《新闻传播》课程教学资源（参考文献，英文版）大众媒体曲解的历史的法律和文化的重要性.pdf_大学文库

MISDIRECTING MYTHS relationship between law and culture that shapes the milieu within which those effects occur. That relationship is symbiotic, in the sense that the legal system provides considerable protection for popular media, while at the same time popular media play an important role in the construction of attitudes toward the legal system in general Particularly striking is the media reinforcement of a perception of the legal system as the forum for resolving fundamental political and cultural conflicts. An understanding of who we think we are as a nation can thus be enriched by an examination of the interplay between these aspects of law and culture I. Introduction: An Intersection of law and Culture a. tort law and fiction Broadcast and published works of fiction can be causally linked to harm in ways that conceivably generate interesting tort litigation along two somewhat related dimensions. One of those types of litigation involves claims based on fictional portrayals of actual events that are alleged to defame or invade the privacy of real persons, while the other, which is the principal theme of many of the laws that order American society. ROBERT SHOGAN, WAR WITHOUT END CULTURAL CONFLICT AND THE STRUGGLE FOR AMERICAS POLITICAL Future 9 (2002). This Article narrows the focus from politics and culture to the legal system and culture 4 Without doubt, the pluralism and diversity of American society preclude any single conception of a national identity. NEIL CAMPBELL ALASDAIR KEAN, AMERICAN CULTURAL STUDIES: AN INTRODUCTION TO AMERICAN STUDIES 2-3(1997). This Article examines influences on the formation of identity, rather than purporting to articulate what that identity actually is S The term"fiction"is being used to exclude news reports and historical work including documentar king, that purports to be straightforward reporting of past events. As such, the defining characteristic is the overtly creative nature of the that is being rel (1985)nerally Symposium, Defamation in Fiction, 51 BROOKLYN L. REV. 223

MISDIRECTING MYTHS 2 relationship between law and culture that shapes the milieu within which those effects occur. That relationship is symbiotic, in the sense that the legal system provides considerable protection for popular media, while at the same time popular media play an important role in the construction of attitudes toward the legal system in general. Particularly striking is the media reinforcement of a perception of the legal system as the forum for resolving fundamental political and cultural conflicts. An understanding of who we think we are as a nation can thus be enriched by an examination of the interplay between these aspects of law and culture.4 I. Introduction: An Intersection of Law and Culture. A. Tort Law and Fiction. Broadcast and published works of fiction5 can be causally linked to harm in ways that conceivably generate interesting tort litigation along two somewhat related dimensions. One of those types of litigation involves claims based on fictional portrayals of actual events that are alleged to defame or invade the privacy of real persons,6 while the other, which is the principal theme of many of the laws that order American society.” ROBERT SHOGAN, WAR WITHOUT END: CULTURAL CONFLICT AND THE STRUGGLE FOR AMERICA’S POLITICAL FUTURE 9 (2002). This Article narrows the focus from politics and culture to the legal system and culture. 4 Without doubt, the pluralism and diversity of American society preclude any single conception of a national identity. NEIL CAMPBELL & ALASDAIR KEAN, AMERICAN CULTURAL STUDIES: AN INTRODUCTION TO AMERICAN STUDIES 2-3 (1997). This Article examines influences on the formation of identity, rather than purporting to articulate what that identity actually is. 5 The term “fiction” is being used to exclude news reports and historical work, including documentary filmmaking, that purports to be straightforward reporting of past events. As such, the defining characteristic is the overtly creative nature of the story that is being related in the work. 6 See generally Symposium, Defamation in Fiction, 51 BROOKLYN L. REV. 223 (1985)

MISDIRECTING MYTHS that the commission of violent acts was incited by the media. asserts contributors to this issue of the WaKe FoRest LAW revIEw Each of those areas of potential tort litigation presents significant and distinct legal and pragmatic considerations. In claims based on the portrayal of the plaintiff in a work of fiction, the central allegation is that harm has been inflicted on the plaintiff by the appearance in the fictional work of a character who is identifiable as the plaintiff. The gravamen of the tort claim based on such a portrayal can be of various types, depending on the circumsta damage to reputation, publicizing of private facts, portrayal to the public in a false light, appropriation of name or likeness. For cases within the E.g., David A. Anderson, Incitement and Tort Law, 37 WAKE FOREST L. REy (2002); Susan M. Gilles, "Poisonous"Publications and other False Speech Physical Harm Cases. 37 WAKE FOREST L. REY (2002) e generally richard C. Ausness, The Application of Product Liability Principle to Publishers of violent or Sexually Explicit Material, 52 FLA. L. REV. 603(2000) Professor ausness distinguishes between claims based on the information content and those based on the point of view or idea content. This Article employs a somewhat different taxonomy. The"incitement to violence tort claims under consideration here rest on the proposition that the provocation to act arose out of exposure to the media. It is the act itself, therefore, and not the manner in which the act was performed, that is being causally linked to the media. This conception of the category thus excludes from consideration some of the situations that Professor Ausness includes under the "point of view or idea"label. An advertisement of the services of a"hit man"or an instruction manual for carrying out contract killing, which Professor Ausness classifies as types of"point of view claims, id. at 613-615, would lie outside the scope of this Article. The reader of those publications, I would assert, has already formed the intent to act. The incitement to violence claims with which this article is concerned are those that professor ausness labels"imitation cases"and"inspiration cases. ld at 615-618 R Reputational harm is the defining characteristic of the tort of defamation tends so to harm the reputation of another as to lower him in the estimation of the community or to deter third persons from associating or dealing with him) 10 See RESTATEMENT(SECOND) OF TORTS S 652D(1977)(liability for invasion of privacy by giving"publicity to a matter concerning the private life of another. if the matter publicized is of a kind that(a)would be highly offensive to a reasonable person, and(b) is not of legitimate concern to the public") See RESTATEMENT(SECOND)OF TORTS 652E (1977)(invasion of privacy by giving "publicity to a matter concerning another that places the other before the

MISDIRECTING MYTHS 3 contributors to this issue of the WAKE FOREST LAW REVIEW, 7 asserts that the commission of violent acts was incited by the media.8 Each of those areas of potential tort litigation presents significant and distinct legal and pragmatic considerations. In claims based on the portrayal of the plaintiff in a work of fiction, the central allegation is that harm has been inflicted on the plaintiff by the appearance in the fictional work of a character who is identifiable as the plaintiff. The gravamen of the tort claim based on such a portrayal can be of various types, depending on the circumstances: damage to reputation,9 publicizing of private facts,10 portrayal to the public in a false light,11 appropriation of name or likeness.12 For cases within the 7 E.g., David A. Anderson, Incitement and Tort Law, 37 WAKE FOREST L. REV. ___ (2002); Susan M. Gilles, “Poisonous” Publications and other False Speech Physical Harm Cases, 37 WAKE FOREST L. REV. ___ (2002). 8 See generally Richard C. Ausness, The Application of Product Liability Principles to Publishers of Violent or Sexually Explicit Material, 52 FLA. L. REV. 603 (2000). Professor Ausness distinguishes between claims based on the information content and those based on the point of view or idea content. This Article employs a somewhat different taxonomy. The “incitement to violence” tort claims under consideration here rest on the proposition that the provocation to act arose out of exposure to the media. It is the act itself, therefore, and not the manner in which the act was performed, that is being causally linked to the media. This conception of the category thus excludes from consideration some of the situations that Professor Ausness includes under the “point of view or idea” label. An advertisement of the services of a “hit man” or an instruction manual for carrying out contract killing, which Professor Ausness classifies as types of “point of view” claims, id. at 613-615, would lie outside the scope of this Article. The reader of those publications, I would assert, has already formed the intent to act. The incitement to violence claims with which this Article is concerned are those that Professor Ausness labels “imitation cases” and “inspiration cases.” Id. at 615-618. 9 Reputational harm is the defining characteristic of the tort of defamation. RESTATEMENT (SECOND) OF TORTS § 558 (1977) (“communication is defamatory if it tends so to harm the reputation of another as to lower him in the estimation of the community or to deter third persons from associating or dealing with him”). 10 See RESTATEMENT (SECOND) OF TORTS § 652D (1977) (liability for invasion of privacy by giving “publicity to a matter concerning the private life of another .. if the matter publicized is of a kind that (a) would be highly offensive to a reasonable person, and (b) is not of legitimate concern to the public”). 11 See RESTATEMENT (SECOND) OF TORTS § 652E (1977) (invasion of privacy by giving “publicity to a matter concerning another that places the other before the

MISDIRECTING MYTHS citement to violence category, on the other hand, the harm is inflicted he victim not so much by the publicationitself as by the effect that the publication has on a person who views or listens to the work Claims of this sort are not necessarily conceptually difficult. They could plausibly fall within the conceptual core of traditional negligence doctrine: the publisher or broadcaster fails to exercise reasonable care The distinction between those two general types of tort claim may seem at first to correspond to a causal difference between direct and indirect infliction of harm on the victims of the publication. Media works of the first sort would be thought to inflict harm directly on the public in a false light.. if.. the false light. would be highly offensive to a reasonable person”) 12 See RESTATEMENT (SECOND )OF TORTS$ 652C(1977)(invasion of privacy if one appropriates to his own use or benefit the name or likeness of another") The term"publication"will be used in this Article as it is in the law of defamation and privacy, that is, for communication to someone other than the subject of the piece. See RESTATEMENT(SECOND) OF TORTS $ 577(1977)(Publication of defamatory matter is its communication intentionally or by a negligent act to one other than the person defamed). In a general sense, the term will designate work that has been presented to the public, thus including print and broadcast media within its scope This is not to suggest that courts have found the claims viable. See Part Ill infra for a discussion of judicial reluctance to find that the elements of traditional negligence claims have been satisfied in incitement to violence cases. The point being made in the text is that the analysis fits comfortably within the traditional negligence framework of duty and causation issues Characterization of the incitement to violence claims avoids the significant doctrinal and conceptual difficulties encountered in the attempt to locate the theory of liability within the general products liability category of strict liability in tort based on the sale of a defective product. See Ausness, supra note 2, for a comprehensive review of those difficulties. The categorization of media products as"products'"for products liability claims was explicitly rejected in the most recent decision on the subject of incitement to violence. James v Meow Media, Inc, 300 F 3d 683, at No.005922,2002WL1836520,at*141l5(6Cir.Aug.13,2002)

MISDIRECTING MYTHS 4 incitement to violence category, on the other hand, the harm is inflicted on the victim not so much by the publication13 itself as by the effect that the publication has on a person who views or listens to the work. Claims of this sort are not necessarily conceptually difficult. They could plausibly fall within the conceptual core of traditional negligence doctrine:14 the publisher or broadcaster fails to exercise reasonable care for the protection of others from harm when exposure to the publication induces behavior that causes foreseeable harm to the victim.15 The distinction between those two general types of tort claim may seem at first to correspond to a causal difference between direct and indirect infliction of harm on the victims of the publication. Media works of the first sort would be thought to inflict harm directly on the public in a false light … if … the false light … would be highly offensive to a reasonable person”). 12 See RESTATEMENT (SECOND) OF TORTS § 652C (1977) (invasion of privacy if one “appropriates to his own use or benefit the name or likeness of another”). 13 The term “publication” will be used in this Article as it is in the law of defamation and privacy, that is, for communication to someone other than the subject of the piece. See RESTATEMENT (SECOND) OF TORTS § 577 (1977) (“Publication of defamatory matter is its communication intentionally or by a negligent act to one other than the person defamed”). In a general sense, the term will designate work that has been presented to the public, thus including print and broadcast media within its scope. 14 This is not to suggest that courts have found the claims viable. See Part III infra for a discussion of judicial reluctance to find that the elements of traditional negligence claims have been satisfied in incitement to violence cases. The point being made in the text is that the analysis fits comfortably within the traditional negligence framework of duty and causation issues. 15 Characterization of the incitement to violence claims avoids the significant doctrinal and conceptual difficulties encountered in the attempt to locate the theory of liability within the general products liability category of strict liability in tort based on the sale of a defective product. See Ausness, supra note 2, for a comprehensive review of those difficulties. The categorization of media products as “products” for products liability claims was explicitly rejected in the most recent decision on the subject of incitement to violence. James v. Meow Media, Inc., 300 F.3d 683, at ___, No. 00-5922, 2002 WL 1836520, at *14-15 (6th Cir. Aug. 13, 2002)

MISDIRECTING MYTHS victim, while those of the second category cause a third person to injure the victim. In fact, however, cases in which there are direct and indirect links between the publication and the victim can category. Reputational harm occurring from the portrayal of the person in a work of fiction, for example, is by definition the result of a publication causing members of the audienc to think less of the victim and thus constitutes an instance of indirect harm. Furthermore, within the incitement to violence category, the tort claim may be based on the occurrence of self-inflicted harm, in which case the causal connection between the publication and the harm could be said to be direct A more instructive basis for distinguishing fictional portrayal cases from incitement to violence cases looks at a particular aspect of the content of the publication, rather than at the causal sequence that follows publication. From this non-causal perspective, the key to the distinction between these two types of tort scenarios becomes whether the victim can be identified in the fictional character. The critical factor in the fictional portrayal claim is the resemblance between the person claiming to have been harmed and the fictional person. The incitement to violence claim, on the other hand, requires no such identity to be established between the victim and the fictional person While it is true that, in a sense, the perpetrator of the violence makes an identification on some psychological level with the actions and motivations of a character in the fictional work. the incitement claim is indifferent to the actual identity of the person who is being portrayed in the work as a fictional character 16 See, e.g. Pring v Penthouse Int'l, Ltd, 695 F 2d 438(10th Cir. 1982), cert denied, 462 U.s. 1132(1983)(beauty contest participant portrayed in highly offensive manner in short story) See, e.g., Olivia N. v. National Broadcasting Co, 178 Cal. Rptr. 888(Ct. App 1981), cert. denied, 458 U.S. 1108(1982)(sexual assault on child allegedly copied broadcast of similar act on network television program) IS See RESTATEMENT(SECOND )OF TORTS S 558, supra note 9 19 See, e. g, Watters v. TSR, Inc, 904 F2d 378(6th Cir. 1990)(suicide allegedly induced by"Dungeons and Dragons" game) In Pring, supra note 16, for example, the fictional character was participating in the same beauty pageant, represented the same state, and had the same type of act in the segment of the contest as the pla

MISDIRECTING MYTHS 5 victim,16 while those of the second category cause a third person to injure the victim.17 In fact, however, cases in which there are direct and indirect causal links between the publication and the victim can arise within each category. Reputational harm occurring from the portrayal of the person in a work of fiction, for example, is by definition the result of a publication causing members of the audience to think less of the victim,18 and thus constitutes an instance of indirect harm. Furthermore, within the incitement to violence category, the tort claim may be based on the occurrence of self-inflicted harm,19 in which case the causal connection between the publication and the harm could be said to be direct. A more instructive basis for distinguishing fictional portrayal cases from incitement to violence cases looks at a particular aspect of the content of the publication, rather than at the causal sequence that follows publication. From this non-causal perspective, the key to the distinction between these two types of tort scenarios becomes whether the victim can be identified in the fictional character. The critical factor in the fictional portrayal claim is the resemblance between the person claiming to have been harmed and the fictional person.20 The incitement to violence claim, on the other hand, requires no such identity to be established between the victim and the fictional person. While it is true that, in a sense, the perpetrator of the violence makes an identification on some psychological level with the actions and motivations of a character in the fictional work, the incitement claim is indifferent to the actual identity of the person who is being portrayed in the work as a fictional character. 16 See, e.g., Pring v. Penthouse Int’l, Ltd., 695 F.2d 438 (10th Cir. 1982), cert. denied, 462 U.S. 1132 (1983) (beauty contest participant portrayed in highly offensive manner in short story). 17 See, e.g., Olivia N. v. National Broadcasting Co., 178 Cal. Rptr. 888 (Ct. App. 1981), cert. denied, 458 U.S. 1108 (1982) (sexual assault on child allegedly copied broadcast of similar act on network television program). 18 See RESTATEMENT (SECOND) OF TORTS § 558, supra note 9. 19 See, e.g., Watters v. TSR, Inc., 904 F.2d 378 (6th Cir. 1990) (suicide allegedly induced by “Dungeons and Dragons” game). 20 In Pring, supra note 16, for example, the fictional character was participating in the same beauty pageant, represented the same state, and had the same type of act in the talent segment of the contest as the plaintiff

MISDIRECTING MYTHS Each of these types of tort claim arising out of the publication or broadcast of a work of fiction serves as an important part of the legal background against which to examine another effect that media works of fiction might produce, the shaping of a sense of citizenship, which is the focus of this Article. More specifically, the article examines the intersection of three strands of thought- portrayal of a real person in fiction, incitement to violence, and popular cultural influences on a sense of citizenship to reveal the interplay of legal ideas in the construction and maintenance of a cultural phenomenon To keep the enterprise within manageable bounds, the focus of the article will be limited to one medium -commercial cinema -and one genre- historical recreation. Within that body of work, two quit different films - Oliver Stone's JFK and Steven Spielbergs AMISTAD22- will serve as illustrative and instructive works B. Stone and Spielberg: A Study in Contrast The directorial oeuvres of Oliver Stone and Steven Spielberg include a number of the most significant contemporary films, but it would be difficult to imagine any viewer attributing the work of these two extremely talented individuals to the other. Spielberg has directed such classics of entertainment as the indiana jones adventure series CLOSE ENCOUNTERS OF THE THIRD KIND- ET THE EXTRA 2 Warner Bros ( 1991) 22 Dreamworks SKG(1997) 23 Between the two of them, Spielberg and Stone directed six of the American Film Institutes list of 100 Best Films. They accounted for one-quarter of the twenty-four films on the list that were released since 1975. For the contents and a critical review of the list, see Kenneth Turan, AFIs Top 100 List: The Ultimate Pitch, L.A. TIMES Jun. 17.1998 at Fl. available at 1998 WL 2437728 24 RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK(Paramount Pictures 1981): INDIANA JONES AND THE TEMPLE OF DOOM(Paramount Pictures 1984): INDIANA JONES AND THE LAST CRUSADE (Paramount Pictures 1989) 25 Columbia Pictures(1977) 6

MISDIRECTING MYTHS 6 Each of these types of tort claim arising out of the publication or broadcast of a work of fiction serves as an important part of the legal background against which to examine another effect that media works of fiction might produce, the shaping of a sense of citizenship, which is the focus of this Article. More specifically, the article examines the intersection of three strands of thought – portrayal of a real person in fiction, incitement to violence, and popular cultural influences on a sense of citizenship – to reveal the interplay of legal ideas in the construction and maintenance of a cultural phenomenon. To keep the enterprise within manageable bounds, the focus of the Article will be limited to one medium – commercial cinema – and one genre – historical recreation. Within that body of work, two quite different films – Oliver Stone’s JFK21 and Steven Spielberg’s AMISTAD22 – will serve as illustrative and instructive works. B. Stone and Spielberg: A Study in Contrast. The directorial oeuvres of Oliver Stone and Steven Spielberg include a number of the most significant contemporary films,23 but it would be difficult to imagine any viewer attributing the work of these two extremely talented individuals to the other. Spielberg has directed such classics of entertainment as the Indiana Jones adventure series,24 CLOSE ENCOUNTERS OF THE THIRD KIND, 25 E.T. THE EXTRA- 21 Warner Bros. (1991). 22 Dreamworks SKG (1997). 23 Between the two of them, Spielberg and Stone directed six of the American Film Institute’s list of 100 Best Films. They accounted for one-quarter of the twenty-four films on the list that were released since 1975. For the contents and a critical review of the list, see Kenneth Turan, AFI’s Top 100 List: The Ultimate Pitch, L.A. TIMES, Jun. 17, 1998, at F1, available at 1998 WL 2437728. 24 RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK (Paramount Pictures 1981); INDIANA JONES AND THE TEMPLE OF DOOM (Paramount Pictures 1984); INDIANA JONES AND THE LAST CRUSADE (Paramount Pictures 1989). 25 Columbia Pictures (1977)

MISDIRECTING MYTHS That difference in the tenor of these directors work is reflected in a comparison between JFK and AMISTAD. Stones film is an account of the assassination of president John Kennedy told from the perspective of New Orleans District Attorney Jim Garrison, who prosecuted- or perhaps more accurately, as some would assert, persecuted'-local businessman Clay Shaw for what Garrison alleged was Shaw's role as a conspirator in the assassination. t Stone presents Kennedy as the victim of the powerful resistance by high-placed figures in government and in industry to an anticipated presidential initiative of a withdrawal of the American military from Vietnam With the President dead, according to the explanation provided in the film by a military special operations source played by Donald Sutherland, the plans for the expansion of the war were able to proceed without White House opposition, to the benefit of both segments of what President Kennedys predecessor Dwight Eisenhower had warned about as the military-industrial complex The broad geopolitical motive for the Kennedy assassination hypothesized by Stone, interesting though it may be, offers little in the way of cinematic appeal. The undeniable captivation of the audience by Stone's film lies in its visual depiction of the shadowy details of an imagined widespread conspiracy culminating in the events of November 1963 in Dallas. The film both displays to the viewer and provides an explanation of the reasons for the shooting in Dealey Plaza and the subsequent killing of accused assassin Lee Harvey Oswald by night club owner Jack Ruby two days after the assassination, while Oswald was in police custody in the dallas jail. By the films end, the viewer has been transported to the darker regions of a political After Shaws acquittal on the conspiracy charge, he successfully sued to enjoin Garrisons subsequent prosecution of him for perjury. The opinion of the District Court sets out extensive support for the proposition that Garrison's prosecution of Shaw was in bad faith and constituted harassment. Shaw v. Garrison, 328 F Supp 390(ED. La. 1971), aff'd, 467 F2d 113(5Cir ) cert. denied, 409 U.S. 1024 1972). The mistreatment of Shaw is the subject of PATRICIA LAMBERT, FALSE WITNESS: THE REAL STORY OF JIM GARRISONS INVESTIGATION AND OLIVER STONES FILMJFK(1998) Garrison told his story in two books: JIM GARRISON, A HERITAGE OF STONE (1970); JIM GARRISON, ON THE TRAIL OF THE ASSASSINS: MY INVESTIGATION AND PROSECUTION OF THE MURDER OF PRESIDENT KENNEDY (1988). Credits for the film JFK state that it is based on the latter Garrison book. as well as on JIM MARRS CROSSFIRE: THE PLOT THAT KILLED KENNEDY(1989)

MISDIRECTING MYTHS 8 That difference in the tenor of these directors’ work is reflected in a comparison between JFK and AMISTAD. Stone’s film is an account of the assassination of President John Kennedy told from the perspective of New Orleans District Attorney Jim Garrison, who prosecuted – or perhaps more accurately, as some would assert, persecuted39 – local businessman Clay Shaw for what Garrison alleged was Shaw’s role as a conspirator in the assassination.40 Stone presents Kennedy as the victim of the powerful resistance by high-placed figures in government and in industry to an anticipated presidential initiative of a withdrawal of the American military from Vietnam. With the President dead, according to the explanation provided in the film by a military special operations source played by Donald Sutherland, the plans for the expansion of the war were able to proceed without White House opposition, to the benefit of both segments of what President Kennedy’s predecessor Dwight Eisenhower had warned about as “the military-industrial complex.” The broad geopolitical motive for the Kennedy assassination hypothesized by Stone, interesting though it may be, offers little in the way of cinematic appeal. The undeniable captivation of the audience by Stone’s film lies in its visual depiction of the shadowy details of an imagined widespread conspiracy culminating in the events of November 1963 in Dallas. The film both displays to the viewer and provides an explanation of the reasons for the shooting in Dealey Plaza and the subsequent killing of accused assassin Lee Harvey Oswald by night club owner Jack Ruby two days after the assassination, while Oswald was in police custody in the Dallas jail. By the film’s end, the viewer has been transported to the darker regions of a political 39 After Shaw’s acquittal on the conspiracy charge, he successfully sued to enjoin Garrison’s subsequent prosecution of him for perjury. The opinion of the District Court sets out extensive support for the proposition that Garrison’s prosecution of Shaw was in bad faith and constituted harassment. Shaw v. Garrison, 328 F. Supp. 390 (E.D. La. 1971), aff’d, 467 F.2d 113 (5th Cir.), cert. denied, 409 U.S. 1024 (1972). The mistreatment of Shaw is the subject of PATRICIA LAMBERT, FALSE WITNESS: THE REAL STORY OF JIM GARRISON’S INVESTIGATION AND OLIVER STONE’S FILM JFK (1998). 40 Garrison told his story in two books: JIM GARRISON, A HERITAGE OF STONE (1970); JIM GARRISON, ON THE TRAIL OF THE ASSASSINS: MY INVESTIGATION AND PROSECUTION OF THE MURDER OF PRESIDENT KENNEDY (1988). Credits for the film JFK state that it is based on the latter Garrison book, as well as on JIM MARRS, CROSSFIRE: THE PLOT THAT KILLED KENNEDY (1989)

MISDIRECTING MYTHS landscape: evil has triumphed over good, the prospect of a policy direction change for the better has been thwarted by a murder planned t the highest level and executed by an interwoven network of government and underworld operatives, and institutions of government at all levels have been complicitous in the creation of a false and sanitized version of the assassination in an effort to dupe the public inte believing that it was the work of the now-iconic figure of the"lone gunman Spielbergs film further back into history to tell the story of the 19 Centu for freedom of a group of Africans who had been illegally sold into slaver captured in west Africa, transported across the Atlantic Ocean under the horrific conditions of the "Middle Passage, and sold in Cuba, a member of the mende tribe known in the film as Cinque led an uprising that took control of the Amistad. a schooner in which another part of Cuba. Deceived by the course plotted by the slavers who were kept alive to sail the ship back to Africa, Cinque and the others who took control of the ship found themselves off the shore of Long Island, where they were arrested by United States authorities and imprisoned in New Haven, Connecticut, while their future was litigated through the federal courts all the way to the Supreme Court of the United States. That litigation resulted in a judicial declaration acknowledging that they were free, followed by the ultimate return of the surviving captives to Africa. In marked contrast to the gloomy tenor of Stones JFK, Spielbergs AMISTAD presents the viewer with a resounding triumph of the human will for freedom, brought about by a perseverance in the use of the legal process to accomplish a positive end that evoked and affirmed the ideals on which the nation was founded The difference in the fundamental attitudes of the filmmakers toward the legal process can be encapsulated in casting decisions that each of them made. Oliver Stone put prosecutor and critic of the report This is only one of the terms that have entered American popular culture since the Kennedy assassination. The long-running television series The X Files used the term as the name of the group of conspiracy theorists who covertly assisted the shows lead character."Grassy knoll is another term that can be attributed to the continuing popular fascination with the assassinat

MISDIRECTING MYTHS 9 landscape: evil has triumphed over good, the prospect of a policy direction change for the better has been thwarted by a murder planned at the highest level and executed by an interwoven network of government and underworld operatives, and institutions of government at all levels have been complicitous in the creation of a false and sanitized version of the assassination in an effort to dupe the public into believing that it was the work of the now-iconic figure of the “lone gunman.”41 Spielberg’s film reaches further back into history to tell the story of the 19th Century fight for freedom of a group of Africans who had been illegally sold into slavery. Captured in west Africa, transported across the Atlantic Ocean under the horrific conditions of the “Middle Passage,” and sold in Cuba, a member of the Mende tribe known in the film as Cinque led an uprising that took control of the Amistad, a schooner in which he and others were being moved to another part of Cuba. Deceived by the course plotted by the slavers who were kept alive to sail the ship back to Africa, Cinque and the others who took control of the ship found themselves off the shore of Long Island, where they were arrested by United States authorities and imprisoned in New Haven, Connecticut, while their future was litigated through the federal courts all the way to the Supreme Court of the United States. That litigation resulted in a judicial declaration acknowledging that they were free, followed by the ultimate return of the surviving captives to Africa. In marked contrast to the gloomy tenor of Stone’s JFK, Spielberg’s AMISTAD presents the viewer with a resounding triumph of the human will for freedom, brought about by a perseverance in the use of the legal process to accomplish a positive end that evoked and affirmed the ideals on which the nation was founded. The difference in the fundamental attitudes of the filmmakers toward the legal process can be encapsulated in casting decisions that each of them made. Oliver Stone put prosecutor and critic of the report 41 This is only one of the terms that have entered American popular culture since the Kennedy assassination. The long-running television series The X Files used the term as the name of the group of conspiracy theorists who covertly assisted the show’s lead character. “Grassy knoll” is another term that can be attributed to the continuing popular fascination with the assassination