July 25, 2008

Today on Ankarlo Mornings: Ankarlo talks to Jim Cross as he is covering the SMCC shooting. Ankarlo also talks about Obama’s Berlin speech, the Phoenix American Idol tryouts, the men’s quiz, Batman vs. George W. Bush and 50 cent sues Taco Bell.

A Movie is Just a Movie

When I go to see a movie I go to escape and be entertained. Give me a small bag of popcorn, a coke and a pocketful of candy—which I sneak in because it costs so much at the theatre—and I am a very happy camper. I don’t really pay attention to subtle messages the film is supposed to be presenting.
ET was apparently about Christ, 300 was about the Iraq war and Wall E is a story about global warming. Those hints must come when I’m searching the floor for my missing Ju Ju Bees because I don’t catch them. But now, according to a piece by a Hollywood director via the Wall Street Journal, Batman is a portrait of George W Bush.
Batman is willing to fight for his beliefs even if he is hated by the masses—that’s GW on the War in Iraq. Batman lives by his moral compass. Mr. Bush does too. Batman pushes civil rights boundaries for the sake of the people and so does our president. And the list goes on. I didn’t see any of that—I saw a comic hero I grew up with turned into a billion dollar enterprise. Oh, but wait a minute—it’s the income the movie is generating that may be the rest of the story. Are people flocking to see what is now touted as a very conservative movie because we admire a gun-slinging leader who is loyal to a fault and who is willing to trade his destiny for their well-being; a story about someone taking a stand instead of continuing to play the politically correct game of no losers or winners in sports, feminized men, and schools that hand out equal grades so everyone feels good about themselves? No, it’s just a movie—and the Batman/Bush comparisons may not be relevant to the film but they do say a lot about us