Captain Phillips is not going to help the Republicans

[grantcart]

Couldn't stand waiting for news so went to see Captain Phillips to a packed audience.

Another great Hanks performance draws the audience in.

It reinforces three memes that are not going to be helpful to the US.

a) The US government is a serious enterprise and shouldn't be treated a Kiwanis bake sale.

b) When people start taking hostages you have to stop negotiating or they will take more hostages.

c) President Obama doesn't bluff.

Wasn't overt but there were certain parts where the Somalis sounded just like House Republicans "I can't go back without something".

[Egnever]

1. Maybe

The real story is very messy. I can easily see rush and friends spinning it as proof of obama propaganda. Cause that's what they do.

I did hear hanks was very good in it. Going to see gravity 3d tomorrow myself suposed to be amazing visuals.

Glad you liked the movie.

[grantcart]

2. There is nothing overtly propogandic about Obama.

In fact the only sentences are "the White House has authorized the use of any means necessary to get the return of Captain Philips" and "you are ordered to make sure that Captain Philips never reaches Somalia under any circumstances."

Even that minimalist involvement reminds the public that the President's use of force was targeted, measured and effective, and that he got Bin Laden.

I think that it played pretty close to the real story and was quite messy but didn't overwhelm.

It appears to be pretty close to the actual incident

http://www.slate.com/blogs/browbeat/2013/10/11/captain_phillips_true_story_fact_and_fiction_in_tom_hanks_and_paul_greengrass.html

[Egnever]

23. Well

Huff post had a much different take. I am glad you enjoyed it though.


http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/10/11/captain-phillips-real-story_n_4084669.html?utm_hp_ref=entertainment

[Flying Squirrel]

16. Must be seen in 3-D

First 3-D movie I've seen in years, but well worth the extra $

[Egnever]

24. Yea we are springing for the glasses :)

I have heard it needs to be seen that way to get the total effect.

[longship]

3. Huh? What's this about?

Do you suppose that you could provide a cogent explanation, hopefully with some context?

Sorry, I may be out of the loop. But I suspect many may be with me.

[joshcryer]

4. It's about a movie staring Tom Hanks.

Capitan Phillips was a man rescued by order of Obama. The movie Capitan Phillips is about the real life story of that man being rescued by order of Obama.

The OP is saying that Obama comes off as strong, though it's not in your face, or anything.

[TorchTheWitch]

17. Obama's order is incidental

It was the actions of Capt. Phillips and his crew that vanquished the pirates and Phillips who saved his crew by offering himself as a hostage also saving the ship and its cargo. It was then the captain of the Bainbridge, Frank Castellano, after a lengthy standoff that ordered SEAL snipers on board to take out the pirates holding Phillips and rescue him which they did. This only happened in 2009, and memories are hardly so short. It's not a story about Obama. All he did was order the rescue. What, he was going to refuse especially when the drama was being played out for days all over the tv?

Not everything heroic that happens in the world is solely due to Obama as if he flies the world in blue tights with a big yellow "S" on his chest. Way to go making Phillips, his crew and everyone else in this incident seem inconsequential.


On Edit: You also might like to take a look at this from Snopes:

Command Decision
Claim: Message details decisions made by President Obama in directing the rescue of Captain Richard Phillips from Somali pirates.

MOSTLY FALSE

Example: [Collected via e-mail, April 2009]

Having spoken to some SEAL pals here in Virginia Beach yesterday and asking why this thing dragged out for 4 days, I got the following:

Read more at http://www.snopes.com/politics/obama/pirates.asp#7bW4P4JgV0AAQu4K.99

[joshcryer]

18. Huh?

"Everything heroic that happens in the world is solely due to Obama"? Where did I or the OP suggest that insanity at all?

[TorchTheWitch]

22. I agree it's insanity

Which makes me wonder why your post i replied to said this:

"Capitan Phillips was a man rescued by order of Obama. The movie Capitan Phillips is about the real life story of that man being rescued by order of Obama.

The OP is saying that Obama comes off as strong, though it's not in your face, or anything."

Sorry, but where is the part in your post (that mentions Obama THREE TIMES in its scant sentences) of the movie being about "the man" and his crew taking on the pirates, "the man" offering himself up as a hostage to save his crew, his ship and its cargo, and the actions of the captain of the Bainbridge and the SEAL snipers that rescued "the man" after days being held on a bitty little boat with AK-7s pointed at him for days during the stand off?

Geez, is it somehow not totally obvious that your post was all about an insignificant and expected order by Obama as if he was the superhero in this incident with the actions of everyone else totally discounted by you so much so that Obama was mentioned THREE times and everyone else wasn't even mentioned at all other than Phillips that you merely dignified his existence by calling him "the man"???

Yeah, I absolutely agree that your diminishing the actual heroic actions of Phillips and everyone else actually involved in the incident to nothing more than some incidental and expected thing Obama did is some serious insanity.

[joshcryer]

25. Absurdity.

The person asking was wanting to know where the OP was coming from. I simply explained that.

If you have a problem with the OP's characterization, attack the OP.

Don't attack me.

Vile.

[TorchTheWitch]

30. >>>CLICK<<<

[joshcryer]

31. Ding.

[Glaug-Eldare]

36. Captain Phillips is a liar and a fraud.

His book, on which the movie is based, is completely filled with self-promoting lies designed to build his reputation on the backs of his crew. His incompetence and ego are the reason the ship was placed in danger in the first place, and his bizarre desire to be kidnapped for fame led him to remain vulnerable when he and the others on the bridge could easily have escaped. He never volunteered to be kidnapped or face danger instead of his crew, but merely didn't have the leadership ability to protect himself and his crew. In his book and movie, he has ensured that he is portrayed as the big hero while everybody around him is a gang of bumbling cowards, when the exact opposite is the case.

[joshcryer]

5. Haven't seen this yet. Have seen "A Hijacking" which tells a different story.

Basically "A Hijacking" is from the POV of the CEO who is basically negotiating with the pirates. It's an interesting film.

Both this movie and "A Hijacking" send a message of very desperate people who want something for nothing, it seems.

[joshcryer]

6. "helpful to the US"

I think you meant "helpful to the Republicans." Though the "helpful to the US" concept would maybe also work (ie, the US doesn't fuck around, so you better watch out; some external to the US might not like that).

Nice OP, looking forward to the movie.

[rug]

7. It's not going to help anyone. I saw it yesterday and had to look up the pirates.

The four of them were teenagers. One of them had no shoes. They were a pathetic lot bobbing in that lifeboat surrounded by battleships and SEALS. I saw nothing to be proud of.

Meanwhile Maersk is being sued by the crew because Phillips ignored warnings sailed into the pirate zones to save time and money for the shipping company.

[joshcryer]

9. They're making a doco about the main pirate, called "Smiling Pirate."

It's no doubt that the Somali pirates get into the business for really shitty reasons (in part because AQ forces them into it).

I don't think the no-negotiation tactic the US is insistent on using is good. It never works, Phillips arguably got lucky. There have been a lot of other instances that didn't go well at all.

That said, I don't put much into the whole "Phillips sailed into known pirate territory" rhetoric. The reality is that you shouldn't have to "steer clear of a bad neighborhood" if you don't want to. That's victim blaming to the core, and I'm not supporter of the shipping company. Phillips was arguably arrogant, thinking he and his crew would be fine, but that could stem from ignorance more than malicious uncaring.

[rug]

10. Thanks, I didn't know that.

There was one line from the movie that stood out. While they're floating around in the lifeboat, Philips asked Muse, the lead pirate (who was between 16 and 19 at the time; he doesn't know his birthdate), "Isn't there anything else you could do besides being a fisherman and a pirate?" Muse answered, "Maybe in your country."

I hope this movie sheds some light on how desperate the situation is in Somalia and many other countries. The wrong lesson is how powerful the U.S. is and don't fuck with the President.

And here's the obligatory I don't support pirates statement.

[joshcryer]

13. Great line.

Got to see this movie now.

It's inarguable that the pirates are desperate.

The truth is most of the time, at least since the enforcement has ramped up, they are going to fail.

Might not have been completely true 5 years ago (piracy, in the 21st century?!?) but today? A pirate is going to lose. And lose big. Few countries negotiate these days.

The pirates are desperate and forced into it as far as I can see. It's fucking despicable.

PS I know you don't support pirates and neither do I, I think it's important to recognize their conditions and reasons for being pirates. You may be interested in A Hijacking, though it puts the CEO in a positive light in that instance (I won't spoil beyond that; the families in any hijacking situation are completely screwed though, sadly).

[Scuba]

35. That was THE LINE in the movie.

Very good movie, enjoyed it a lot. Even as "political" as I am, I didn't see anything about Obama in it.

The actor who played Muse deserves an Academy Award - he was excellent.

[Turbineguy]

26. Actually there was a company directive about maintaining distance.

Presumably they were willing to pay for time and fuel. Never the less, the Captain has his authority. Directives as such become more like guidelines. If you violate the directive because you are behind schedule, nobody is going to chastise you. I think Captain Phillips made the best decisions he could at the time given the information he had.

In reality however if Phillips had stayed offshore under the directive (if I recall, it was 600 miles) there is no guarantee that he would have been safe since there had been numerous hijackings well beyond that distance.

[joshcryer]

27. I think he did what he had to do.

And I think ignorance, at the time of the highest level of Somali piracy, contributed to that. I think a captain that was aware of how much higher the piracy presence was would have erred otherwise.

I agree had he even erred caution there is no guarantee the ship wouldn't have been attacked. It was a bad year in general for hijackings.

[Turbineguy]

29. Sea story

I was on a vessel (1991 as Chief Engineer) in the Gulf of Thailand and off the coast of Vietnam. It was after dark and I felt the vessel speed up. I called the engine room. "They're shooting at us!" I ran up to the Bridge, oddly enough, taking the outside ladders. New Captain. I reminded him of the 200 mile exclusionary zone that Vietnam enforces. "I know, but we don't recognize that!" A asked him, "It's 8:30 at night, is this a good time to make a political statement?"

Anyway, the gunboat gave up the chase

[joshcryer]

32. Wise Captain.

Glad you didn't fall off the outside ladders!

[Glaug-Eldare]

38. When you have about twenty people and millions of dollars on the line,

you don't take risks as a matter of principle. You play the percentages very conservatively, and Captain Phillips' foolish and wrong decisions endangered the vessel and crew.

[Cha]

8. I had to google but guess what?..

that's okay. Really good to hear! Good ol Tom Hanks playing the hero, Captain Phillips~ Does President Obama get a cameo?

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1535109/

Mahalo grant

[Pretzel_Warrior]

12. that's a jerky reply

[joshcryer]

14. I don't know of many enjoying those shots.

I know some racist bigots might enjoy it, but most if not all DUers would have a sinking feeling in their gut over it.

It sucks that it happened that way.

Maybe another possibility existed.

We'll never know.

[cali]

15. OK. That made no sense. why on earth would you think that it would

help the republicans to begin with? Why would that even enter your mind. It's a film by Greengrass, for one thing. For another, he's been clear about the themes of globalization and world poverty leading to desperation that thread the film. Here's an interview with him.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/10/07/paul-greengrass-captain-phillips_n_4045331.html

[joshcryer]

19. The OP never said or suggested it would help Republicans.

[cali]

20. Sure he did- by saying that it wouldn't help repubas

the suggestion that that was some sort of possibility was implicit. Why even suggest that it won't help republicans when it's a ridiculous proposition to begin with?

[joshcryer]

21. Crazy land.

[CJCRANE]

33. Because it's about a hostage situation.

That's what the OP meant.

The pirates take hostages and demand a ransom.

[Dawgs]

34. Seemed pretty clear to me. Not sure why others are having a hard time with it.

[PDittie]

28. The shutdown wasn't happening when this movie was made

Certainly not to the extreme degree that is is now happening. Sometimes we see what we want to see, and in that regard there will be some of the analogies you note to current events also noticed even by the most ignorant of conservatives. It will probably only make them angry at Tom Hanks or the director or Hollywood, though.

[NuclearDem]

37. Does everything have to be construed as propaganda for the Republicans or Democrats?

Can't we just evaluate the film on its merits and not whether it sends a message to one party or the other?

[CBGLuthier]

39. Meanwhile it turns out the real Captain Philips was an asshole

who endangered his crew. Hmmm, who is the republican analogue here?