http://newsmax.com/archives/articles/2003/6/30/30000.shtml
The Hulk – and Other Angry Monsters
David C. Stolinsky, M.D.
Monday, June 30, 2003
"The Hulk" depicts a nice guy who becomes a horrible green monster when he gets angry. This transformation is due to an experiment gone wrong.
The film deals with the important themes of uncontrolled rage and uncontrolled science. The acting and direction are good. So why was I angry when I left the theater? No, I didn’t turn into a green monster, but I was irritated.
What upset me was that the evil experiments were performed by – you guessed it – the U.S. military. What annoyed me was that the film is a continuation of Hollywood’s long-running campaign of anti-American propaganda.
Think about it.
"Seven Days in May" is a 1964 film about military officers who try to overthrow the president because he wants to sign an arms-control agreement with the Soviets. "The Package" is a 1989 film about military officers who try to kill the president because he wants to sign an arms-control agreement with the Soviets.
"Winter Kills" is a 1979 film about a conspiracy of rich people to assassinate a fictional president. "JFK" is a 1991 film about a conspiracy of rich people to assassinate a real president.
"Full Metal Jacket" is a 1987 film about one Marine who kills another. "A Few Good Men" is a 1992 film about one Marine who kills another.
"Courage Under Fire" is a 1996 film about a cover-up, when a female officer is accidentally shot and left to die by her own men. "The General’s Daughter" is a 1999 film about a cover-up, when a female officer is raped and murdered by her own men.
"First Blood" is a 1982 film about an unstable veteran who goes on a rampage. "The Hunted" is a 2003 film about an unstable veteran who goes on a rampage.
"Dr. Strangelove" is a 1964 film about a military officer who uses a nuclear weapon for his own purposes. "Broken Arrow" is a 1996 film about a military officer who uses a nuclear weapon for his own purposes.
"Under Siege" is a 1992 film about a deranged CIA officer who aims missiles at Honolulu. "The Rock" is a 1996 film about a deranged military officer who aims missiles at San Francisco.
"The Day the Earth Stood Still" is a 1951 film about how space aliens save us, after our government develops terrible weapons. "The Core" is a 2003 film about how heroic people save us, after our government develops terrible weapons.
"L.A. Confidential" is a 1997 film about cops who murder other cops over money and drugs. "Training Day" is a 2001 film about cops who murder other cops over money and drugs.
"The Parallax View" is a 1974 film about a corporation that murders people to protect its profits. "The Fugitive" is a 1993 film about a corporation that murders people to protect its profits.
"Brainstorm" is a 1983 film about an experiment that goes wrong and is taken over by the military-industrial complex. "The Hulk" is a 2003 film about an experiment that goes wrong and is taken over by the military-industrial complex.
Hollywood has many faults, but inconsistency is not among them.
For decades it has turned out films depicting our leaders as evil schemers, our military officers as power-mad lunatics, our soldiers as brutal cowards, our veterans as unstable losers, our police as corrupt thugs, our businessmen as greedy killers, our scientists as Dr. Frankensteins – and the rest of us as money-hungry, sex-crazed, drug-using, all-around fools.
Our enemies could have done this. Come to think of it, our enemies did do it.
Two generations of Americans have grown up seeing their nation portrayed as the chief source of evil in the world. They were robbed of the role models I grew up with.
They never saw Gary Cooper playing the title role in "Sergeant York," or Audie Murphy portraying himself in "To Hell and Back" – so they missed seeing role models of soldiers risking their lives to fight for freedom.
They never saw Cooper portraying the marshal in "High Noon," or Stacey Keach portraying a Los Angeles cop in "The New Centurions" — so they missed seeing role models of police officers risking their lives to uphold the law.
They never saw Gregory Peck portraying a Southern lawyer defending a black man in "To Kill a Mockingbird" — so they missed seeing a role model of a man risking his career to fight for justice.
They never saw Don Ameche portraying Bell inventing the telephone, or Spencer Tracy portraying Edison inventing the electric light and phonograph — so they missed seeing role models of scientists benefiting humanity.
And they surely never saw Pat O’Brien portraying army chaplain Father Francis Duffy in "The Fighting 69th" – so they missed seeing a role model of a clergyman comforting those in danger. And when they saw the photo of New York Fire Department chaplain Father Mychal Judge, who was killed ministering to the injured on 9/11, they recognized no connection.
True, there are exceptions like "We Were Soldiers." But it stands out because it is an exception. On the whole, our kids were robbed of positive role models and shown negative ones. And two generations of foreign kids grew up seeing the same images.
Some of these films are well made. "Courage Under Fire" deals with the ambiguities of war. But the bottom line is that male soldiers abandon a wounded female comrade and flee under fire, leaving her to die.
If you were an enemy, would you be afraid to fight such cowards?
Carmakers advertise their products as safe, useful and stylish. But how many cars would they sell if they advertised them as unreliable, useless and ugly? Isn’t that precisely what we’ve been doing?
We’ve allowed Hollywood to depict us as dangerous, destructive and depraved. Surely this affects how the world perceives us.
No one can say how many terrorists and other America-haters have had their opinion of us shaped by these negative images.
The anti-American drivel recently uttered by some Hollywood celebrities is irritating. But the proctologist’s view of America portrayed by most of Hollywood may be hazardous to our health.
The Hulk is dangerous when he’s angry. In the film, he vents his anger by destroying American tanks, downing American planes and killing American troops. Apparently the audience is supposed to be entertained by these activities.
But he’s a fictional character. A lot of real characters are even more dangerous when they’re angry. And we’ve done our best to make them angry at us.
Even worse, we made them see us not only as destructive, which might evoke fear as well as anger, but also as contemptible – which lessens the fear and leaves only the anger.
Imaginary monsters may entertain us. Real monsters aren’t at all amusing. Our armed forces are risking their lives to destroy them. Let’s stop abetting the production of still more. There are quite enough angry monsters already.
The Hulk – and Other Angry Monsters
David C. Stolinsky, M.D.
Monday, June 30, 2003
"The Hulk" depicts a nice guy who becomes a horrible green monster when he gets angry. This transformation is due to an experiment gone wrong.
The film deals with the important themes of uncontrolled rage and uncontrolled science. The acting and direction are good. So why was I angry when I left the theater? No, I didn’t turn into a green monster, but I was irritated.
What upset me was that the evil experiments were performed by – you guessed it – the U.S. military. What annoyed me was that the film is a continuation of Hollywood’s long-running campaign of anti-American propaganda.
Think about it.
"Seven Days in May" is a 1964 film about military officers who try to overthrow the president because he wants to sign an arms-control agreement with the Soviets. "The Package" is a 1989 film about military officers who try to kill the president because he wants to sign an arms-control agreement with the Soviets.
"Winter Kills" is a 1979 film about a conspiracy of rich people to assassinate a fictional president. "JFK" is a 1991 film about a conspiracy of rich people to assassinate a real president.
"Full Metal Jacket" is a 1987 film about one Marine who kills another. "A Few Good Men" is a 1992 film about one Marine who kills another.
"Courage Under Fire" is a 1996 film about a cover-up, when a female officer is accidentally shot and left to die by her own men. "The General’s Daughter" is a 1999 film about a cover-up, when a female officer is raped and murdered by her own men.
"First Blood" is a 1982 film about an unstable veteran who goes on a rampage. "The Hunted" is a 2003 film about an unstable veteran who goes on a rampage.
"Dr. Strangelove" is a 1964 film about a military officer who uses a nuclear weapon for his own purposes. "Broken Arrow" is a 1996 film about a military officer who uses a nuclear weapon for his own purposes.
"Under Siege" is a 1992 film about a deranged CIA officer who aims missiles at Honolulu. "The Rock" is a 1996 film about a deranged military officer who aims missiles at San Francisco.
"The Day the Earth Stood Still" is a 1951 film about how space aliens save us, after our government develops terrible weapons. "The Core" is a 2003 film about how heroic people save us, after our government develops terrible weapons.
"L.A. Confidential" is a 1997 film about cops who murder other cops over money and drugs. "Training Day" is a 2001 film about cops who murder other cops over money and drugs.
"The Parallax View" is a 1974 film about a corporation that murders people to protect its profits. "The Fugitive" is a 1993 film about a corporation that murders people to protect its profits.
"Brainstorm" is a 1983 film about an experiment that goes wrong and is taken over by the military-industrial complex. "The Hulk" is a 2003 film about an experiment that goes wrong and is taken over by the military-industrial complex.
Hollywood has many faults, but inconsistency is not among them.
For decades it has turned out films depicting our leaders as evil schemers, our military officers as power-mad lunatics, our soldiers as brutal cowards, our veterans as unstable losers, our police as corrupt thugs, our businessmen as greedy killers, our scientists as Dr. Frankensteins – and the rest of us as money-hungry, sex-crazed, drug-using, all-around fools.
Our enemies could have done this. Come to think of it, our enemies did do it.
Two generations of Americans have grown up seeing their nation portrayed as the chief source of evil in the world. They were robbed of the role models I grew up with.
They never saw Gary Cooper playing the title role in "Sergeant York," or Audie Murphy portraying himself in "To Hell and Back" – so they missed seeing role models of soldiers risking their lives to fight for freedom.
They never saw Cooper portraying the marshal in "High Noon," or Stacey Keach portraying a Los Angeles cop in "The New Centurions" — so they missed seeing role models of police officers risking their lives to uphold the law.
They never saw Gregory Peck portraying a Southern lawyer defending a black man in "To Kill a Mockingbird" — so they missed seeing a role model of a man risking his career to fight for justice.
They never saw Don Ameche portraying Bell inventing the telephone, or Spencer Tracy portraying Edison inventing the electric light and phonograph — so they missed seeing role models of scientists benefiting humanity.
And they surely never saw Pat O’Brien portraying army chaplain Father Francis Duffy in "The Fighting 69th" – so they missed seeing a role model of a clergyman comforting those in danger. And when they saw the photo of New York Fire Department chaplain Father Mychal Judge, who was killed ministering to the injured on 9/11, they recognized no connection.
True, there are exceptions like "We Were Soldiers." But it stands out because it is an exception. On the whole, our kids were robbed of positive role models and shown negative ones. And two generations of foreign kids grew up seeing the same images.
Some of these films are well made. "Courage Under Fire" deals with the ambiguities of war. But the bottom line is that male soldiers abandon a wounded female comrade and flee under fire, leaving her to die.
If you were an enemy, would you be afraid to fight such cowards?
Carmakers advertise their products as safe, useful and stylish. But how many cars would they sell if they advertised them as unreliable, useless and ugly? Isn’t that precisely what we’ve been doing?
We’ve allowed Hollywood to depict us as dangerous, destructive and depraved. Surely this affects how the world perceives us.
No one can say how many terrorists and other America-haters have had their opinion of us shaped by these negative images.
The anti-American drivel recently uttered by some Hollywood celebrities is irritating. But the proctologist’s view of America portrayed by most of Hollywood may be hazardous to our health.
The Hulk is dangerous when he’s angry. In the film, he vents his anger by destroying American tanks, downing American planes and killing American troops. Apparently the audience is supposed to be entertained by these activities.
But he’s a fictional character. A lot of real characters are even more dangerous when they’re angry. And we’ve done our best to make them angry at us.
Even worse, we made them see us not only as destructive, which might evoke fear as well as anger, but also as contemptible – which lessens the fear and leaves only the anger.
Imaginary monsters may entertain us. Real monsters aren’t at all amusing. Our armed forces are risking their lives to destroy them. Let’s stop abetting the production of still more. There are quite enough angry monsters already.
