Strengthening Constitutional Self-Government

No Left Turns

Thoughts on "Path to 9/11"

I watched the whole commercial-free broadcast last night, in part for general reasons, and in particular because I’m a big fan of it’s up-and-coming young director, David Cunningham, mostly because of his great work on this extraordinary movie. But I have to say I am getting tired of the jerky, tight-shot, hand-held camera technique that was used almost exclusively in "Path." Can we put this away now? Or at least tone it down a bit? I really don’t need to count the nose hairs on the various actors in the film.

Even with the edits, which were conspicuous (you can see the unedited scenes at Red State), the movie was still hard on the Clintonistas. I expect Night 2 will be hard on Bush. The asymmetry of outcry about the film between the two camps is therefore telling.

Discussions - 10 Comments

I know a lot about this historical lead-up to 9/11...I’ve seen interviews with the actual agents on the ground. The movie was extremely accurate, and Clinton should just take his lumps. As for tonight, I think they should give Bush a pass. He never was given any actionable intelligence (e.g., X will attack Y in the next week), and his administration was still trying to get on its feet after the miserable 2000 election contest (and that’s Al Gore’s fault). Moreover, anyone who knows anything about 9/11 knows that those evil bastards came into the country during Clinton’s watch, and so it’s apparent to anyone with a brain that the plan preexisted GW Bush and the 2000 election.

This is proof, by the way, that the Muslims hated us long before Bush did a damned thing in office. What’s happening now isn’t about Bush’s missteps in foreign policy...it’s about a whole region of cocky young men who’ve been taught to blame their problems on Jews and the West.

"I know a lot about this historical lead-up to 9/11..." Yes, dain, I’m certain that you do. Is such a prefatory remark even necessary? It’s great for you to finally drop the modesty act and just finally be forthright about your expertise, which I’m sure covers pretty much any topic that you come across.

And YES, you’re right; Clinton should take his lumps and Bush should get a pass!

Ewwww, trolljuice...again. I sure wish some posters would ooze elsewhere...maybe go over to their traitorous kin at the Du or Kos.

Steve, you are exactly right about the jerky shots and camera techniques of this and so many other films. I was actually getting nauseated watching this film--and not from the content. Sparingly applied, the technique has its uses. But 5 hours of this is rather like a few too many go-arounds on Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride. That said, and despite edits that perhaps gave Clinton a pass, I thought the film was quite effective and totally fair in its penetration of the minds of the terrorists. People who say we need to "understand" them should watch this film.

I thought the same darn thing about those camara shots.

Wasn’t it the NYPD Blue thing?

About a half hour into the movie my stomach was getting flippy. I had to pour me a drink just to settle it down. And as Julie said, it was not due to the content.

I actually could not finish the movie because of that filming style.

Hand-held camera work done right can be very very good and relatively unobtrusive (best example: my favorite unheralded and prematurely canceled show Firefly). The problem with "Path" is that the shots were just too tight, too jerky, and too much fiddling with the focus in order to make it seem more "real."

This is interesting. Reminds me of my reaction to Ann Coulter’s "Merry Widows" piece. I didn’t like the font in which it was written.

No, no, no, Fung, the problem with Ann Coulter is her hair style.

By the way, did you know Coulter is a big-time Deadhead? It’s true.

Steve-

Ugghh. This will be a true test of Heider’s Balance Theory. On the other hand, it is evidence that Coulter is more of a persona than a real person. There is no way that a real Dead Head can truly think the way she writes. Ergo, she is writing for effect.

There, I have just demonstrated the relevance of Festinger’s Cognitive Dissonance theory, while Heider takes a hit.

Just got Bob Dylan’s latest: "Modern Times," by the way, and it is better than anything he has done in 30 years!

Thisoffers an interesting twist.

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