Oliver Stone's 'Secret History' to put Hitler 'in context'

[Big Don]

Oliver Stone's 'Secret History' to put Hitler 'in context'

http://www.thrfeed.com/2010/01/oliver-stone-history-america.html--
EXCERPT:



Director Oliver Stone's upcoming Showtime documentary miniseries "Secret History of America" promises to put mass murderers such as Stalin and Hitler "in context."
"Stalin, Hitler, Mao, McCarthy -- these people have been vilified pretty thoroughly by history," Stone told reporters at the Television Critics Association's semi-annual press tour in Pasadena.
"Stalin has a complete other story," Stone said. "Not to paint him as a hero, but to tell a more factual representation. He fought the German war machine more than any single person. We can't judge people as only 'bad' or 'good.' Hitler is an easy scapegoat throughout history and its been used cheaply. He's the product of a series of actions. It's cause and effect ... People in America don't know the connection between WWI and WWII ... I've been able to walk in Stalin's shoes and Hitler's shoes to understand their point of view. We're going to educate our minds and liberalize them and broaden them. We want to move beyond opinions ... Go into the funding of the Nazi party. How many American corporations were involved, from GM through IBM. Hitler is just a man who could have easily been assassinated."


The controversial director's 10-part documentary series for Showtime promises to focus on events that "at the time went under-reported, but crucially shaped America's unique and complex history of the last 60 years." Subjects in "History" include President Harry Truman’s decision to drop the atomic bomb on Japan and the origins of the Cold War with the Soviet Union.
"You cannot approach history unless you have empathy for the person you may hate," Stone said during the show's trailer, which promised to put historical villains "in context." "I don't want to put out conventional History Channel product where it's easy to like it."
"He's not saying we're going to come out with a more positive view of Hitler," emphasized professor Peter Kuznick, the lead writer on the project. "But we're going to describe him as a historical phenomenon and not just somebody who appeared out of nowhere."
Stone said that conservative pundits will dislike the show.
END EXCERPT

Stone said that conservative pundits will dislike the show.

I don't think they'll be lonely in their dislike of it...
How does some one walk in Stalin's shoes? Starve a Russian family or two to death? Lumping McCarthy in with Hitler, and Stalin and Mao? Seriously? How many million deaths did Joe order?
Stone is out of his freaking mind.

 

[Archangel M]

Typical attention starved lib loony.

"Walk in their shoes" indeed.

 

[Bruno@MT]

It is true that the Russians played the most important role in WW2. As I once said before: we might have won with the US, but we would have lost without the Russians. Then again, Stalin was already planning to crush the Germans apparently. Hitler just was first to break the non aggression pact.

Hitler is a different issue though. Hitler himself is is the embodiment of pure evil. quite the manical nutcase. However, WW2 is closely related to WW1, and the other western European nations are in a big part responsible for creating and fostering the social climate that allowed / forced him to rise to power. The blame for WW2 cannot be put squarely on German shoulders.
Put it like this: had Hitler been killed in 1940, a different person would have filled the same shoes and walked the same road. The holocaust may or may not have happened, but the Jews were going to get the short end of the stick still, and the germans would have saught their 'lebensraum'.

I think that is the part that many people still don't realize: Hitlers rise did not come out of nowhere or just because of the Germans.

 

[celtic_crippler]

It appears many don't know of the treaty Stalin signed with Hitler.

I guess it was a good thing for the allies that Hitler broke his word, eh?

I'm not saying neither Hitler nor Stalin never petted a puppy... but that doens't offset the evil that they did.

Geez....

 

[Ken Morgan]

Hitler in context?? WTF??

It doesn't matter how or why he and Stalin achieved power, they were the two biggest murderers in human history. They deserve our loathing, and nothing else.

 

[Omar B]

Oliver Stone's a great visual stylist and enjoy his movies, but his politics are not my cup of tea.

 

[jks9199]

Actually, I don't have a problem with looking at Hitler and Stalin in context.

They didn't rise to power in a vacuum, they didn't come out of nowhere, and if we look at how it happened, we can hopefully learn from the past and never let such monsters into power again -- or at least recognize and stop them when they do find their way to power.

But... anyone else notice that little line that kind of implies that Harry S Truman was a villain?

 

[CanuckMA]

I just cannot see any 'context' in which to put Hitler.

You want to explore the roots of WWII in relation to WWI? fine. But the eveil that Hitler did went so far beyond trying to right whatever wrongs perceived from WWI that there is no possible excuse for what he did.

 

[Sukerkin]

History is only ever a problem if people either forget about it, don't listen to it or re-write it to suit their own 'time' or national 'ego'.

For me, I shall wait until I see this potentially very interesting series before I decide that it's claptrap or a valid exposition of what is already known in academic circles.

 

[Tames D]

History is only ever a problem if people either forget about it, don't listen to it or re-write it to suit their own 'time' or national 'ego'.

For me, I shall wait until I see this potentially very interesting series before I decide that it's claptrap or a valid exposition of what is already known in academic circles.

I agree. And I know Oliver won't let us down.

 

[Deaf Smith]

Knowing O. Stone, Hitler in context will be so full of speculation as to be useless as for facts.

Deaf

 

[jks9199]

Knowing O. Stone, Hitler in context will be so full of speculation as to be useless as for facts.

Deaf

Knowing Oliver Stone, he won't let the facts get in the way of movie making -- at least not if they don't support his agenda.

As I said -- I support the idea of examining the context and what led these men into power, and what made them the monsters they were. But I'm afraid that the series won't do that...

 

[Tames D]

Knowing Oliver Stone, he won't let the facts get in the way of movie making -- at least not if they don't support his agenda.

As I said -- I support the idea of examining the context and what led these men into power, and what made them the monsters they were. But I'm afraid that the series won't do that...

O ye of little faith.

 

[5-0 Kenpo]

I actually think that there is a lot of "context" that these people can be put into. We can argue evil, but "evil" is either supernaturally insipired or the individual has some "reason" for doing what they are doing. If we try to understand it, and not justify it, then we can perhaps keep ourselves from making the same mistakes.

 

[Bruno@MT]

Hitler in context?? WTF??

It doesn't matter how or why he and Stalin achieved power, they were the two biggest murderers in human history. They deserve our loathing, and nothing else.

How and why matters a great deal. And acknowledging as much could be very helpful towards helping current world leaders make the same mistakes again. What he did was utterly loathsome, but how and why he came to it is extremely relevant.