> Why should you not see Pearl Harbor?

>(2) that Pearl Harbor is a profound and important moment in history ... deserves to be treated with respect and reverence ... by being uncompromising in portraying their experiences on-screen as faithfully as possible -- rather than trod upon by a movie that exploits this solemn event for popcorn thrills, which insults the memories of those who died there by warping them into fodder for cheap commercial entertainment made fit for the masses by shameless concessions to political correctness at the expense of historical accuracy

>In response to savage reactions to Pearl Harbor, Michael Bay said, quote, "It's only a movie." ... gross negligence if he can dishonor our veterans with such nonchalance.


I have much the same preliminary feelings about "Pearl Harbor" as Sam does. It's coming out in NZ soon and I've seen TV ads, and read newspaper articles about the premiere, which quite frankly was the most repulsive thing I've heard about in a long time.

No movie is "only a movie". A movie which impacts on the public to the extent that this movie might -- whether for its quality or marketing or any other reason -- a movie with that kind of impact wears grooves in the thinking of a generation, for better or worse. History is what people remember and what they are told. You can change the past by shouting lies loud enough and if you think I'm taking this way too seriously, well, I consider WW2 a rather serious event.

I have been to the Arizona Memorial at Pearl Harbor and it appalls me that this event might henceforth be defined in the minds of the general public by a jingoistic, flag-waving and nauseatingly inaccurate movie in which the deaths of almost 4000 people take second place to a sloppy, sentimental love story and 30 minutes of really cool big exciting fun explosions.

The director of a movie has the power to change what the world thinks. That's a very serious power to play with. It would be ridiculous to expect every movie to be something more than entertainment, but there are subjects which MUST be something more than entertainment, and this is one of them. Being unaware of that is morally reprehensible, and spending vast amounts of money to spread your ignorance to an audience of millions is even worse.

Brunnen-"no opinion on Moulin Rouge whatsoever, so this makes up for it"G