Wednesday, February 25, 2009

Question 4

This EHM theme has been very popular lately in Hollywood with movies like Syriana, Quantum Solace and the International. Does such publicity end up helping or hurting Perkins' cause? Does it popularize his story to the point of fiction?

5 comments:

Marci said...

This is an interesting question. I'm not quite so sure that people make the connection between these films and what is happening in reality. I went and saw "The International" and if I had not read "Confessions..." I wouldn't have thought much of it. I would have viewed it as another Hollywood drama (which I enjoyed). It would be interesting to see a documentary-style film made, something more explicit. I'd be curious to see the reactions to that.

Sam said...

Dang it, I am so out of it. I haven't seen any of these movies and have actually only heard of Quantum Solace (the James Bond movie, right?), but i think I get the general idea. I'd like to re-watch some movies after reading this book - the Bourne Identity movies come to mind.

I think the popularity of these movies, and the obvious dramatization, and "Hollywood-ization" of the stories hurts Perkins case. He tells us something is happening and our immediate point of reference is some fantastic work of fiction that nobody is going to take seriously. It makes it harder to believe his stories.

Blair said...

I haven't seen any of these movies either. Lame. I can't decide whether movie-versions of this type of story would sensationalize it too much to make it believable, or make people start wondering whether or not there is some truth to such stories and seek out more info. Good question Adam.

Adam said...

Sorry to cite movies no one but myself has seen. Here's the gist without ruining it for those who care to see them:
Syriana is a George Clooney film (R) - about the US gov.'s manipulation of Syria for its oil (big surprise). George plays a jackal, but makes some surprising realizations on his mission.
The premise to Quantum Solace (PG-13) is actually discussed in our book - it is the manipulation of Bolivia's Govt. by an international 'secret' corporation with the pinch-point being it's water.
The International (R) is about an international bank whose sole purpose is to enslave 3rd world countries - or something. It just came out a month ago, so still may be in theaters.

Loren said...

I actually think that in a lot of ways the events in the world make these movies more believable. I haven't seen Syriana or The International, but Quantum of Solace didn't seem that far-fetched. I think we would probably all be surprised if we knew everything that was going on, with or without government approval.