Stone is probably best known for his film, Platoon. It was a serious and mostly honest view of aspects of fighting in Viet Nam. Many vets I know appreciated the feel of the film, something that Stone knows well as a decorated (Purple Heart and Bronze Star) Viet Nam-era Army soldier.
He also made Wall Street, a huge film that hit big. It showcased the 1980’s drive for success at all costs. It also gave us a hint at his own views of Wall Street. In his visual depiction it was a place of greed and corruption, filled with the morally corrupt. A view that I personally found insulting once I became a stockbroker and learned the reality of what that important tool of the economy is really about.
He has also made Natural Born Killers (a film originally written by Quentin Tarrantino – who disliked the film enough to ask his name be removed from it) and Any Given Sunday – which really gave Jamie Foxx a chance to breakout in Hollywood.
But those are his successful films. Each was a good film with an interesting view of life. It’s what’s kept him working and his name high in Hollywood circles (besides Stone’s political views). It is his flops, or less successful films that has lost him the fanbase that he once commanded.
Oliver Stone is a Liberal. There is no question or shame in that. It’s just that he has emphasized that in his growing body of work. And he has basked in the Hollywood liberal mentality while audiences have generally shunned him.
His film JFK was a slanted and biased depiction that fed the conspiracy theorists in the nation. His film Nixon insulted the memory of a controversial President under the guise as a search for the truth. His film World Trade Center, while honoring the efforts of many on 9/11, was factually incorrect to the point of changing a major real life hero from Black to White. That film did ok, but was no great success. I won’t mention his Comandante – a documentary about Fidel Castro. And with the film W., Stone completely disgraced the Office of the Presidency, the sitting President, and America in my opinion.
At the time I stated
“What I care about is the power and prestige of the American Presidency and thus America. America is the President on an international level, whether we love or hate any particular President. And Oliver Stone is so obsessed with his personal hate that he doesn’t seem to care what damage he does. He seems willing to do anything to place a(nother) blemish on President Bush, even if it means hurting every American and every American President to come.
… Could I be wrong about the film? … sure, and it is mathematically probable that I can fly, piss on the sun and put it out, and/or suddenly have a stroke and thus believe that Code Pink and San Francisco know what they are doing. But back in the real world, Oliver Stone is doing a wretched thing.”
Obviously, Stone is not the only one to have strong views about America.
But I say all this because Oliver Stone will be providing America with what he calls “Oliver Stone's Secret History of America”.
In this televised series America will be provided the truth, according to Stone, about actions behind the scenes in American History. Considering the flawed, biased, political views that Stone provides in his movies it is likely to be about as accurate as my describing the benefits of Socialism. Or perhaps the fun of hammering a nail through your own genitals.
Can Oliver Stone be a great director? When he gets out of the way of his ego and personal political views, sure. But as time moves on, it seems that Stone is more interested in highlighting his own political agenda on the big screen for Moveon.org and Code Pink than caring what an audience might find entertaining.
So I advise avoiding Stone’s “History” because I believe it will be his-story. Rather I suggest reading a good fiction novel if that’s what you want to be entertained by.
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