Monday, October 08, 2007

Springsteen takes career risk

Well the Boss, Bruce Springsteen, has gone waaaaay out on a limb and released an anti-war anthem “Last to Die.” Doesn’t this man know that such a stance could ruin him among the ultra conservatives that run the entertainment business? Springsteen was heard to say, “Screw the record company execs. I’m a man of my convictions and have always swum against the tide.” For good measure Bruce has taken to the airwaves to make sure that everyone knows that evil conservatives are now questioning his patriotism.

Sadly, Bruce’s piece was too late to be included in any of the Hollywood anti-war movies. The movie makers too are swimming against the crowd of Hollywood elites that have lined in support of a robust defense of the country against Islamo-terror-fascists. Movies like, Rendition, Lions to Lambs, Fahrenheit 9/11, Valley of Elah, The Kingdom and few others are in stark contrast to the glut of war movies that make the American cause appear to be noble like…hummm….well there’s….how about…oh, didn’t they make one about 1stSgt Ray Smith the medal of honor winner…no they didn’t.

Well anyway the point is that these anti-war entertainers would have us believe that they are courageous beyond belief for going against the industry on this issue. They are, of course, as phony as Hillary’s laugh on a Sunday talk show when ask about Bill’s philandering.

Look, I don’t expect Bruce come out with the new “Over There” or Hollywood to make anything like “The Sands of Iwo Jima” ever again, but how about SOME balance. It seems to me that there is enough bravery on display by Americans day in and day out in the Middle East that there has to be at least one good news story worthy of a movie.

Violence where the good guy kicks the crap out of the bad guy was long ago abandoned by Hollywood. It started with “Little House on the Prairie” the first of the sissified westerns. In the American Western standard “Gun Smoke” Matt Dillon would gun down three greasy ner do wells who tried to rob the bank before the opening theme faded down. But Hollywood decided that rather than seeing a fair minded, gun toting sheriff using a gun for the good of the town’s people, we needed to see how an unarmed sod buster helped his neighbor raise his barn. Yawn.

OK fine. If Hollywood doesn’t want to do a story about the uncommon courage of the American soldier, it should find a story about how the Army engineers are building schools and hospitals in Iraq and Afghanistan - something, anything that places the American fighting man not necessarily in a good light but rather in a realistic light.

Don’t hold your breath. Hollywood and the entertainment industry will continue to churn out the same predictable “America sucks” crap. The industry and half-wit stars that populate it will continue in Springsteensque fashion telling us how they are bucking the system and having their patriotism questioned for their brave and lonely stand.

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