Oliver Stone may be a nut job, but he has certainly made some wonderful movies. Of late however, he seems to be moving from his typical love of whacky conspiracy theories to rather more ugly ones.
Stone's newest project, a Showtime documentary entitled "The Secret History of America" will, Mr. Stone claims, put Hitler "in context". Stone wants to make sure that our understanding of Hitler does not remain a product of "the Jewish dominated media", as he claims it has been.
I am all for expanding our understanding of even the most terrible events in history. In fact, it is those events, including the Holocaust, which are most often addressed in dangerously over-simplified ways. But somehow, a filmmaker who describes his work in terms reeking of Jew-hatred does not seem likely to make any constructive contributions on this issue.
Of course, that was this weekend. Mr. Stone is turning apologetic, issuing statements in which he says he "made a clumsy association about the Holocaust, for which I am sorry and I regret. Jews obviously do not control media or any other industry".
Which is the "real" Oliver Stone? Is he the conspiracy theorist who resents the mythic power of Jews or the contrite artist seeking to bring deeper understanding to one of the darkest moments in human history?
My guess is that he's a bit of both. But because he simply calls his words a "clumsy error" and refuses to explore how they are actually part of his ongoing approach to world events, one in which some evil external force is always driving decent "little people" into horrible circumstances, I suspect that we have not heard the last of such claims about Jews from Mr. Stone.
There is no doubt that we need fuller explanations of the Holocaust, more sophisticated than those which invoke a demonic individual, Hitler, at whose feet all blame can be laid. In fact, to the extent that Stone demands a wider picture of accountability -- an appreciation that there is plenty of blame to go around in a world which stood largely silent as millions of human beings were murdered simply because of who they were -- I am with him. The list of those who bear responsibility should grow, not shrink, with the passage of time. That is what it means to be increasingly morally sensitive.
There is also no doubt that the Jewish community would do well to more fully appreciate, articulate and memorialize the horror of the Holocaust for people other than Jews. This is crucial if for no other reason than that it is only when the Holocaust can be remembered as a tragedy for all of humanity, that we can expect all of humanity to properly remember it.
None of that will be accomplished by minimizing the unique horror of the Nazis' "Final Solution" to the "Jewish problem", and certainly not by those, like Mr. Stone, who perpetuate some of the central underpinnings of the methodology which fueled the hatred which led to it.
Oliver Stone is no Nazi, but both his work and his words reflect something far more sinister than one clumsy error. They reflect deep and long-held hostilities of which Mr. Stone should be ashamed.
Let's hope the next Hollywood influential who wants to present a new angle on the Holocaust, can do so without resorting to any of the motifs and myths of those who perpetrated it. And let's hope that those new stories help all people to appreciate that all suffering is epic, when it happens to those about whom we care.
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I also think it is a mistake to continue to teach our children that WWII was caused because Hitler hated the Jews. It ignores the underlying economics of the situation. Wall Street stole all the money, manipulated the markets, and crashed the world's economy, which created the conditions of despair and hunger under which a war of this magnitude could occur. It is important that we begin acknowledging the role of the international financial system. By failing to admit this, we have allowed Wall Street to do it again, and could well end up facing another world war. So by focusing on just one aspect of the war and ignoring the economics, we continue to teach our children inadequate lessons. As evidenced by the recent decision to deregulate Wall Street and let them do it all over again.
Who do you think learns that WWII was caused because Hitler hated the Jews? No one. At least, no one who is educated.
Also, if you don't think there is enough attention paid to the 20MM Chinese people killed in the US educational system, try Japan! They don't teach their kids anything about their responsibility in those killings. Every German knows what the Nazis did to the world. The Japanese, to this day, take no responsibility for their atrocities.
Overall I think we could all afford to learn a bit more about history.....Obviously.
If he repeats his offense his career is over. (i would argue it has been for 5+ years anyway)
The idea of the chosen people is true for all people, for God chooses those who choose God.
Newsflash: The Holocaust happened in the middle of the biggest war in human history, a "world war" in which more than 50 million were killed. Russia, US, Britain, Canada et al were going all out to stop HItler and shut down his war machine regardless of the Holocaust.
What exactly were these countries to do that they weren't already doing--trying to stop Germany? England and Russia were obviously and reasonably most interested in protecting the lives of their citizens first and foremost.
The ego-ethno-centrism in your commentary is exactly where some of the criticism comes from re: discussion of Hitler, WWII, etc.
the ego-ethno-ignorance in your commentary is exactly where some of the criticism comes from re: discussion of Hitler, WWII, etc.
Having said that, Wall Street was awesome.
"There's nothing new in the world except the history you don't know. When the lives of great men are studied from records, they leave some idea of what happened." Harry Truman
"There is also no doubt that the Jewish community would do well to more fully appreciate, articulate and memorialize the horror of the Holocaust for people other than Jews. This is crucial if for no other reason than that it is only when the Holocaust can be remembered as a tragedy for all of humanity, that we can expect all of humanity to properly remember it."
And I have said that many times. I think if we keep defining the Holocaust as a "Jewish" issue, people will not understand, as you said, that it is a tragedy for all humanity. Not for the numbers, not only for the fact that millions were exterminated for who they were, but for the sheer, inhuman way it was so thoroughly carried out, against innocent men, women and children. Gays, Gypsies, the disabled- it was genocidal cleansing of all those who didn't meet the aryan standard.
That si not what he is saying at all. He is talking about understanding in a wider context.
With respect rabbi, I disagree. The increasing of time must not spread the blame around beyond where it does not belong. Your line of thinking leads to the absurd notion that we will reach a moral pinnacle when we finally blame everyone for the crime of a few. I do not hope the list of wrong-doers grows, and I don't hope it shrinks. I hope that we make a more precise list of wrong-doers, based on our long-standing values.
There isn't much more that we need to know about the holocaust or Nazi Germany. All of this effort to contextualize is not done for the sake of historical accuracy. Rather there is a desire to revise the past in order to manufacture a narrative that is more in keeping with today's culture. None of the "contextualisation" provided by Oliver Stone is historically serious. It is ideological propaganda. Let's defend neither his conclusion nor his intent.
We should be glad that Stone made his comments though, because this serves to publicly inform us that the left-wing conspiratorial worldview is very compatible with antisemitism. Finally the mainstream media is forced to acknowledge that fact.