Liberal Media: First Blood

Take a look at this, describing the development process for Rambo: First Blood II, from the latest issue of Entertainment Weekly.

"Everyone agreed that [James] Cameron's Rambo screenplay, on the other hand, was good - but Stallone had other ideas. Working with director George Cosmatos, Stallone retooled the script and headed to Mexico for a storm-ridden shoot. The final product, a $34 million right-wing fantasy that imagined Rambo as a hero refighting the Vietnam War, betrayed whatever subtlety flickered within the first film."

Now, take a look at this description of James Cameron, via the IMDb.

"...his own pictures, including Aliens and The Abyss tend to espouse liberal ideas."

In other words, this is flat out amazing. In the midst of the 80's, as conservatives busied themselves putting the final touches on the "media bias" argument, a liberal writer saw himself yanked from a major project (by the star of the film no less), and his screenplay replaced by one celebrating conservative values.

This is the equivalent of Barbara Streissand removing a conservative screenwriter from one of her films, then inserting a self-written, ultra-liberal screenplay. Had the situation been reversed, the right would continue to site it as a proof of liberal media bias to this day.

Looking back on the decade, a pattern is beginning develop. Think: Commando, Delta Force, Rambo. Each of these films featured prominently the "US Military Might = Right" values that dominated the 80's, and each was helmed by a major conservative action star (Arnold Schwarzenegger, Chuck Norris and Sylvester Stallone, respectively.)

In the words of Mr. Eric Alterman, "what liberal media?"

More tomorrow...