Here we are, once again with our eyes before a carefully-crafted, compelling piece of art. Cinema, as we know, is the single most powerful tool for conveying a message. It doesn't matter if the content is faithful to the truth, what matters is the narrative. The award-winning case presented by this film is clearly anti-capital punishment. Does it matter that it's false? (Let's use the de jour term, "Revisionist"). Depends on one's viewpoint. History has proven that we too often succumb to repeated logical fallacies when they align with our own beliefs. Lies repeated become truths. Fallacies of authority, falsehoods of associated "success". We've witnessed far too much of it lately, and perhaps that's why this entry from 33 years ago feels eerily familiar.
Prof. Alex Taylor call Hollywood out for one of its most egregious lies. But it won an Oscar, so who cares?
Published in the Gainesville Times, Tuesday, September 13, 1988.
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