History indicates that a prominent conservative’s steadfast
actions are what led to the Cold War end.
It was the late great Ronald Reagan who was the key player
in the engineering of U.S.
victory following the prolonged tension-ridden period during which we were at
odds with the then-Soviet Union.
A current film once again illustrates that acknowledging
Reagan’s triumphs doesn’t sit all that well with liberal Hollywood.
Screenwriter Aaron Sorkin of “West Wing” fame (who,
incidentally, is up for a Golden Globe but is refusing to cross the writers’
strike picket line) and director Mike Nichols, who’s best known for “The
Graduate,” found a book to adapt to the big-screen that credits a Dem with the
Cold War win.
“Charlie Wilson's War” is based on a non-fiction book by
George Crile, which profiles a 1980s congressman named Charles Wilson, a.k.a.
“the liberal from Lufkin.”
Representative Wilson was a pro-abortion, Equal Rights Amendment-supporting
Democrat.
Tom Hanks plays the Texas
rep who was involved with covertly funding Afghanistan's
Mujahideen rebels in opposition to the Soviet Union.
He was urged on by born-again socialite and mistress Joanne Herring, who is
played by Julia Roberts.
Entertainment Weekly gave the quintessential Tinseltown take
on the flick, praising it as “a journalistic satire of realpolitik in which our
jerry-rigged alliances, which looked strategic at the time, end up biting the U.S. in
unforeseen ways.”
But the publication did take a small swipe at the movie in
the following way: “Charlie was right to fight his war…All of which sounds a
little too close to recently made rationalizations for a certain other war.”
Not surprisingly, the critics are heaping praise on the
film. It has been nominated for 5 Golden Globes and is also on most of the
Academy prognosticators’ Oscar lists.
The Golden Globes may be a predictor of what happens at the
Oscars in more ways than one.
Globe nominations were recently announced, but the six-week
old writers’ strike may all but eliminate any reason for the public to watch
the telecast.
Writers, presenters, nominees and, of course, red carpet
walkers could be agonizingly absent.
Globe producers are trying to get a waiver from the Writers
Guild of America to exempt the January 13 ceremony at the Beverly Hilton,
promising to use the event to express solidarity with the picketers.
If the requested waiver is denied, many of the nominees who
don’t want to be labeled Ellen DeGeneres-like strikebreakers have already
declared that they won’t cross the picket line and will therefore boycott the
Globes ceremony.
David Duchovny, of “X-files” fame who’s nominated for
“Californication” told the Hollywood Reporter, “I would never cross picket
lines. I would probably send a stunt double in.”
“Grey’s Anatomy” producer Shonda Rhimes, “Eastern Promises”
director David Cronenberg and “The Diving Bell and the Butterfly” writer Ronald
Harwood have also said they will boycott the Globes if there is no waiver.
“Samantha Who?”’s Christina Applegate who’s nominated for
the new comedy has decided to attend despite the picket lines. Applegate summed
up her feelings about being nominated for a Globe while the writers are on
strike.
The actress said, “It stinks.”
James Hirsen is a
media analyst, Trinity Law School
professor and teacher of mass media law at Biola University.
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