Given that "W" is an Oliver Stone film, I knew going in that it had to be taken with a grain of salt. He's a good filmmaker, but he has very ... what's the word I'm looking for here ... strong opinions on certain things. And likes to add his own take on certain things. And likes to portray certain unfounded theories (I'm thinking "JFK" here) as fact. That's Oliver Stone. I knew this going in.
That said, there were only two real problems I had with the film: 1) Oliver's portrayal of Condoleezza Rice, and 2) Oliver's portrayal of Christianity, prayer, and spiritual conviction. I obviously have more to say about the second tenet here, so I'll start with the first.
1) I want to know why on earth Condi was portrayed as a mentally retarded person. I mean, really. Thandie Newton played Condi, and she played her as a retarded person. She played her as a woman who almost never spoke ... and when she did, she sounded retarded (I'm not just talking stupid or uninformed here — I'm talking literal mental retardation). I don't mean this to be funny or offensive. I'm just wondering why the heck they did that. Condi's star has certainly fallen during the past eight years, but she's by no means ... well, retarded. In fact, she just might be the only person who survived the Bush presidency with a career still intact. So why'd Oliver do that?
2) I was really bothered by the way Oliver portrayed Christianity and Christians in general, but if we're talking in specifics, I really didn't like the way he portrayed born again Christians. "W" showed the difference between W as a frat boy and W as a post-conversion Christian, and it never mocked his decision to stop drinking. But it did mock the scenes in which a) Bush is struck by the spirit of God (he collapses while running and the wind blows through the trees?) and b) he prays with his Sunday school teacher, asks God to take control of his life, and becomes born again. The whole bit was just odd ... and offensive to me (being a born again Christian). It was part mockery, part humorous, part superstitious and part serious ... which added up to a whole that I didn't feel was respectful to Christians or Christianity.
It also bothered me that every time W bowed his head to pray after this conversion, the movie flashed to a daydream in which W saw himself taking bows or making the winning catch in a baseball stadium. I seriously doubt that's what Bush thinks of when he appears to be praying. In fact, I'll go as far as to guess that he probably actually is praying.
It bothered me even more that every time W talked about feeling God's conviction, Oliver Stone made him seem like a crazy person that saw elephants dancing in pink tutus. People, I can tell you that the spirit of God is real, and you do feel conviction to do certain things sometimes. For example, my mom felt a conviction to give up her football ticket to the GA/GA Tech game last year so Rachel could go in her place ... it ended up being Rachel's last football game ever. God told her something, and she listened ... that was not my mother being a crazy "born again" lunatic, and I promise you she didn't just feel like sitting in a car alone for 4 hours.
I honestly don't know what George W. Bush believed when he decided to run for president or when he decided to go to war in Iraq. I think that Bush has made horrible policy decisions over the past eight years that have gotten us into an unnecessary war, destroyed America's reputation, divided our country, allowed the US to torture prisoners, significantly trampled on some of our most cherished freedoms ... I could go on and on. I do not think W has been a good president. But I also don't think he's crazy either, and I do believe that he genuinely believed that what he was doing was what was best for our country. I think the current state of affairs has proven him wrong, but we're the ones who voted him into office. Twice (although that first time was a little iffy). Let's take our fair share of responsibility, people.
To sum up, I know that a lot of people in our nation think born again Christians are this crazy little subset of the population who see things, or hear things, or ... well, are just basically crazy. Many people here in DC seem truly shocked when they learn that I'm ... dun, dun, dun ... a born again Christian (I guess cause I'm not running around naked and foaming at the mouth? They know my faith and beliefs, but the born again thing throws them off). I know this "crazy born again" perception comes from portrayals like those in Oliver Stone's movie, from people like Jerry Falwell and Pat Robertson (who said God was punishing America for homosexuals and feminists on 9/11), and from people who claim divine inspiration when blowing up abortion clinics. I get that. But let me be clear and lay it out for you. Us born again Christians simply believe that we're saved by grace — that Jesus paid a debt He did not owe because we owed a debt we could not pay. And by acknowledging that, asking for God's forgiveness, and trusting in Him, we become born again Christians.
So, if you do decide to give "W" a shot or have already seen it, just keep that in mind. I can't speak for W personally, but I really don't think he saw any elephants dancing around in pink tutus. I think he just made some bad decisions.
No comments:
Post a Comment