. That certainly reflected the times and the limited opportunities for many women in the field. However, there is a reason why the principal characters are largely male because they were playing male historical figures.
My only objection is that the movie left out one male figure of enormous and unheralded historic importance to the development of the atomic bomb: my father. While he was training as a telegraph officer at the University of Chicago in the Navy, Jack Turley was told to stand guard over a football field and squash court. They never told him why. They gave him a shotgun with a bayonet taped to the end. With that curious weapon, he was told to “guard” the site. The sailor who he was replacing told him that his primary threat was a prostitute named Rosie who brought customers under the stands. He found out later that Enrico Fermi and his colleagues had achieved the first chain reaction under Stagg Field. I can only imagine what would have come of the experiments and the Manhattan Project if my father had not kept the Russians (and Rosie) at bay. You are welcome, America.
The Independent movie captures the debate that continues to rage across various industries. However, it is striking to see a major work of cinematic art subjected to such handwringing and angst. Of course, Oppenheimer admitted that he was never truly prepared for “the fact that the world is full of cruel and bitter things.” It appears that his eponymous movie is experiencing the same realization.
Am I to understand that the prog/left ideologists that have the notion that they direct all human culture have decided to protest against the one most singular theme in all of human history – the saga of the male hero? This only further illustrates the vast divide between the reality of human experience as attested to throughout history and the utopian, faculty lounge delusions that have come to dominate our once great institutions of higher learning?
Raytheon and the Girl Scouts . .. where Barbie meets Oppenheimer
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WnzgcoDHFWg
Amazing video of the jaguar making an attack like that.
An aside, I was surprised to learn that big cats like cougars and panthers can purr although lions and tigers cannot.
Lions and tigers can’t purr? Oh my!
Mr. Smith has very good taste.
Wait, True Grit a macho dad movie? Isn’t that about the grit of a teenage girl?
OldManFromKS,
Right?
Jonathan: So what else is in the news besides the movies? For starters Business Insider has this headline today: “The WH Medical Unit operated a pharmacy that gave out controlled substances to ineligible Trump staffers”. What’s that about?
The Insider got hold of a new report by the DOD Inspector General. It details how the WHMU doled out drugs like Fentanyl, Morphine, Ketamine, Hydrocodine and other controlled substances in violation of DOD guidelines. The report includes a list of the banned substances but the names of recipients are blacked out. Probably for good reason.
We already have reports from a lot of former DJT WH staffers who describe life inside the WH as a living hell. Trying to deal with a deranged President who saw enemies everywhere–and often made illegal and unhinged demands of staffers. No wonder they sought refuge in banned drugs to deal with that insanity!
My don’t you love to opine over things you are clueless about.
I am sure that for many the Trump WH has hell. The Biden WH is certainly worse.
Any position – even the most inconsequential in the whitehouse must be done with near perfection, and it must be done at almost any hour of the day.
Nearly all of what is done in the WH is done by young inexperienced staff. While there are key people in positions of power with significant experience – these are the few. They direct and have veto power – but they do not do the work.
The WH notoriously burns out and often disallusions those who work there – without respect for party or ideology.
The successful ones “cash out” they go to Fox or CNN and take far easier jobs for far higher pay lasting for decades.
As to your Drug scandal. If the WH pharmacy was violating the law – find and prosecute those who did so.
Do so whether under Trump or Biden or Obama.
If you can actually tie the lawlessness to senior people – prosecute them too.
Applying the rule of law, not man, is not all that difficult, you just enforce the actual law. You prosecute ordinary crimes using standard readings of the law that have applied everywhere all the time.
I have no doubt that many in the Trump WH had drug problems. At the same time it is near certain that is worse int he Biden WH and probably the Obama WH. Drug abuse and mental health strongly correlate, and the actual data is that anxiety and depression are most common by large measures in young, left leaning females. That overall conservatives are happier and have better mental health.
To be clear this is a solid rule of thumb – not a rule of law. There are with absolute certainty some very anzious, depressed unhappy conservatives.
But even on this blog it is self evident that those of you on the far left are significantly more anxious and depressed.
Biden administration plows forward with electric buses even as cities stuck with inoperable vehicles
“Despite multiple cities with inoperable electric buses, the Biden administration announced it had selected 67 applicants to receive nearly $1 billion in taxpayer money to purchase over 2,700 “clean” school buses in 280 school districts across 37 states.”
https://justthenews.com/politics-policy/energy/biden-administration-plows-forward-electric-buses-despite-cities-stuck
Lets waste more money.
Oh, Well, a billion here a billion there it only money that our kids will have to pay back.
Atleast we will get another lesson in how much better the Free market is at these things than government.
Upstate, remember when the government gave tax breaks to anyone that gave up their horse in order to buy a Model T Ford from Henry Ford? No, of course not because it never happened. Did the government pay people to ride horses instead of gas powered cars? Nope, not that either.
Biden is a typical incompetent who has to pay off EVERYONE in order to try to be popular. He is the person at your office who is barely able to do his or her job and therefore always brings in the birthday cake or handles “team building” dinners. He is like the poor acne suffering teenager who has to do all the driving in order for the kids to hang around with him.
Biden paid off Iran, paid off students, paid off African nations, paid off Mexico, is paying off Ukraine, is paying off China (by killing our energy sector, destroying our border, ruining our economy, not shooting down their balloon), paid off Hamas with billions to the West Bank, is paying off the nations of Central America as a way to “get to the root causes of illegal immigration, is paying off illegal immigrants with phones, money, airplane rides, is paying off South Carolina by giving them the first primary, paid off women of color with Harris and Katanji Brown Jackson.
Joe Biden is using our money to try to win votes and to try to make himself “like FDR”.
John Say: Thank you for taking 8 full paragraphs to say what I explained in just 3. While you admit there were some serious drug problems inside the DJT WH, you then vainly claim the problems were “worse” in the 8 yrs of Obama. Any reported drug problems back then? Nope. Biden has been in office almost 4 years. Any reported problems? Nope.
Because that gambit failed miserably you resort to your old standby–accuse the “far left” as “significantly more anxious and depressed”. Have any data to back up your claim? Didn’t expect so.
Sorry, but I have to get back to the game. I have $100 riding on the outcome!
you certainly took a lot of time away from “the game” to see if anyone noticed your comment…and responded.
I think the “Macho Dad” movies they were complaining about were the James Bond movies. But those may have been very good money-makers & “box office gold.”
In other news,
Hunter Biden partner Rob Walker confirms payments to Biden family, China deal began when Joe was VP
“Walker was closely involved with Hunter Biden’s initial dealings with CEFC China Energy, the same company that sent millions to the Biden family.”
https://justthenews.com/accountability/political-ethics/rob-walker-detailed-payments-biden-family-china-deal-while-joe-was
Ukraine says it uncovered $40 million scheme to embezzle money meant for weapons
“The supplier “did not send a single artillery shell to our country, and took the received funds into the shadows,” Ukraine said.”
https://justthenews.com/accountability/waste-fraud-and-abuse/ukraine-says-it-uncovered-40-million-scheme-embezzle-money
Dennis the Menace!
Dennis the Gnat!
“. . . a pharmacy that gave out controlled substances . . .”
As opposed to the Biden WH where it’s: BYOC.
You’re a liar, and so is business insider.
“For starters Business Insider has this headline today: “The WH Medical Unit operated a pharmacy that gave out controlled substances to ineligible Trump staffers”
How did Hunter Biden get a job at the WH pharmacy?
How would anyone know that? People broke the law. Hippa prevents that knowledge from being divulged. It sounds like there are a few more criminal Democrats we know of now than before the Business Insider article.
Professor, I thank your Father for his critically important service. Your column is much enjoyed; thanks as well.
I would suggest, however, that a main point was largely missed. As you say, Disney, and other media providers, have acknowledged that they are doing poorly, as the viewing public essentially ignores them. Why? Well, to begin, the content of what Disney/Woke Studios produce is often excrebable. The public’s rejection is based on simple avoidance of mediocrity. Plus, no one likes being preached to, no more than by an industry that routinely shows 110 lb women beating the stuffing out of 275 lb men.
The American public likes the original Superman, and the original Batman; the original Superwoman, too (sadly, the mostly good movie with Gal Gadot floundered when she assured the theater-goer that Wonder Woman knew her way around the bedroom. The insistance by the Woke Media that we avoid the Man Behind The Curtain is the true story. And that they can only make, and remake, absolute dreck.
Defining a critic: faultfinder, nag, carper, nitpicker, backbiter or in this case a mavin who knows they are a critic extraordinaire?
A critic isn’t an analyst with a discerning view of a subject or impartial to other thoughts, they are nothing more than ego-centric dullards.
Regarding the heroes of the development of the A-Bomb that belongs to all the souls that lost their life doing so. Having grown up in Los Alamos I can attest there are many whose name have never been written into the annals of history in the development and continued production of Atomic warfare. Opp was the face of the endeavor nothing more or less, the leader so to speak, but those at Los Alamos, White Sands, Oakridge, Hanford, Amarillo, Chicago and post WWII: INL, Nevada, Sandia, Lawrence Livermore and so many others including the diligence of law enforcement, federal and military are the reason we were lucky enough to have developed the bomb first. I’ll leave the morality question if one life is greater than another (do we drop the bomb or not) to each individuals own standard. My history included two relatives lost prematurely due to their work at the Labs and two friends who lost the fathers from an explosion. It wasn’t all peachy with roses cast about but a harsh reality of the costs of an active and determinate war.
ILLEGAL ALIEN INVASION
If the communists may allow 10 million+ illegal aliens into America, Americans may deport 10 million illegal aliens.
If the communists may have allowed 80 million illegal aliens into America since 1860, Americans may deport 80 million illegal aliens.
Alternatively, Americans may allow those illegal aliens to work, but not vote, in perpetuity.
Jonathan: Let me get this straight. You say your dad, who was left out of the movie, was “one male figure of enormous and unheralded historic importance to the development of the atomic bomb.” Really? Because he guarded Stagg Field under which Enrico Fermi conducted his fusion experiments? This has to be your tongue-in-cheek joke for the day. You can’t be serious? Your dad was not protecting Stagg Field from the Russians–it was the Germans!
And that’s like saying my dad, who was too old to fight in Europe or the Pacific, was a “male figure of enormous and unheralded importance” because he was the air raid warden on our block in LA who, wearing a steel helmet, made sure every house had their black out curtains in place during air raid drills. That was after a Japanese submarine lobbed shells near Sana Barbara. While I applaud my dad for his volunteer service I wouldn’t call his job a contribution of “historic importance”. Not like my uncle who died fighting in France.
It seems one who “enjoys historical accounts” you are not above some historical revisionism–embellishing the contributions of family members.
Are you really this unhappy a person ?
Was your post at all necescary ?
Turley’s father was one of what is often refered to as “the greatest generation”.
A generation that rose from the depths of the depression to accomplish what seemed impossible.
Oppenheimer, the Manahattan project is just one of millions of those stories. For every person that you find that is a hero in that generation there is another that was an even greater hero.
One of the many themes in Oppenheimer was how people who subsequently were on opposite sides of power and politics during the war worked together to do great things.
I want to party with this guy!
We can hope and pray that our children and grandchildren are not called upon to do what our fathers and grandfathers did.
I hope that my children and grandchildren have the luxury of ranting and raving over whether biological men can participate in women’s sports, rather than having to engage in violent life or death conflict to bring peace and liberty to the world.
Trump/Patrick 2024
______________________
Real President Donald J. Trump
Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick
Personally I was disappointed Fermi wasn’t portrayed as a female (Enrica?) from Italian Somaliland. The missed story lines: buxom female physicist, enduring ogling while breaking barriers; biracial woman, descendent of colonial rapists, besting whites in their science of privilege; dedication and courage in the face of deadly radiation; and, finally, premature death from cancer of the breasts that had distracted so many from her brilliance.
I can almost hear Lizzo accepting her Oscar…
You need help.
Old School, how I love sarcasm when it is well thought out. Well done!!
Thank you, 1:52 PM. You’ve just moved into first place on my list of favorite anonymous commenters. Can you guess who’s in last?
Voila!
Eureka!
The essence!
Make America Great Again!
Make America return to making movies for “macho dads.”
Make American return to making…”macho dads!”
Off with the milquetoasts; enough of the pussyfoots!
Make “macho dads” just like the dear old dads as the American Founders who possessed the gumption and resolve to make America.
“Does Oppenheimer’s award season domination herald a troubling return to Hollywood’s macho ‘dad movie’ days?”
“Troubling?” Good. Try as they have, entire cultures just don’t move because Hollywood says move.
How schizophrenic. At a time when Lefties have been rabidly trying to erase the reality of womanhood, now they want to whine that women are seemingly invisible? GFY!
Olly, the left doesn’t want to protect anyone. It is a ruse in their attempt to destroy our culture and replace it with their dreams.
Do they care about women? They did, and now that ‘we all care’ about women, they wish to destroy womanhood.
Do they care about children? They did, but now they are willing to let the pedophiles roam free.
Do they care about racism? They did and felt character over color, but today, they think the opposite.
Do they care about America? They do everything they can to destroy the Constitution, the Rule of Law, etc.
Do they care about American strength? Look at what they have done to our military.
Do they care about American values, culture, and tax-payers? Look at our borders.
Anyone who is constantly changing values for the worse is trying to destroy America. They are leftists and hate America. Those in charge of the fools like Dennis and Svelaz don’t care about them either. All they want is power and riches.
I think Prof Turley’s Dad was protecting Stagg Field from the Germans, not the Russians, in 1942.
As for not making movies like True Grit or Die Hard–the world would be a better place if such movies about brave men protecting others WERE being made.
>”I think Prof Turley’s Dad was protecting Stagg Field from the Germans, not the Russians, in 1942.”
Freudian slip.
*Only MTG and a few rabid ‘right wingers’ are holding up the $60 billion supplemental for Zelenskiy to defeat the Russians once and for all .. . and establish U.S. border security.
Dgsnowden, you sound like a warmonger, anxious to kill in Ukraine and anxious to see the Iranian Axis of Evil expand in the Levant compromising the security ‘borders’ of Cyprus and Southern Europe.. Do you wish the Iranian terrorists to enter our Southern border as well? They are an enemy, and they call us the big Satan. It is this type of thinking that demonstrates your anti-Semitism. You will protect America until a nation that calls us the big Satan starts killing and raping Jews.
You’re increasingly delusional S. Meyer. Like all delusional fanatics, it’s not what you don’t know that’s so troubling. .. ‘It’s what you know that just ain’t so.’
Still, for the record, I’m confident Prof Turley’s Dad was protecting Stagg Field from the Germans, not the Russians, in 1942. It’s an important distinction. Russia lost over 33 million people defeating Nazi Germany during WWII.
I’m sorry to say U.S./NATO, in particular Joe Biden crew, provoked the war in Ukraine. And have ignored or rejected every attempt to end the conflict. Half million killed at least, 10s of millions displaced and large scale destruction. .. and all Russia required was Ukraine military neutrality and an end to the raging civil war in eastern Ukraine. *never forget that S. Meyer, I have detailed files.
Another indescribably corrupt and incredibly stupid war that should never have happened. Even Trump could end it in 24 hours.
But you don’t really care about that, much less understand it. You only care about Israel and ‘it’s right to exist’. Am I right?
What about all those people in Gaza? Do they have a right to exist? How would you feel?
*you’re right, as a matter of faith, Muslims and Christians revere all the prophets of old in the Jewish Book .. . but clearly you and Bibi Netanyahu gang do not revere them.
“I’m confident Prof Turley’s Dad was protecting Stagg Field from the Germans, not the Russians,”
Dgsnowden, you are dishonest. I didn’t discuss Turley or his father. I discussed your warmongering and anti-Semitic attitudes.
“never forget that S. Meyer, I have detailed files.”
You have detailed files, but some of what you produce on the net are detailed lies. We are now starting to get ahold of the number of civilian deaths in Gaza. The combat:civilian death rate in Gaza is low when compared to other wars, and with time, it has dropped considerably, but your detailed files tried to prove something different. What they proved is that you have a double standard: one for your type of people and another for Jews. That makes you an anti-Semite.
“Am I right?”
No, you’re mistaken. I blame Biden for the Ukraine war. I won’t comment on the solution because it could be stopped very quickly. My comments on Ukraine show I care about the lost lives, just like I care about the lost lives in Israel and Gaza. You have a double standard, which is typical for anti-Semites.
We saw the people from Gaza attacking Israeli civilians, and we have noticed that happening for 75 years. You could care less about Jewish deaths. Anti-Semites pretend to care about Gazan deaths so they can prolong the war with all sorts of cease-fires where Hamas can rearm itself. The best thing for the Gazan people is the absolute destruction of Hamas.
You likely know little about the Torah and less about humanity. I’ll take a good Christian, Muslim, or Jew who believes in peace over the likes of you. I expect all to know what you are. Perhaps one day, you will be let in on the secret.
>”The best thing for the Gazan people is the absolute destruction of Hamas.”
How will you know when Hamas is absolutely destroyed?
*fyi 28,000+ killed in Gaza now, most of them women and children. The civilian death rate over time is unprecedented. .. and every little kid they pull from the rubble makes me sick S. Meyer.
“How will you know when Hamas is absolutely destroyed?”
Dgsnowden:
Two things need to be destroyed,
1) Hamas, the army (Tangible)
2) Hamas ideology within the people and even the children (Intangible)
1) You need to be made aware of the methodologies of assessing enemy strength and activities. The estimated number of ‘generals’ commanding Hamas at the beginning of the war was 60. Many of them are known by name and are identifiable. The present estimate is that ten remain. That doesn’t mean that lower-ranked members can’t replace them, but they do not have the knowledge or experience.
Recently, there have been numerous surrenders, and the infrastructure is being destroyed. The Israelis are picking targets, including the individual terrorists. They are tracking them almost on an individual basis and killing them or taking them captive. That is why the civilian population is seeing such a low death rate.
The deaths would be less except for the cease-fires, where the UN actively supplied aid to Hamas and helped to rearm them. Anti-Semitism and the international community looking for personal gain provided Hamas the hope that they could pressure Israel into stopping the fight so Hamas could rearm and continue the bloody attacks on Israel. Israel decided to face them along with the Biden administration so that this time, the war ended, and all hope for a Hamas-type government was extinguished. Hamas survives based on money, arms and hope from the international community and directly from Iran.
Physical threats never end, but one can consider them over when the opposing army has lost its will and ability to fight. That will and ability is determined by the victor, not the US or international community.
2) The fight is relatively short-term compared to the rehabilitation. To understand the second part, you need to look at WW2 and Japan. That war would have gone on with potentially millions more dead, but for the atomic bomb, which changed minds, but after the war ended, the intangible had to be managed. The US had to help Japan’s reconstruction, so it became what it is today: a peaceful and productive nation.
“*fyi 28,000+ killed in Gaza now, most of them women and children.”
You accept numbers from terrorist organizations that are fighting Jewish Israel. Why don’t you listen to Israeli numbers? You prefer the terrorist spin to what the Jews provide. It is impossible to provide verifiable data today, but satisfactory estimates exist. It seems you prefer that terrorists can bomb Israeli citizens while prohibiting Israelis from fighting back.
Israel cannot help that.
1) Hamas uses citizens as human shields.
2) Many Gazan civilians aid Hamas on a daily basis.
3) Gazan citizens took part in the brutal slaughter of unarmed Jews Oct 7.
4) Civilians even forcibly held some of the captives.
5) Hamas killed Gazan civilians when they tried to get to safety.
6) A large percentage of Hamas rockets sent to kill Israeli civilians landed in Gaza, killing Gazans.
7) Hamas pretends civilians are dead, but after the pictures are taken, the civilians get up and walk away.
8) Hamas pretends hospitals were indiscriminately bombed by Israel when they weren’t, and the proof shows it was errant Hamas rockets that fell in Gaza instead of Israel
Why is it you are only concerned about the deaths of Gazans, so concerned that you will accept any numbers the terrorists supply to you? You don’t seem to have any concern for Jewish lives. Then again, I don’t hear your concern when tens of thousands of Muslims and Christians are killed by other Arab terrorist groups in the Middle East. Your focus based on questionable data shows what is seen in most anti-Semitic groups. One has to ask themselves why are you blind to all the other deaths occurring but not those deaths that occur because barbarians are trying to kill Jews.
“The civilian death rate over time is unprecedented.”
That is a lie. The civilian-to-combatant death rate is meager compared to other wars elsewhere, and the numbers have fallen in half. Additionally, as mentioned above, the vast majority of civilian deaths are probably due to the terrorists, not to the IDF. But you will accept data from terrorists and known liars to prove what is not valid.
“and every little kid they pull from the rubble makes me sick S. Meyer.”
It makes me sick as well, but perhaps to make your statement conform with your biases, you should have said, ‘And every little kid they pull from the rubble makes me sick, S. Meyer, as long as that kid isn’t a Jew.’
Dgsnowden, you reveal who and what you are every time you speak.
“The civilian death rate over time is unprecedented”
Dgsnowden, read Alan Dershowitz remarks at: https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/20343/gaza-civilian-deaths
” military actions have produced far fewer deaths and a far lower ratio of civilian-to-combatant deaths than in any comparable urban warfare. This is especially significant considering the reality that Hamas deliberately increases civilian deaths by using women and children as human shields and by hiding its military personnel and equipment among civilians. Pictured: Gazans, protected by the Israeli military, walk along a safe corridor in the northern Gaza Strip, leaving the battle zone towards the southern Gaza Strip, on November 10, 2023. Hamas terrorists had ordered Gazans not to move to safety, and shot at them as they tried to flee. “
“https://nypost.com/2024/01/29/news/un-aid-agency-members-role-in-hamas-attack-revealed/?utm_campaign=israelwarupdate&utm_source=sailthru&utm_medium=email&utm_content=20240129&lctg=62680bbe38a279b1870b18c5&utm_term=NYP%20-%20Israel%20War%20Update”
UNRWA’s dirty dozen are the tip of the iceberg — the UN itself has long been antisemitic
The United Nations was supposed to be a force for good in the world, a guarantor of peace after World War II. Instead, it’s provided a platform for bad actors — with the dirty dozen UN Relief and Works Agency staffers who took part in Hamas’ Oct. 7 massacre just the tip of the iceberg.
Israeli intelligence shows at least nine UNRWA staffers were actual Hamas terrorists, while another was with Islamic Jihad. They joined the slaughter, supplied rocket-propelled grenades, kidnapped a woman and made off with the body of a dead Israeli soldier. All funded, at least in part, by President Biden, using US taxpayer money. (And that’s despite long-running evidence, even before Oct. 7, of the group’s support for Hamas and anti-Israel hostility.) Plus, now a top White House spokesman is praising the “important work” UNRWA does. …
His criticism is woke ignorance. It was a monumental achievement that changed the course of history for the better. These Progressives can only view all aspects of the world through their one dimensional prism. They create false narratives that serve their predetermined conclusions.
Jonathan: Haven’t seen “Oppenheimer”. Probably won’t unless it arrives on Netflix or Hulu. Other movies have been made about the creation of the A-bomb. I liked “I Live in Fear” with Toshiro Mifume. Also liked “About Day One”, a 1989 docu/drama. “Fat Man and Little Boy” (1989) with Paul Newman was pretty good too.
The Q is why the interest in the movie? “Oppenheimer” appeals to primarily middle-aged white men–people like you. Lots of nudity and sex scenes. The movie focuses on Oppenheimer’s sexual relationships. Women play a minor role. As one critic put it “in which women are portrayed as unreasonable, histrionic, mentally ill, and/or incapable of appreciating/accepting the demands and pressures he [Oppenheimer] was under”.
“Oppenheimer” is the quintessential “great man” or “great WHITE man” in history who shapes events to his will. Ayn Rand would have loved the movie. Her book “Atlas shrugged” (later made into a movie) promoted the philosophy of “objectivism” that emphasized rugged individualism and the pursuit of self-interest. What is lost in the narrative of the movie is that quantum theory and the bomb were not the unique invention of Oppenheimer and his fellow scientists. The Russians also produced their own A-bomb in 1949. Once you let the genie out of the bottle you can’t put it back.
What is also overlooked in the movie were the consequences of Oppenheimer’s work. The use of two A-bombs to obliterate both Hiroshima and Nagasaki–killing instantly 200,00 innocent people. That is the sad legacy the people of Japan remember every year. Almost 80 years later the Japanese still remember. That’s why, although the movie will be released in Japan, it has been greeted with protests on Japanese social media. Many have called for a boycott of the movie–dubbing it satirically as “Barbenheimer”.
The lesson from “Oppenheimer” should have been that nuclear weapons should never be used ever again. They should be abolished! War, destruction and Armageddon shouldn’t be casually treated as entertainment!
“The use of two A-bombs to obliterate both Hiroshima and Nagasaki–killing instantly 200,00 innocent people. That is the sad legacy the people of Japan remember every year. Almost 80 years later the Japanese still remember. ”
Would Dennis prefer a continuation of firebombing cities that killed many more civilians, and then an invasion with a loss of a million plus lives? Dennis doesn’t think. He prefers to weaken America so that war becomes necessary.
I love how Dennis supports the Iranian nuclear program Biden helps to fund, while Iran funds terrorism all over the world and will soon threaten the US with those nuclear weapons.
Get rid of Dennis, and we have gone a long way to decreasing the threat of nuclear war.
S. Meyer,
I spent some time in Japan. I have even climbed to the top of Mount Fuji. That last thousand feet at around 11,000 in altitude was dang hard.
It is a lovely country. The people are wonderful. I would love to go back.
However, looking at the terrain from a military aspect, at the time of WWII, the ethic of their military and even their civilians, as horrific as it may have been, the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki may have been a saving grace for not only Japan, but all the allies who would of had to make the amphibious landing and the ground war.
I have been to Peace Park in Hiroshima. I have seen the shadows on the concrete from the blast. It is not something one forgets. It is also the reason why I push back so hard against our resident “use nukes for Ukraine!” troll and promote peace.
“The dead know only one thing: it is better to be alive.”
– Private Joker via Stanley Kubrick, Full Metal Jacket
That was me.
Upstate, Great response. When Col Tibbets visited Japan long after the war an elderly Japanese man shook his hand and said, “Thank you for saving my life.”
Grim as it was, the atomic bombing saved more lives on both sides than it cost.
Young,
Those whom have served and been to a combat zone are the lest likely to send others into harms way with out serious consideration.
A reason why I think Tulsi Gabbard should be Trumps VP pick.
Life long politicians like Biden the butcher do not give a first let alone second thought to sending other people’s children to die for them.
I seem to recall Biden looking at his watch while those he killed in Afghanistan came home in flag draped coffins.
Upstate,
I am old enough to have worked with men who served in the war, two of them fought on Iwo Jima, and others fought on other islands. None regretted the atomic bombing and several thought it likely saved their lives. It is probable that more people died in the fire bombing of Tokyo than in either of the atomic bombings.
Usually forgotten is the Japanese atrocities in Nanking that appear to have killed more people than either of the two atomic bombs. Those deaths were close and personal and included beheading contests, burying alive, bayonet practice on civilians,, and rape chairs in which young women were restrained and raped, bleeding to death, by many soldiers.
That by me: Young.
I can support Gabbard. I think the is likely in the running. She checks many of the key boxes.
But my money is actually on Haley – that is NOT my preference. It would be a betrayal of Trumps base, but one he could endure.
I think whether Trump picks Halley depends on his own polling at the time he makes his choice.
Trump is in the midst of a game of chicken most of us do not have the courage or mental fortitude to endure.
Anyone that doubts that if Trump does not win on 2024 the Left WILL send him to prison for the rest of his life.
Trump has an enormous amount at stake, and he actually could have avoided that risk by dropping out in late 2021.
Trump is going to pick the person that increases his odds of getting elected the most. Halley can bring in voters that will not otherwise vote for Trump.
I would greatly prefer almost every other named contender.
But she is the most likely pick.
Young and Upstate, I want to make it clear Dennis doesn’t know what he is talking about. He blabbers, and others have to pay for his stupidity.
How many people have died here and abroad because of the stupidity of the left and people like Dennis?
Our first obligation is to the people of the United States and to the soldiers who protect this great nation. People like Dennis have yet to learn who they owe their lives to.
S. Meyer: “Young and Upstate, I want to make it clear Dennis doesn’t know what he is talking about. ”
+++
Yeah, I know. I never read the Dennis comments and generally even avoid those whom I respect repudiating him. These days my eyes tire easily and I can’t waste them on what is obviously rubbish.
Upstate, thanks for the comment and thanks for letting us know the comment was from a real person instead of an anonymous creep. I tossed the anonymous email only to have to retrieve it.
Those leftist crazies and Democrats make comments to appeal to certain people. They don’t care about the damage they do. Dennis is ignorant of everything you mentioned.
S. Meyer,
Dennis never served. He had never been in harms way. Never had a shot taken at him with the intent to kill. He rides off the curt tails of those in his family whom have.
And so do the majority of Democrats.
When it is you, or your children’s lives on the line, one sees war in a different light.
I forget what the name of the book is – but I beleive it was John ‘Toland – one of the pre-eminent historians of the pacific war, Wrote a book about the lats days of the japanese empire – from a few days before Hiroshima through Nagasaki and surrender.
Our leaders had no idea what was going on. Regardless the Nagasaki bomb was the straw that broke Tojo and the suicidal code of Bushido leaders backs. It is also wrong to pretend Hirohito was a man of Peace. He had significant culpability in Japanese War crimes.
The war would not have happened without his support. peace would not happen without his leadership.
At the same time – despite the myth surrounding the Japanese emperor Tojo and his crowd expected every single japanese to die for the emperor and the emperor to die for the country. Tojo and his crowd were losing their grip on power and Hirohito was quietly leaning towards a surrender that prevented the suicide of the nation. but Progress was slow and any hope of real surrender was months and millions of lives away. And the military leaders of Japan would have been fine with executing Hirohito had he been caught in even hints of seeking peace.
There were many things going on at once – some of which inevitably would have lead to peace. It was not necessary to drop either Bomb. It was not necessary to save US soldiers lives, It was not necessary to firebomb Japan.
It was necescary to do all of that to reach peace in August 1945 and every days delay cost thousands of lives, and that was increasing exponentially.
Jay, I believe you have “The Fall of Japan” by Craig in mind which is a great account of the last days. Toland’s two volume “The Rising Sun” is also a wonderful work of history and probably added to your store of knowledge. Toland’s wife is Japanese and he had access to a wide range of information because of that. It was Toland’s history that mentions at least one person who twice experienced an atomic bomb. Having survived Hiroshima he joined family in Nagasaki. If I remember correctly he was talking about Hiroshima and saying “First there was this bright flash[the pika] and….” There was a bright flash just then. He pulled open a trap door to a small shelter, threw a child in, dove in himself, and pulled the door closed just before the shockwave destroyed everything above. My memory probably distorted some details, but that is basically the story. Superb history by both historians.
It is appalling how poorly thought out Dennis’s positions are on issues – often ones that have been thoroughly debated for decades.
Dennis is still clueless about the facts.
As you note the firebombings – first in Germany and later and larger in Japan kill far more people that Hiroshima an Nagasaki.
But even doing nothing would have resulted in an order of magnitude more japanese deaths. By August 1945 Japan was completely cuttoff from the world. The largest portion of the Japanese military was NOT in Japan – some were isolated throughout the pacific and facing mass starvation – others were in China murdering hundreds of thousands of Chinese.
One of the reasons that Mao prevailed against the nationalists in China was because he was very careful about engaging the Japanese – mostlyu letting the nationalist army take the brunt of the war against Japan and leaving them weakened at the end of the war
regardless the War in China was long and brutal and was not close to over in Aug 1945.
Conversely the Japanese homeland was isolated and starving. Thousands were starving, millions would be dying soon. And japanese leaders were a long way from capitulating – despite knowing what was inevitably coming.
S. Meyer: You sound a lot like John Say–and I don’t mean it in a complimentary way. Frankly, I don’t support ANY nuclear programs, even for peaceful purposes. That includes Iran. But you have fallen into the JSS (John Say Syndrome) by claiming otherwise.
And what is your fall back position? “Get rid of Dennis”. Really? That will solve the problem of nuclear proliferation? A bizarre–really bizarre argument for even you to make!
“S. Meyer: You sound a lot like John Say–and I don’t mean it in a complimentary way.”
It is a high compliment any way it is said, so thank you, and God bless you.
“Frankly, I don’t support ANY nuclear programs,”
Sure you do. You support the Biden administration, which is actively aiding (whether Biden knows it or not) Iran’s nuclear program.
“And what is your fall back position? “Get rid of Dennis.” Really?”
What do you mean, “Get rid of Dennis?” You are an ignorant plaything that no one takes seriously. Anyone looking for a foolish comment only has to go to one of your responses.
“What is lost in the narrative of the movie is that quantum theory and the bomb were not the unique invention of Oppenheimer and his fellow scientists. The Russians also produced their own A-bomb in 1949.”
-The Russians were able to produce their “own A-bomb in 1949” thanks mainly to Klaus Fuchs, a Soviet spy within the Manhattan Project. Julius Rosenberg helped. Ethel was a dupe.
““Oppenheimer” is the quintessential “great man” or “great WHITE man” in history who shapes events to his will. Ayn Rand would have loved the movie. Her book “Atlas shrugged” (later made into a movie) promoted the philosophy of “objectivism” that emphasized rugged individualism and the pursuit of self-interest. ”
-Oppenheimer was not a story based on rugged individualism. Hardly. The roles and contributions of Albert Einstein, Niels Bohr, Werner Heisenberg, Enrico Fermi, Leo Szilard, Luis Alvarez, Hans Bethe, Kurt Goedel and Richard Feynman (who was portrayed more as a bongo-player than theoretical physicist) are all represented. If they could have figured out a way to include Lise Meitner, the movie would have shown the Manhattan Project to be a multi-ethnic, multi-national, multi-confessional, multi-gender woke fun-fest.
“What is also overlooked in the movie were the consequences of Oppenheimer’s work.”
-Utter nonsense. The final third of the movie dealt with Oppenheimer’s conflicts over the consequences of his work and his effort to pull the reigns on the development of nuclear weapons.
Dennis’s whole shtick is to gainsay anything that Professor Turley writes, without making any effort to know anything about the subject at hand.
Dennis’s whole shtick is to gainsay anything that Professor Turley writes, without making any effort to know anything about the subject at hand.
Trolls gotta troll
They are only here to disrupt. Add the pathetic attempts at discrediting our host. Yesterday Dennis tried to contribute to the lie that Turley is defending Trump. Several others had to explain how each example of Turley demanding the rule of law and Constitution, are the singular motivation for Turleys postings.
Iowan2,
Well said.
The Rosenbergs were spies but the release of the Russia archives demo0nstrates that Julious (and Greenblat) were inconsequential.
That they were not affliated with Fuchs, and frankly that Fuchs was not all that important.
The russians developed the bomb mostly in the same way we did, with the extra advantage that the KNEW from the start that all problems were solvable – because We had solved them.
Whether it is Russia or China we vastly overestimate the value of spying to ferret out advanced technology.
Far more dangerous than Fuchs was Walker who provided the USSR with the ability to know where the entire US atlantic fleet was in real time for decades. From the capture of the Pueblo until Walker was caught Russia had US coding machines and US codes and were reading all us military communications for the Atlantic.
So you have not seen it, but you are happy to opine on what about it is appealing ?
For a start most of the presentations of it that Turley is highlighting are totally off.
It is NOT a Macho dad movie.
Cillian Murphy is a great irish actor and his performance of a Complex role is a tour de force.
The movie is not perfect, but it fairly accurately captures all the moral, ethical political logistical complexities of the development of the atomic bomb. It does an execellent job of portraying the heavy left leaning nature of physicists pre WWII, The ability of the left and right to uneasily work together to win WWII and the political split that occured after the war.
The movie does NOT have lots of nudity and sex scenes, it does NOT focus on Oppenheimer’s sexual relations
They are accurately portrayed as onje of the many facets of Openheimer.
A major part of the greatness of the movie is the many and diverse themes that flow through the movie, the myriads of complexities political. logistical, emotional, sexual, etc. that went into both Openheimer and the development of the Bomb.
There are many other great movies about the Bomb – some that you mentioned, But Openheimer may be the best.
Openheimer is not quiet at the level of Schindlers list. but it is a great movie on a subject that many very good movies have tackled.
No Oppenheimer is NOT some “great white man” movie.
In one of the early scenes Openheimer wins over Groves by telling him how he plans on overcoming a 2 year Nazi lead.
Openheimers answer – “Antisemitism”. The greatest scientists in the world, specifically the greatest nuclear phsyicists in the world are jees.
Openheimer is going to manage to herd cats – he is going to get the best of the best – professional rivials – sometimes bitter professional rivals, racists, sexists, communists, conservatives to all work together to develop the bomb. Something German can not do.
Hitler’s racial predjudice would prevent him from giving one of the worlds greatest nuclear physicists – Heisenberg the resources and trust he needed to develop the bomb.
I thought it was interesting that Dennis says that the movie has lots of nudity and sex scenes, but also says that women play only a minor role.
Kind of makes the whole Manhattan Project sound like a big gay romp.
“Hitler’s racial predjudice would prevent him from giving one of the worlds greatest nuclear physicists – Heisenberg the resources and trust he needed to develop the bomb.”
+++
Heisenberg did not have Jewish ancestry and he did work on the German atomic bomb.
The fact that his brilliant mind was in service to German atomic research added urgency to the Anglo/American atomic bomb project.
It has since been suggested that he deliberately slowed his research to thwart the Nazi government but that may just be revisionism.
Heisenberg lacked resources. In particular the Norwegians with British assistance destroyed the entire supply of heavy water and the facility which produced it. So no natural uranium reactor like the modern Canadian CANDU designs. But also Heisenberg didn’t have the assistance of Enrico Fermi who knew the method of having a graphite moderated reactor. Turns out that just not any graphite will do.
A brief history:
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/German_nuclear_program_during_World_War_II
True enough, but the Germans had his brain and there was no guarantee the commandos would be able to interrupt the supply of heavy water. I think it was Rhodes in his history “The Making of the Atomic Bomb” who said we regarded Heisenberg as a danger. For that matter, if the Germans had gotten control of Bohr before he was slipped out of Denmark he would have posed a risk.
You are right that they didn’t get close but in the fog of war it is often a mistake to assume your enemy can’t do something. I doubt that we expected them to make better tanks than we had, and that they would develop the first cruise missiles [V-1] or the first ballistic missile [V -2] or the first jet fighter. The Japanese also had a modest atomic bomb program and an advanced biological warfare program, a far superior fighter [Zero] at the outset of the war, capable carriers, and the biggest battleships ever made, the Yamato and Musashi.
Put simply, we would have been fools to count on the bad guys not doing something that could cost us the war.
” For that matter, if the Germans had gotten control of Bohr before he was slipped out of Denmark he would have posed a risk.”
Young, my understanding is that we had agents in Denmark whose orders were to remove Bohr if the Germans approached and if they couldn’t, to kill him.
S. Meyer,
That is my understanding too though I forget the details for killing him if need be.
Bohr was famously skeptical of anyone being able to build an atomic bomb, saying you would have to turn the whole country into a factory to do it.
After the war, and the bomb, the skeptic was taken to Oak Ridge where U-235 was separated from U-238 to show how mistaken his original skepticism was.
He looked at the massive complex and said, ” See! I told you that you would have to turn the whole country into a factory to do it.” He knew of Hanford and Los Alamos too, of course. Not the response that was expected.
“Turns out that just not any graphite will do.”
+++
No, it can’t have boron contaminants and it was Szilard who raised the boron issue rather than Fermi according to “Genius in the Shadows” a very good biography of Szilsrd.
According to Rhodes it was actually Szilard who conceived the idea of a chain reaction atomic bomb when he saw the traffic signals change as he was crossing the street near the British Museum. He actually had the patents. When he explained the idea to Einstein he was told to relax, it wasn’t possible. In time everyone realized it was theoretically possible.
“It has since been suggested that he deliberately slowed his research to thwart the Nazi government but that may just be revisionism.”
That idea was shown to be false.
That was part of the issue the play Copenhagen concerned itself with. I saw the play first in London. It involved a discussion between Neils Bohr and Heisenberg. In the play, Heisenberg indicates that he is thwarting the Nazis by slowing his research and later says the Germans didn’t release the bomb; the Allies did. Of course, the question was why Heisenberg visited Bohr during the war. Was it to obtain information about heavy water? It opened up all sorts of questions.
Neils Bohr kept records and letters to be revealed much later. My understanding is that the family of Bohr felt the questions about Heisenberg (and Bohr) needed to be answered, so they released the papers showing Heisenberg was working as quickly as he could to have the Nazis create the bomb before the Allies could.
I revisited the play in the US, and the end of the play was rewritten because of this additional knowledge.
As an aside, Young, I have seen a number of plays more than once in Britain and the US. There is no question in my mind that the British are the finest actors in the world I have seen.
S. Meyer,
I haven’t seen the play but for some reason I have always been skeptical of the notion that Heisenberg held back.
I don’t know how political he was, but I can imagine someone of his caliber caught up with the thrill of driving deeper into the secrets of the universe and being given lavish resources to do it without much thought given to the human consequences of the project. Probably that eagerness to go ahead was a factor with some of our own scientists.
It wasn’t until they finished and saw the mushroom cloud rising from Trinity in New Mexico that thoughts of “Now I am become Death, Destroyer of Worlds” began to terrify.
Maybe some of that genius recklessness motivates those working with upgrading the lethality of viruses today.
Thanks for the information about the play. I didn’t know any of that.
Wide raging rant over the flaws in something you admit to knowing nothing about.
I recomend Openheimer to you. It is not Schinlders list but it is a far sight better than Barbie which deserves no awards, but is worth watching despite its flaws – if you do not actually have to pay for it.
Openheimer is worth paying for. Cillian Murphy puts himself into the ranks of great irish actors.
as to your ranting – it is self evident that you have not watched the movie and are depending on the views of others who either have not watched the movie or are totally clueless.
Nothing you have said is what anyone not living in a bubble and trying to force the movie into their bubble would have concluded.
Openhemier does not deal with Hiroshima and Nagasaki – beyond the moral issues that it does address involving the scientists who know have devestating the A-Bomb will be – as well as side scenes with Teller who was already working on the Hydrogen Bomb which would be far more powerful.
Regardless, they all new the horrible power of what they were creating. They all knew that the Germans were working on it and that the US was behind and that if the Germans got it first the consequences would be horrible.
The movie dealt with all the complexities of our relationshipe with Russia – at the time an ally, and shortly to be a competing global power – or atleast it dealt with all of that from the perspective of the scientists are Los Almos.
Nuclear weapons have never been used since in anger.
As to should nuclear weapons be destroyed ?
As the typical left wing nut you have shallow poorly thought out utopian answers that would likely lead to dystopia if implimented.
First – as wonderful as the complete absence of nuclear weapons sounds, it is NOT demonstrably true that the world would be better off without them. Through to WWII wars were slowly escalating in scale and carnage. Since the advent of WMD’s while not at peace the world has not had the same mass conflicts slaughtering tens of millions. Nuclear weapons have not been used since Nagasaki.
As to the awful awesomeness of nuclear weapons – more people were killed at Dresden than Nagasaki, 10 to 20 times as many people died fromt he firebombing of tokyo. I have thoroughly studied the history of the use of the atomic bomb – particularly the information from the japanese side. While the claims that the bomb saved the lives of a the millions of US soldiers that would have died invading japan are false.
There was not going to be an invasion of Japan. Japan was starving to death Japan would have surrendered without invasion and without the use of the Bomb, but it would have taken months with millions of japanese dying of starvation or from firebombing.
A demonstration of the power of the bomb would not have worked.
There was an effort by the Japanese to surrender after Hiroshima, but it was thwarted by a near coup. Without the bomb on Nagasaki Hirohito would not have been able to marshal support to surrender and had he tried he would have been put under house arrest.
Japanese leaders were willing to sacrifice the lives of every single person in japan even knowing they could not survive much less win.
While they inevitably would have lost power first – millions of people would have died from starvation alone.
Our leaders did not know of or understand the political struggles going on in Japan at the time.
But they were correct in assessing that both bombs were necescary to end the war and that the bomb saved millions of lives – Japanese lives.
As to today – we can not put the nuclear gennie back in the bottle. Nor is ti obvious that the world would be better off if we could.
We have traded a very small but real risk of anihilating the entire western world – about 3B people for a drastic reduction in the scale of modern war.
One of the great fears regarding Ukraine is that our leaders – and particularly Biden have become reckless regarding the ease with which certain confrontations can rapidly escalate from a regional conflict to Global Thermo nuclear war and billions dead.
On most every issue that we were all supposed to worry about Trump – Biden has either actually done what we feared Trump would or gotten us far closer than Trump ever did.
I must be old fashion. I long for the days when you could let your kids watch the Academy Awards with you. Same with the Super Bowl halftime show where it looks like a bunch of women searching for their sex toy in a fit of dissatisfaction. The Academy Awards and the NFL are just trying to exspandex there attraction to the American youth. Thankfully the result has been America’s rejection of Bud Lite and BLM shaking their end zones at every NFL game.
Dear Prof Turley,
If life imitates art, in the fevered pitch for Box office ‘success’ (see e.g. Kevin Morris) comparing movies about splitting the atom with Barbie makes about as much sense as sending the Zelenskiy regime another $60 billion for U.S. border security. It’s a devil’s bargain.
“I Am Become Oppenheimer, The Destroyer of Barbie”
As a student of history, I’m reminded of Gen. Douglas MacArthur’s address on the battleship Missouri at the end of WWII .. .
“A new era is upon us. Even the lesson of victory itself brings with it profound concern, both for our future security and the survival of civilization. The destructiveness of the war potential, through progressive advances in scientific discovery, has in fact now reached a point which revises the traditional concepts of war.
Men since the beginning of time have sought peace. Various methods through the ages have attempted to devise an international process to prevent or settle disputes between nations. From the very start workable methods were found insofar as individual citizens were concerned, but the mechanics of an instrumentality of larger international scope have never been successful. Military alliances, balances of power, leagues of nations, all in turn failed, leaving the only path to be by way of the crucible of war. We have had our last chance. If we do not now devise some greater and more equitable system, Armageddon will be at our door. The problem basically is theological and involves a spiritual recrudescence and improvement of human character that will synchronize with our almost matchless advances in science, art, literature and all material and cultural developments of the past two thousand years, It must be of the spirit if we are to save the flesh.”
*the anarchy inherent in absolute nation-state sovereignty is moving to .. . the Holy Lands.
I can remember when the academy awards were bi-coastal, on black and white tv, the men wore tails, the actors classy and the movies great. The academy awards then was an event that most Americans looked forward to watching late into the night. Point to one actor that can come up to Audrey Hepburn or Gary Cooper?
Well, Amazon seems to have gotten with the “Macho Dad” movies or shows, with extremely popular Reacher & The Terminal List! Paramount too, with Top Gun Maverick and the latest Mission Impossible #7 part one. But, they do have women in prominent roles, realistic roles I might add. There aren’t any 90 lb woman wonders kicking Reachers a** though, and surprisingly, I’ve not heard from the critics? Hmmm?
The main problem with Amazon’s “Reacher” series was that it was almost comically juvenile.
Another problem I had with the Reacher stories, which I generally enjoyed, was that he supposedly hitchhiked without ID. When young I hitchhiked thousands of miles and rode freight trains a few times. When you hitchhike sooner or later a cop car will pull to the side of the road and you will be asked for your ID which will be run to see if you are in trouble somewhere. Happened to me several times. If you are clean you are left alone to stick out your thumb for the next car to come along. One time I got a ride with several FBI agents who, of course, checked me out and were kind enough to give me a ride to my destination about 40 miles down the road. The agency was better in those days. I always had ID so I never learned what might happen without it but I suspect you might find your trip delayed a bit.
Movies are made for entertainment with a gamble of profit in the end.
With a good story, good writing, good directing, good characters, good actors etc. you get a good movie people are willing to pay to see.
Sometimes the story delivers some kind of commentary, or look into a historical event or person/s.
Other times it is a silly movie but good fun.
I have read critics that claimed a movie was great/bust and I found the exact opposite.
I will pay to see a movie that looks interesting to me.
Aliens. Sigourney Weaver won a Oscar for Best Actress. Is that a “dad movie?” Or did it just so happen to have the list I mention above about what makes a good movie?
Here is an example of a great movie, with great writing, great story, great actors, great direction and a low budget film but was simply great and had a good social commentary: The Brother from Another Planet
“A mute alien with the appearance of a black human is chased by outer-space bounty hunters through the streets of Harlem.”
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0087004/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1
This is one of my favorite films.
This is a low budget Australian film that has a little bit of everything in it that is still enjoyable: Tomorrow, When the War Began
“A group of teenagers return from a camping trip to find themselves in the middle of an unexpected war. Among only a few Australians still free, they must learn to defend themselves against the hostile invaders.”
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt4716164/?ref_=nv_sr_srsg_7_tt_8_nm_0_q_Tomorrow%252C%2520the%2520day%2520the%2520war%2520begins
The leading young lady protagonist reminds me of my own daughter.
Is it a “macho dad” movie?
Another low budget movie that is quite good “Run Hide Fight. “
Upstate Farmer, you write “Movies are made for entertainment with a gamble of profit in the end.”
I believe that went out the window when Irving Thalberg died in 1936.
I would assert this instead: Movies are made for profit with a gamble of entertainment in the end.