Personal Politics – Oliver Stone Rewrites 9/11

Oliver Stone Rewrites 9/11

By Anthony Kaufman, AlterNet. Posted August 9, 2006.
In his new film, ‘World Trade Center,’ the director turns the events of 9/11 into an easily digestible myth of American heroism, with an almost happy ending. Huh?

“Don’t think; keep moving.”

Spoken by Port Authority police Sergeant John McLoughlin (Nicholas Cage) as the World Trade Center buckles above him, these words ring truer than most in Paramount Pictures’ new film “World Trade Center,” directed by Oliver Stone.

Not only does this line of dialogue aptly describe the movie — which opens today — but it also illustrates a worldview embraced by the film. No wonder Paramount launched a massive marketing campaign that targets two specific groups often light on thought and heavy on action: teenage boys and the Christian Right.

A celebration of authority, God, and president Bush, “World Trade Center” doesn’t feel like an Oliver Stone movie. If conservatives were worried that Stone, the director of anti-establishment touchstones “Platoon,” “Born on the Fourth of July,” and “JFK,” would turn this 9/11 movie into a platform for personal politics, he has proved them resoundingly wrong. Instead, Stone delivers the Bush base a jingoistic, All-American all-you-can-eat buffet on a silver platter.
More here: AlterNet: Movie Mix: Oliver Stone Rewrites 9/11