Distorting History - JFK - A Film Not To Be Seen
Copyright Rabbi Eli HechtNo part of this arcticle may be used or reproduced in any form without written permission from the copyright holder, except for brief quotations in reviews.
This past December, Hollywood launched a new movie, "JFK". The movie presented the assassination of President John F. Kennedy in 1963, as a huge conspiracy backed by the Mafia, Cuban exiles, and secret intelligence agents of different countries. At this time there is a controversy condemning the film as misrepresenting the assassination, elevating rumor to fact, mixing real and fake footage.
Why has "JFK" become a movie that is stimulating controversy? After all, this is definitely not the first movie where reality and fiction are mixed!
Perhaps it is because visual propaganda have has a very strong effect upon the minds of people, especially the young people. By viewing the film, a new generation has been exposed to the story of the assassination. They think that the picture portrays the assassination of Kennedy correctly. Not surprisingly, according to several recently conducted polls, a large number of young people have already accepted the movie version as factual truth.
The correct way to learn history is through books and lectures, and not through the movies. When history is depicted through the art and glory of Hollywood, anything goes! This is especially true when it comes to making a movie sell. We never know if a movie is telling a true story or a falsehood.
This leads me to make the following observation. The holiday of Passover will soon be approaching. At this time, most television networks will air "The Ten Commandments", a classic epic directed by Cecil B. DeMille which depicts the birth of the Jewish nation from the time of slavery to King Pharaoh to the exciting presentation of the Ten Commandments on Mount Sinai.
Millions of Jews worldwide accept that this movie truthfully portrays what REALLY took place. Then when they finally decide to open up a Bible and read what actually happened, they're shocked. And no matter how many times they reread the Bible, that first impression gets in the way. They just remember the movie.
One cannot help but notice how the movie does an injustice to the biblical account. For example, the romances presented in the movie are pure fiction. The Jews are told to eat matzoh, known as unleavened bread. In the movie, we find a startling scene: Moses, himself, eating Pita-bread. How absurd!
Oliver Stone, the director of "JFK," defends his movie with these words, "I cannot say "I do not say this movie is a true story," but that "it speaks with an inner truth." The actor, Kevin Costner said, "The film's whole case might be dismantled and discredited, but the movie as a whole has an emotional truth."
I wonder what "inner truth" or "emotional truth" mean.
Remember this: Just as "JFK" gives a wrong impression of what really took place, so does a movie like "The Ten Commandments."
It's the ENTIRE TRUTH that's needed to keep the Jewish nation alive and together. When one wants to learn Judaism, "emotional truth" alone will not suffice.
This Passover, when the television network airs "The Ten Commandments" do your family and yourself a favor. Watch a Disney film; better yet, take out the Bible and read the story in the original. After all, the Bible itself was launched as a best seller over 3,000 year ago, and is still going strong.