Clearing the Fog
When someone takes a strong opinion into the theater, they miss things. This may be the reason why Kent Williams’ recent review of Errol Morris’ documentary The Fog of War [Film, March 30] was dominated by details ridiculed out of context, attacks on partial quotes and generalized bitter invective aimed at deterring filmgoers any way possible.
Also, he apparently did not notice that the film was not about McNamara, as the subtitle Eleven Lessons from the Life of Robert S. McNamara implies, but the insidious, risky nature of the nation-state, the core values and ironies of advanced civilization analyzed from an enviable perspective and the odd mix of chance and destiny that delivered us to the present moment.
Keenly loyal to his agenda, Williams does not limit his invective to just this, but also demeans Morris’ brilliant documentary filmmaking technique as well as Philip Glass’ unforgettable score. In some cases, we see Williams’ inner struggle at work doctoring facts. When attacking McNamara’s remark (actually, he was paraphrasing Curtis LeMay) that if the United States had lost World War II they would have been tried for crimes, Williams strategically omits the next sentence, “is it any different just because we won?”
I’m sure the review succeeded in deterring some moviegoers from seeing the film. Those people missed the revelatory recorded phone conversations between McNamara and two sitting presidents, stunning insights into the Cuban missile crisis and personal confessions from a man possibly born into the wrong strata of society or the wrong era.
As to McNamara’s hunger (or was it thirst?) for power, this is simply a fragment of Williams’ imagination. Not only did he not seek the position of secretary of war, but McNamara repeatedly advised President Kennedy he was not qualified for it. And of course it would not fit the profile to mention that as the highest paid corporate executive in the world at the time, he assumed a radical change of lifestyle to serve.
Was McNamara the man the Vietnam-era media invented for us? Hardly the point. When going to such films, it could be an open mind is better than a closed one. Or maybe the focus was too broad. In either case, giant guns and things moving fast across the screen in Hellboy seem more to Williams’ taste.
Sky Hiatt
Charlottesville
Check the date
Alexander Cockburn’s column on Kerry’s Vietnam service seems to have date problems [“Kerry in Vietnam,” Left Turn, March 30]. How could Kerry have been a senior at Yale in 1966, graduated in 1966 (or l967), spent a year in training and have been in Vietnam as early as December 2, l966, on his first patrol up one of the canals?
I was interested to learn that an officer, Lt. James R. Wasser, was a machine-gunner on Kerry’s boat. I thought that was an enlisted man’s job.
James Carley
Charlottesville
Alexander Cockburn replies: Sharp-eyed Carley is right to ask. As the year of Kerry’s first patrol, 1966 was a mistype for 1968, and Wasser was a petty officer.
Leave Sloan’s alone
Sorry to say, but Slo Bro’s is a no no! [Restaurantarama, April 6]. After the Sloan family left Sloan’s it was basically down hill all the way. The management stinks. Where is the warm, loving atmosphere that the Sloan family created and kept going for all those years? Where is the wonderful food that myself and others enjoyed so much? Sorry, but some things are better left untouched!
Besides, from some—and I do mean the very few of the old staff left from Sloan’s—there is not a happy memory in the place. The Sloan family should not let their name be taken down like this. People think it’s still them when in fact it’s some people that are not local and that’s what we loved the most.
I’ve talked with quite a few friends and we’ve all decided that The Korner Restaurant and Riverside are more what Sloan’s used to be. A little more upscale, but with the warm, family surroundings that we Charlottesvillians all grew to love so much.
Change the name! Do something! But don’t call yourself a Sloan when you can’t live up to their greatness!
JD Gordon
Charlottesville
Correction
In the Style File section of last week’s ABODE supplement we ran an incorrect phone number for artist/sculptor Jason Blair Roberson. The correct number is 295-2577.