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November 27, 2005
Leftovers
So I spent the Thanksgiving weekend down along the Delaware shore -- a mythical land of $1.97-a-gallon gasoline, very slow old drivers, newly discovered BBQ joints that have me practically still licking sauce off my fingers, and the where-is-everybody surrealness of a beach resort town during the off-season. This was our last Thanksgiving together as a family for a while, due to an upcoming overseas assignment in the family, so it was kind of nice to be able to see everyone this year.
I got back late last night, and have found that today I don't really have much to write about. Call it triptophan-induced blog laziness. But... here's a few thoughts for a Sunday afternoon:
1. First Oscar contender I've seen this year: "Walk the Line" This is a little bit of a misleading statement, because I don't see very many movies in the theater (due primarily to my inability to suffer the rude and obnoxious conduct of most of the crowds around here; I'm trying to figure out when talking back to the characters on screen and carrying on loud "what you think gonna happen next?" conversations with people two rows away from you became acceptable theater etiquette). But the other night, my parents and I went to see "Walk The Line," the Johnny Cash biopic.
The film didn't disappoint. From a writing and "cinema" standpoint, "Walk The Line" is good but not great; the movie covers Cash's rise, fall and recovery, and goes a long way toward explaining the man for who he was. But it's poorly paced at the beginning, and ending the movie in 1968 feels somewhat incomplete, given Cash's career over the last 35 years of his life. However, the performances by Joaquin Phoenix and Reese Witherspoon are career-defining, and it's a lead pipe lock that both will get Oscar nominations for Best Actor and Actress this year. These are two riveting, can't-take-your-eyes-off-them star turns. Witherspoon proves that she's got dramatic chops that ought to move her to Hollywood's A-list; Phoenix simply becomes Johnny Cash -- his posture, his intonations, his voice... he's channeling the Man in Black. They're each powerful, strong people who complement one another perfectly. If you're a Cash fan, you'll like this movie. If you're an acting fan, you'll love it.
2. Ford commits sacrilege. I used to think that the worst case of advertising sacrilege I'd ever hear was Nike using the Beatles' "Revolution" to sell sneakers. But this holiday season, I've heard worse. Ford is now using "Linus and Lucy" by Vince Guaraldi to hawk its cars and trucks.
You know, there's some things in this world that are just untouchable. You wouldn't use the Grinch to sell Preparation H, you wouldn't use Winnie the Pooh to sell life insurance, and you shouldn't use Charlie Brown's songs to sell a stupid car. As long as I live, I won't be buying a Ford -- because of their sacreligious affront to beloved childhood memories in 2005.
3. US soldiers disciplined for burning Taliban bodies. Four U.S. soldiers face disciplinary action for burning the bodies of two dead Taliban fighters. I know I'm gonna get in trouble for this... but I just don't see the problem here.
I mean, beyond the fact that the cremation occurred for hygenic reasons -- you want to have two dead bodies laying in your yard when it's 90 degrees out? -- I wouldn't be bothered if it had happened deliberately. So cremation is against Islamic principles, and shows overt disrespect for Muslims? Well, guess what? I'm pretty sure that the indiscriminate murder of 3,000 innocent people is against Islamic principles too, but the Taliban and al Qaida didn't seem to have a problem with disrespect for their religion then, did they? (Not to mention that indiscriminate murder shows disrespect for Christianity and for America as well.)
The Taliban and al Qaida soldiers that US forces are fighting in Afghanistan are not innocent Iraqi civilians or even Iraqis fighting against an invading power; the Taliban and al Qaida are sworn enemies of the United States, and have proven their wilingness and ability to murder Americans both abroad and on our own shores. They'll do it again if given the chance. And part of these crusaders' motivation is a religious zeal and belief that they will earn heavenly reward for their actions. I'm thinking, if they know we're going to "defile" their bodies -- whether by cremation, or burying them in pig's blood, or burying them with women, whatever -- and do something that damns them to hell or prevents them from going to heaven, no matter what they do in life... well, if it makes them think twice about their self-professed martyrdom, then I'm all for it.
I'm sure some on the left (of which I am a proud member) might disagree with me rather vehemently, might argue about respect for other cultures, winning hearts and minds, all that. You know what? Under ordinary circumstances, when those cultures also show basic respect for us, I'm all for it. But when we're talking about the subhumans responsible for September 11, and those who would die for the cause in which those attacks were carried out, I don't think any respect is called for... and I don't care about their hearts or minds. I'm not talking about Iraq here, which was started on false pretenses and approved of after deliberate deception by the Bush Administration. I'm talking about Afghanistan, the Taliban, and al Qaida. We're at war -- a war we didn't declare -- and anything it takes to completely and utterly annihialate this enemy and avenge the dead of the World Trade Center and the Pentagon and Flight 93, I'm all for. Be respectful of those who show us respect, be understanding of those who do not understand us... but the Taliban and al Qaida are excluded from that respect, in my opinion.
In the immortal words of Beavis, "Fire! Fire! Fire!".
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Comments
Since I don't disagree about the Taliban/Al Q, I'll move along to the more important bits:
"you wouldn't use Winnie the Pooh to sell life insurance"
But Snoopy for MetLife is OK? In the words of Charlie Brown as Lucy pulls the football away, "Aaaargh!" ;)
Posted by: Linkmeister at November 27, 2005 05:13 PM
Taliban Shmaliban. Does Joaquin get naked? ;)
Posted by: eden at November 27, 2005 08:30 PM
and IF Joaquin DOES get all birthday suited... does he have a hairlip anywhere else?
Posted by: the beav at November 28, 2005 09:29 AM
You weren't going to buy a Ford anyway.
Posted by: Ethan McCarty at November 28, 2005 02:16 PM
