I am apparently Anti-American
The thing that brings me here today is an article i read in my local newspaper last night at work. It's an editorial by Bill O'Reilly, a VERY right-wing news analyst and writer for Fox News. Now, i've never been a fan of him at all, mostly just an indifference. I think most of his views are more comical than they are practical and to be honest, he's a liar. He touts that he doesn't spin anything, yet then turns around and spins anything he doesn't like or anything than can get him more press. But hey, America is full of worse opinions than his so i never bothered with him. Then along comes this article, which is not only hilarious, but so amazingly idiotic he should win some kind of prize. So i found it online and would like to discuss and rebuke his silly points. His post is in bold, my retort is in normal text.

(taken from his website billoreilly.com, all copyrights are his, yada yada)

The Bourne Buffoonery
When "The Simpsons" movie turns out to be more realistic than "The Bourne Ultimatum," you know something is up. Nevertheless, the thriller is a big hit, proving once again that film audiences now want live action cartoons rather than crisp, realistic films like "The Ipcress File" or "The French Connection."

Right off the bat, this sarcasm doesn't work. In no way is the Simpsons anywhere close to reality, and thats what makes it good. And as far as reality goes, didn't the French Connection have a long European chase scene in it, just like Bourne? So, what you're really saying is that movies that YOU like have reality and other movies don't. Ok, as long as we're on the same page now.

For those of you not familiar with the Bourne series, Matt Damon plays a CIA agent who becomes involved in the "Program" (as in get with the). This sinister plan results in Damon being brainwashed, making him a lean, mean killing machine with no personal memories. Thus, he can murder without conscience, kind of like what Hollywood producers often do to scripts.

Anyway, Damon runs around beating up four guys at a time and eluding authorities all over the world. However, he turns on the CIA, so they must kill him. But they can't since Matt is Clint Eastwood and Sean Connery times 10. Plus, he has Julia Stiles helping him. No way the CIA has a chance.

There is nothing mentioned about "the Program", so your ensuing joke falls flat there. It's a CIA operation called Treadstone. Did you even pay attention or watch this movie? Also, Matt Damon's character is not brainwashed, he did everything voluntarily. Torture is not brainwashing. They handed him a gun, and he did what he was told to do.

As far as Bourne having inhuman ability you seem to be off-base here too. Could he save his girlfriend? No. Could he save that reporter? No. Does he escape unscathed? No, he is injured for most of the movie, one way or another.

But this is just an uninformed, idiotic movie review. Until...

I knew this movie was trouble when I read the reviews. Almost all the critics liked it. The only way American movie critics would like a violent car chase film like this was if it bashed the USA, which, of course, it does.

The CIA guys are bad, bad, bad. And just to make sure Indonesian and Pakistani audiences get the picture, the CIA chief issues his evil orders with the American flag clearly seen on his desk. No language barrier here, no sir. The U.S. intelligence agencies are fiendish enterprises that want to hurt Matt Damon and actually force Julia Stiles to cut her own hair. How could they?

This movie is not againist the United States personally, genius. Do you EVEN KNOW WHAT THE CIA DOES?? Pretty much what is shown in this movie, though to a lesser degree. Foreign blackmail, harassment, and murder (yes, murder...NOT neutralize...i hate that word) And it's supported by this government. If you really think this movie bashes America, you need to first look at what part of America it is bashing. Maybe it's a part that needs to be tweaked a little. And uh, the CIA really isn't even attacked by the movie. It's mostly attacking A COUPLE OF HIGHER UP PEOPLE WHO WORK THERE! For god's sake, can't you see the difference?

Finally for this, the CIA doesn't make Julia Stiles cut he hair. THe threat on her life does. I think that's a little more relevant.

Actually, both Mr. Damon and Ms. Stiles don't have to do much acting. Damon does work for the far-left MoveOn organization and is on record as requesting the Bush daughters serve in Iraq.
The actor also told the Idaho Statesman that the CIA's use of water boarding is an erosion of our American values.

Guess what? There's a water boarding scene in the flick. What a coincidence!

Stiles is also down with the far left. On a cable program she explained why she missed a MoveOn event by saying: "I was afraid that Bill O'Reilly would come with a shotgun at my front door and shoot me for being unpatriotic."

Look it up if you don't believe me.


I just checked out MoveOn.org. It seems like a basic civil rights website. I'm guessing you simply don't like it because it's progressive (or far-left). It's also a nonprofit organization. It seems like all they do is try to spread their fundamentals about civics to people, and try to send a voice to Congress about their opinions.

As for the water-boarding thing, i couldn't find anything about it on the company's website. Maybe they included the scene in the movie because that's what the CIA does! Hahaha..what a coincidence! As for Stiles' comment about you, it's called a sense of humor.

In the Bourne movie there are no shotguns to frighten Stiles, but plenty of automatic weapons fired at U.S. intelligence agents, not by al Qaeda, but by American Matt Damon. As the casualty count rose, I kept thinking about all those disability payments we taxpayers would have to pick up.

Mer? Where did Al Qaeda come from? Seriously? You're just using a "scary name" to frighten Americans. Disgusting.

The only people that died were CIA agents and one reporter. I personally don't think that's so big of a loss to cry about disability

Now, all of this is harmless nonsense to those of us who understand the hero and villain business, and realize the simplistic bias that permeates Hollywood. But to impressionable audiences, the anti-American theme could resonate.

The director of the movie, Paul Greengrass, told the Times of London that he purposely tapped into the mistrust the world has of the USA. In my opinion, Mr. Greengrass has used his skills as a filmmaker to create a slick propaganda package that will make him millions of dollars. And standing between Mr. Greengrass and real-life terrorists who would slit his throat are, of course, real-life American intelligence people.

In the end, the America-haters will love "The Bourne Ultimatum" and apolitical others may enjoy the action and carnage. The movie is a perfect storm of misguided ideology, silly plotting and absurd conclusions. In other words, it's a blockbuster.
COPYRIGHT 2007 BillOReilly.com.

What a dramatic finish. You can sum up these last paragraphs with "In the end, this movie is Anti-American and therefore not good".

And now i ask, what makes this movie anti-American? Is it the the fact that you think the movie degrades the CIA, or the fact that two of the actors share different beliefs than you do? Cause that's all you're working with here.

Calling the movie a propoganda machine is beyond hilarious to me. It's a MOVIE. The CIA in general aren't the "bad guys", it's a smart part of that. You're the one turning this into propoganda. Yes, the director tapped into the world's mistrust of the United States, so what? In the end, it'a a story about Bourne, who just wants to survive and get revenge. You are confusing reality with fantasy. Fantasy has elements of the real world obivously, but puts a twist on it. There is nothing anti-American here.

And now, Mr. O'Reilly your column is reduced to an uninformed, pathetic movie criticism. Along the lines of: "I don't like this movie because i think it's unrealistic and unpatriotic". I think you really want to be THE critic of the world, and make everyone follow your shoddy opinions, and that's a damn shame, because they're laughable.

I'll leave you with a little quote that you might like, Mr O'Reilly.

"Critics are people that watch a battle from high above, and then come down and shoot the survivors".
-Ernest Hemingway