Critics of ‘Dog,’ ‘Postman’ Missed Real Flaws

To Tom Perrotta, regarding his article, “ ‘Dog’ Kicked Dirt on Albania” (Counterpunch, Jan. 26): Relax, it’s just a movie. Sorry Albania was chosen from a list of a dozen other countries that are generally insignificant to Americans. I am more concerned with other, more serious transgressions shown in “Wag the Dog.”

For example, the callous portrayal of the mentally ill Sgt. William Schumann (Woody Harrelson). And who cries for the woman he attempts to rape?

Who is blowing the foul whistle on the presidential molestation? Where is your fear that evil spin doctors could shape the opinion of the American people? Need I mention what happens to Stanley Motss (Dustin Hoffman)?

In fact you were disturbed by the only element of the film that was shown to the audience to not be real. The “Dog” kicked dirt everywhere.

BRIAN P. HUNT

Santa Monica

*

Perhaps Kevin Costner’s “The Postman” has received sufficient criticism in this space, but when a “big star” movie fails, it tends to get people talking. As a great fan of his original book, I am surprised “Postman” author David Brin had anything nice to say about how it was handled on screen (“What’s Wrong With Old-Fashioned Hope?,” Counterpunch, Jan. 5).

I attended the film knowing most of the philosophy in the book would never make it to the screen but thinking that Costner would at least bring the fundamental decency of the postman character to life. However, there were numerous, distracting errors I have not yet seen discussed.

First is Costner’s misreading of his character. Brin’s postman is the last decent, thoughtful man in a world gone mad with violence and the sheer struggle to survive. He is a loner because he can’t bear to see the savagery and social decay the surviving villages have fallen to.

Costner plays his postman as a goof-off who simply misses the easy times and is sliding by with the least effort possible.

But worse is the missed opportunity to show the consequences of losing our civilized amenities. The book shows us many graphic scenes of social degeneration, and the surviving people are visibly scarred by their privations. The few remaining artifacts of industrial civilization stand out as unbelievable luxuries. Almost none of this made it to the screen.

The movie is also full of distracting inconsistencies.

I believe the public is hungry for movies with an honest sense of hope. Such movies would show people triumphing over real problems by using their minds and hearts, by honest effort, and by rejecting oppression. Unfortunately, the Hollywood establishment only seems to understand the art of the Grand Tragedy, such as the hyper-successful “Titanic.” Its understanding of real heroes, big and small, has been sadly lacking for decades.

PATRICK QUILTER

Laguna Beach