Varsity Theatre Selections This Semester Not Worth Squabbling Over

While I was absent over the weekend (it was fantastic to say the least, although accommodations were less then satisfactory), Justin Phillips, an individual I am unfamiliar with personally, at GOP3.com has commented on a list of motion pictures MUSG is considering for release at the Varsity Theatre this semester. Though I agree with his assessment of North Country (as much as femi-nazi propagandist piece as this is I am surprised it has not received more award consideration – shows that the only roles Hollywood will recognize for actresses are those in which they play whores) and Brokeback Mountain (the gay-cowboy movie), I disagree with his comments concerning Hotel Rwanda and Jarhead. I have not seen either one of these films but have wanted to for some time. I agree that there exists no focal point in Hotel Rwanda on how Clinton failed to do anything about the genocidal act, but I don’t see it as a commentary on the Bush Administration. Suggesting it is a slap at the Bush Administration is stretching it a bit. And Jarhead from what I have heard is not as anti-Iraq war as it may appear. This of course is coming from my roommate. He and I have a different interpretation of Steven Spielberg’s Munich, so it may be one of those situations again. I don’t however see this as an attack on the military. Although I do find it suspicious that Universal Pictures chose this project at a time when the United States military is currently stationed in Iraq when the book itself has been in circulation for the past decade, this just goes to show the hypocrisy of Hollywood. They delight in criticizing the government for profiting off the blood of innocents in the midst of war when they themselves chose projects like Flight 93 and World Trade Center which exploit September 11th for profit, not memorializing the event.

Again, I have not seen any of the films he mentions (surprisingly, my roommate has seen more films on this list then me – and being the movie enthusiast I am I can not let that stand), but I do look forward to viewing some of these. If anything, Jarhead, at most.