What follows is a propaganda film for the United States, a film directed by the great John Ford. It was paid for by the U.S. Information Agency and kept secret until it was handed over to the Nation Archives earlier this decade. As we've passed the 5 year anniversary of the beginning of our debacle in Iraq, I thought it appropriate to use this is a discussion point. Please, be candid in your comments.
The Gift
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[Christmas, 1965 or thereabout]
The boy was very young; perhaps 7 or 8 years old. He loved everything about
Christmas - the lights, the music, Santa ...
1 year ago
2 Comments:
Hi, Stu:
It looks like something I'd like to see all of, but I was only able to watch about five or six minutes during my lunch.
I think the tell-tale sign of where it may be headed happens in the opening montage. Perhaps five or ten years after the fact (I don't know the date of this film) the narration still calls Ali, "Clay".
(That may be nitpicking. The photo they show is from when he was still calling himself Clay, I think. Still...)
The film, "Vietnam! Vietnam!," is from 1971. Ali was granted his new name, by Elijah Muhammad, in 1964. So it could be a goof and it could be a slight bit of bigotry (or whatever) on the part of the producers. Tough call.
And, for the record, Ali was the greatest. The story of how he faked out Liston during the weigh-in by ramping up his pulse is astonishingly brilliant.
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