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[IP] more on 'Private Ryan' It is a good combat movie, but a lousywar m ovie, because it shows nothing about the



Begin forwarded message:

From: Dan Gillmor <dgillmor@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Date: November 11, 2004 7:31:45 PM EST
To: Dave Farber <dave@xxxxxxxxxx>
Subject: Re: [IP] 'Private Ryan' It is a good combat movie, but a lousywar m ovie, because it shows nothing about the 

Good grief, Dave --

Is there *anyone* who doesn't know that WWII was a "good" war (as in
fighting against evil)?
That said, I doubt the stations are being pressured not to show this because it accurately portrays combat (and, yes, war). I think it's stations being 
cowardly in the face of a nanny-state Congress and FCC that have made
censorship of the airwaves a government priority.
If we want to get conspiratorial about it, however, here's a fun scenario:
1) Congress wants to spend more money (or maybe, someday, stop borrowing so 
much from our children).

2) Can't raise taxes. Never, never, never.

3) Congress recalls that if the broadcasters ever go to digital
broadcasting, they'll have to keep their promise to give back the spectrum used for analog TV, which was meant to be auctioned once it came back to the 
government's control. Big money seen in that auction.
4) Broadcasters have no intention of keeping that promise, because spectrum 
is so valuable -- and it was a gift, after all, with no actual
public-interest responsibility anymore.
5) Congress ups the ante on "indecency" and tells the FCC to start fining 
broadcasters in major ways.

6) FCC, knowing what the game is, gladly complies. Libertarian Michael
Powell turns into Jerry Falwell.
7) Broadcasters, not knowing what the game is, turn the airwaves into sheer 
pablum (not a big change, I realize).

8) More and more TV watchers turn to cable and satellite, where there's
material an intelligent adult or child might actually want to watch.

9) Broadcasters figure out what the game is, and move more aggressively
toward digital.

10) Censorship mania slows, and it's back to business as usual.

Absurd? Of course. But maybe no more absurd than reality these days.

Dan


From: David Farber <dave@xxxxxxxxxx>
Reply-To: dave@xxxxxxxxxx
Date: Thu, 11 Nov 2004 15:17:10 -0800
To: Ip <ip@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Subject: [IP] 'Private Ryan' It is a good combat movie, but a lousy war m 
ovie, because it shows nothing about the



Begin forwarded message:

From: "Munro, Neil" <NMunro@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Date: November 11, 2004 4:34:17 PM EST
To: dave@xxxxxxxxxx
Subject: RE: 'Private Ryan' It is a good combat movie, but a lousy war
movie, because it shows nothing about the

politics that led to the war, or the political results of the war.

(Remember, wars only begin when the defenders fight back -- otherwise
the 'wars' are quick conquests -- so they can only be understood in
terms of their causes and consequences, not merely their conduct. But
all of IP's sophisticates understand this already...)

So, critical parts of World War II include;
          the survival of 60 million Russians who would otherwise have

been killed by the Nazis
          the liberation of Europe ( including France -- from the
Nazis)
          the benefits of 50 years of peaceful Nazi-free development
in a free Europe
                         and, at the end of a very, very, very long
list,
                                         my children, neither of whom
would exist if the democracies had not fought Hitler. .

        Ordinary Americans tend to understand this broader picture
better than many intellectuals who amuse themselves and their friends
by professing horror of war and thus ignoring the undeniable benefits -
and undeniable costs -- of the American Revolutionary War, the Civil
War, WWI, the Cold War, the first Iraq war, the war on terrorism, and a
myriad other conflicts where ordinary people good defeated bad with
courage and weaponry. .

          Because of all this, it should be clear that combat movies
which divorce themselves from politics are akin to sex-movies which are
divorced from humanity and love.

         Have a peaceful vetreans day.

         Yours,    Neil Munro




________________________________

From: owner-ip@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx on behalf of David Farber
Sent: Thu 11/11/2004 2:48 PM
To: Ip
Subject: [IP] ABC fear FCC fines if they air "Private Ryan"



Maybe it is because they fear actally showing the US audience what war
is actually like. djf

ABC affiliates pulling 'Private Ryan'
Stations in 8 states will pre-empt broadcast of award-winning film due
to concerns about indecency.
November 11, 2004: 12:21 PM EST


NEW YORK (CNN/Money) - ABC affiliates in at least eight states will not
televise the network's broadcast of the World War II film "Saving
Private Ryan" because they fear repercussions from U.S. regulators.

 Affiliates in Alabama, Georgia, Iowa, Massachusetts, North Carolina,
Ohio, South Carolina and West Virginia said they were worried about
running afoul of the Federal Communications Commission in Washington.

WOI-TV in Des Moines, Iowa, for example, said it decided to pre-empt
the Academy Award winning film, which depicts several violent battle
scenes and contains foul language, over concerns about possible fines
by the FCC.

"Would the FCC conclude that the movie has sufficient social, artistic,
literary, historical or other kinds of value that would protect us from
breaking the law?" WOI-TV President Raymond Cole said in a statement
appearing on its Web site. "With the current FCC, we just don't know."

Janice Wise, spokeswoman for the FCC's enforcement bureau, told Reuters
it had received calls from broadcasters asking if the film would run
afoul of the agency's indecency rules. Wise said the commission was
barred from making a decision before the broadcast "because that would
be censorship."

"If we get a complaint, we'll act on it," she said.

But at least one watchgroup group that has urged the FCC to levy
harsher fines for questionable programming said the broadcast should go
ahead.

The group, the Parents Television Council, said in a statement on its
Web site that "context is everything."

"We agreed with the FCC on its ruling that the airing of "Schindler's
List" on television was not indecent and we feel that "Saving Private
Ryan" is in the same category," it said. "In both films, the content is
not meant to shock, nor is it gratuitous."

WOI-TV's Cole noted that the station is still concerned even though it
has shown "Saving Private Ryan" in prime time on two previous
occasions.

Since those broadcasts, however, the FCC has taken a strong stand
recently against obscenity and profanity -- especially after the
raunchy half-time show during the last Super Bowl telecast. Fines also
have been levied for radio shows hosted by "shock jocks."

Another affiliate, WSB-TV in Atlanta, said it asked ABC for permission
to air the film after 10 p.m. and to have the option to edit some of
the scenes.

"ABC would not allow that, nor would it give permission for us to edit
out the graphic language," said WSB-TV General Manager Greg Stone in a
statement.

"With no options available regarding the preparation of the movie or
altering the start time, we decided to pre-empt the network on this
night," he added.

Instead, WSB-TV will air several programs produced by its staff.

A fellow affiliate, South Carolina's WSOC-TV, said in a statement on
its Web site that ABC's contract with Steven Spielberg prohibits
stations carrying the film to edit its content.

WSOC-TV said it made its decision to withdraw "Saving Private Ryan"
amid the war in Iraq and concerns about FCC penalties.

In addition, Sinclair Broadcasting Corp.'s six ABC affiliates will not
air the program, according to a spokeswoman for affiliate WGGB-TV in
Springfield, Mass. Sinclair affiliates in North Carolina, West
Virginia, Ohio, Alabama and Massachusetts were also affected.

ABC, a unit of Walt Disney Co. (Research), has said it is proud to air
the 1999 film again.

"As in the past, this broadcast will contain appropriate and clear
advisories and parental guidelines, and, as customary, we will provide
advance screenings for ABC affiliates and advertisers," the network
said in a statement.

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