War and Hollywood: Then and Now

President-elect Obama’s election and inauguration is a victory for wisdom in the war against ignominious hate. President Obama will inherit a nation which, by the unwavering commitment of President George W. Bush, has taken the steps necessary to stop Terror Inc., in its tracks. Hollywood Studios which, let us not forget, remain on Al Qaeda’s hit list, have continued to produce films of protest to the former President’s war policies and defamatory to his character. They thrive and get rich by hating him. Rather than support our President and our troops, rather than vilifying our enemy, Hollywood has in the main chosen to vilify those sworn to protect it. Hollywood has indeed changed. Let’s compare Hollywood’s response to WWII to its response to 9/11 and our war effort.

Classic and contemporary Hollywood feature films about America’s heroic contribution to victory in World War II are legion. My favorite three classics are “Casablanca,” the splendid “Victory at Sea” (NBC TV), and “The Longest Day.” During, and for some time after World War II, most American filmmakers celebrated the American fighting spirit which, once awakened, crushed Nazism, defanged the Imperialist Japanese and corralled Communism. Then, American film critics were generally supportive. A glance at reviews published about “Victory At Sea,” contemporary with the series’ release in 1952, are illuminative. The New York Times praised the series for its “rare power”; The New Yorker pronounced the combat footage “beyond compare;” Harper’s proclaimed that “‘Victory at Sea’ [has] created a new art form.” The New York Times, The New Yorker, and Harper’s sing praises of war! The horror, the horror. (more…)