19 April 2007

When Race-Baiters Attack

Don't tell us about your "art" Mr. Burns; we can not allow out esteem to be dashed:
Latino advocates are wary that the additional content that Burns has promised will appear during breaks in the film, or otherwise outside the main story arc. They insist that the new material should be part of the story itself, which focuses on the wartime experiences of four towns or cities in different regions of the country.
Don't like Burns' work? Make you own damn film.

"It does not satisfy our concerns to be an amendment or some kind of addendum" to the documentary, said Raul Tapia, a spokesman for the American G.I. Forum, a Latino veterans organization. Latinos "who contributed so much to winning the war deserve better. They are not an addendum. They stood up for their country, and we are standing up for them."
Burns' film is not intended to be the end-all, beat-all final word on WWII, but that doesn't matter. In America in 2007 everyone who wants anything are entitled to whatever they want.
Sen. Robert Menendez (D-N.J.), a member of the group, issued a statement last night, saying: "Ken Burns is a well-known filmmaker, and whether it's fair or not, his films are viewed by many as definitive histories. It is socially responsible and historically accurate to include the invaluable contributions of Hispanic Americans not as a footnote, but as part of the actual story of World War II."

Boy oh boy, thanks Senator. Us dum-dums need pinheads like you to ascribe meaning and purpose to everything under the sun. Jeez, maybe we should have laws that force people to keep changing their work until it satisfies every constituency in the land - maybe somehting like affirmative action for art. What a wonderful nation we'll have then.

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