An open letter to Nathan Lee, the NY Times movie critic of “The Reflecting Pool.”
An open letter to Nathan Lee, the NY Times movie critic of “The Reflecting Pool.”
By Jarek Kupsc
There is a scene in my movie, “The Reflecting Pool,” in which a right-leaning TV program reacts to a 9/11 news article written by the protagonist. In the scene, a professional conspiracy debunker is brought in to offer his two cents. To quote directly from the film, “This is really an example of irresponsible journalism at its worst. This is right up there with the Holocaust denials and the Moon Landing conspiracy theories.”
I wrote this scene into the film in anticipation of such “hit pieces” as the recent NY Times review by Nathan Lee.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/11/movies/11refl.html?ref=movies
In his review of “The Reflecting Pool,” Mr. Lee states that the movie promotes “a complicit, propaganda-foisting media/industrial complex in the pocket of the Bush administration and the Jews and the oil industry!” I’m not sure which movie Mr. Lee watched, but there is not a single mention of Jews or Oil Industry in “The Reflecting Pool.” In fact, the movie doesn’t even mention Mr. Bush by name at any point. I am particularly disturbed by Mr. Lee’s injection of the Jews as culprits in the 9/11 tragedy. Which Jews is he referring to? The Ashkenazi? The Sephardic ones? The Orthodox? Perhaps the Chasidic? Such deliberate generalization is nothing but a cheap shot at discrediting my script as anti-Semitic. Had Mr. Lee paid any reasonable attention to the plot, he surely would have picked up a nice tidbit of information, which incidentally came from a Fox News source, that Israel’s Mossad issued a specific warning to the Bush Administration about the planned terrorist attacks on American soil prior to 9/11.
But Mr. Lee doesn’t stop there. To quote from his review once again, “Written and directed by Jarek Kupsc, the movie has the tone, rhythm and structure of a set of numbered, handwritten notes derived from 9/11 conspiracy Web sites, photocopied at Kinko’s and distributed at an anarchist bookshop.”
Mr. Lee, let me quickly offer you a short list of the sources that I used in researching and writing the script of “The Reflecting Pool.”
NY Times
LA Times
Washington Post
BBC
MSNBC
FOX News
PBS
The White House
The FBI
C-SPAN
USA Today
Newsday
Daily News
Now, if these sources sound like “handwritten notes derived from 9/11 conspiracy Web sites,” then please, go on and discredit yourself and other mainstream media as anarchist bookstore material.
To remind you, Mr. Lee, it was your own NY Times which actively sought to release the 9/11 Oral Histories of firefighters, first-responders, and others, whose testimonies had not been included in the 9/11 Report Commission. The NY Times had to go to court to get the tapes released, won the case, transcribed the materials and posted it on their website.
It was the NY Times that reported about the U.S. planting propaganda articles in Iraq newspapers.
It was the NY Times that reported that “…FEMA was not allowed to enter ground zero to collect other potentially critical evidence in the weeks after the attack, and it did not get a copy of the World Trade Center blueprints until early January, a delay House members found infuriating.”
It was the NY Times that reported on the government agencies which had occupied WTC 7, stating, “The CIA’s clandestine New York station (…) was behind the false front of another federal organization, which intelligence officials requested that The Times not identify.”
It was the NY Times that said, “The Victim Compensation Fund was not really created to help the 9/11 families (…) They were an afterthought to a bill designed to save the airlines.”
It was the NY Times that described the alleged ace pilot of Flight 77, which hit the Pentagon, as “incompetent,” relating how his flight instructors “questioned whether his pilot’s license was genuine,” were concerned “that ‘you really shouldn’t be in the air.’”
It was the NY Times which, reporting on FBI whistleblowers, argued that the 9/11 attacks could have been averted, had the agents not been deliberately prevented from investigating their terrorist suspects.
It was the NY Times that contradicted the statements by President Bush and Condoleezza Rice, who claimed that nobody prior to 9/11 had considered using planes as weapons:
“In the months before the Sept. 11 attacks, federal aviation officials reviewed dozens of intelligence reports that warned about Osama bin Laden and Al Qaeda, some which specifically discussed airline hijackings and suicide operations, according the a previously undisclosed report from the 9/11 commission.” (Emphasis added).
Again, if these article sources, all from your newspaper, Mr. Lee, seem to belong on an anarchist bookshelf, then perhaps you should work for another publication. It is really dangerous to be an anarchist these days, with FISA and all the domestic surveillance.
Back in 1977, Carl Bernstein, of the Watergate fame, wrote an article for The Rolling Stone magazine, titled “The CIA and the Media.” He bemoaned the ultimately tragic infiltration of our “free” media by government agents posing as journalists and editors. Thirty years later, I am prone to believe the situation has not improved. Now, Mr. Lee, you are too naïve and ignorant of the 9/11 issues to be a CIA operative (they don’t hire fools), but, like so many of your colleagues, you have succumbed to the pressure of protecting the official story of what happened on September 11, 2001. Your piece on “The Reflecting Pool” has all the markings of a deliberate job of discrediting a well-researched story. In your ignorance on the subject matter, you unwittingly attempted to discredit the very publication you work for, which has done a terrific job of reporting on a lot of issues that “The Reflecting Pool” dramatizes.
The last thing I would like this rebuttal to sound like is a cry of a filmmaker disappointed with a bad movie review. I am fully aware that “The Reflecting Pool” is not “Citizen Kane” or “Lawrence of Arabia.” It is not even close to “All the President’s Men.” It is a small, ultra-low budget movie made with a lot of heart by somebody who cares about the state of this nation, and the world, and simply wants honest answers to questions that still linger in the air. Whether you like it or nor, Mr. Lee, September 11 is shaping our daily lives by illegal wiretaps, over 4000 dead American soldiers, hundreds of thousands of dead Iraqi civilians, and the precipitous state of our economy.
It is not about me being a good or bad director. It is not even about you being a good or bad critic. It is about issues that are so much larger and impending. Don’t be afraid to look into the facts, even if they hurt. Because they will hurt a lot. We can’t improve anything without healing the gaping wound of 9/11.
Sincerely,
Jarek Kupsc
Writer/Director
The Reflecting Pool
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Brilliant...
Jarek.
It was the New York Times that reported about the families having to fight for the creation of an Independent 9/11 Commission.
It was the New York Times that reported how the Bush Administration tried to kill the creation of the 9/11 Commission.
It was the New York Times that reported on the "Jersey Girls."
It was the New York Times that reported how the families were not happy with the 9/11 Commission.
It was the New York Times that reported how the families were upset that information was being concealed.
It was the New York Times that reported on Ann Coulter's insane rantings about the "Jersey Girls."
It was the New York Times that posted a letter from 9/11 Family Members Mindy Kleinberg and Lorie Van Auken that said, "a real investigation into the events of Sept. 11 that examines all of the evidence has never been done and is still needed."
However, it wasn't reported by the New York Times when the September 11th Advocates (Jersey Girls) released a statement recently that said, "The bottom line is that the most deadly attack on American soil since Pearl Harbor remains dangerously unexamined. This can only be remedied with an investigation guided by the facts and conducted outside the reach of those with a vested interest in suppressing the truth."
Sounds like Nathan.
Do these people deserve to know how and why their loved ones were murdered? Do we deserve to know how and why 9/11 happened?
All hit-piece writers should be embarrassed like this...
Outstanding letter.
"Now, if these sources sound like “handwritten notes derived from 9/11 conspiracy Web sites,” then please, go on and discredit yourself and other mainstream media as anarchist bookstore material. "
The writers of these hit pieces should be embarrassed like this more often. Bravo.
_______________
Arabesque: 911 Truth
Great letter, Jarek! An
Great letter, Jarek!
An airtight movie on its facts - a great work of researched art. A non-fiction docudrama that to the unitiated might seem ludicrous . . . but to any of us who have done the research . . . we know differently.
I might just have to get this letter of yours blown up to poster size and framed, then hang it behind a guest bathroom door. (So that when the "guests" are seated, and they can't escape, they'll have something interesting to read. And maybe some of it will sink in . . .)
Betsy
Summer of Truth
The Plane Truth Project REDUX
Use BlogAds to Market 9/11 Truth
Great movie and letter
This is a compelling movie that deserves an objective review by someone who doesn't have a political agenda. The filmakers have woven a complex set of facts into a spellbinding narrative. Superb response to Lee by Jarek.
Right down the pipe.
An object lesson in turning the board. Bravo.
I enjoyed your film and your
I enjoyed your film and your letter is excellent. I wouldn't take the Times review personally. No one who works there is confused at all about what the only allowable opinion on 9/11 is, from the news department to the editorial board to the op-ed page to the film reviewers to probably their cleaning staff: only nuts and racists are curious about 9/11. That's the company line. You'd get more truth about Aspartame out of Donald Rumsfeld.
Thanks for making your movie. It will look better and better as time passes.
Excellent, well reasoned, pithy zinger of a rebuttal...
The very definition of a riposte.
I just bought (and watched) your DVD and encourage others to do so as well. You did a great job with the resources you had and I commend you for covering an impressive range of the issues at hand. I'm looking forward to meeting you at the screening in Northampton, MA on July 23rd at the Media Education Foundation.
I've got an idea for you too. Do a rapid-fire mash-up (or four) of all the "info-nuggets" and post it up on YouTube as an alternative "trailer". Just a thought that popped into my head so I figured I'd share...
Be well.
David Caputo
www.TotallyFixed.com
www.PositronicDesign.com
Not so quick with the knee jerk...
"...Israel’s Mossad issued a specific warning to the Bush Administration about the planned terrorist attacks on American soil prior to 9/11."
Mossad ALSO tried to pin this on Saddam Hussein in that same warning. The warning ALSO offered nothing specific of value.
Mossad ALSO had a huge spy operation in full swing the summer of 2001.
Mossad ALSO has extensive surveillance of US telephone company records in real time.
A Mossad front operation at Urban Moving Systems in Weehawken NJ had several employees "celebrating with cries of joy and mockery" as the first plane hit the tower. The "owner" of UMS, Dominick Suter ALSO fled to our wonderful ally Israel after being questioned by FBI on 9/12.
Zimm American/Israeli shipping ALSO moved out of the World Trade Center a week before the attacks, and is 49% owned by the Israeli government.
Larry Silverstein, the highly suspicious owner of the WTC complex, and who gained multi-billions from the attacks, is ALSO in tight with leading Israeli government officials such as Ariel Sharon (PM at the time) and Benjamin Netanyahu (guilty as sin).
Wnen you play their game by accepting their terminology -- in this case "the Jews" -- you fall into their trap.
That type of baiting needs a knowledgeable, and tactful response.
70 Disturbing Facts About 9/11
John Doraemi publishes Crimes of the State Blog
http://crimesofthestate.blogspot.com/
johndoraemi --at-- yahoo.com.
good points
these also went trough my head on reading that sentence.
Indeed
One of the most interesting -- and disturbing -- aspects of the 911 truth movement is the extreme reluctance on the part of 99% of us to mention the "dancing Israelis" in connection to the events. Pakistanis/Saudis/Iranians are ok, but mention Mossad and it's "anti-semite" time.
Equally interesting/disturbing are those that attribute to israel an all-encompassing power eclipsing every state and people and person on the planet.
Evidently the most difficult idea to come to terms with is the fact that Israeli and American elites share similar policy agendas with respect the middle east -- ie controlling the entire region regardless of how many people die as a result; for the US it's oil and standard hegemony; for the Likuds it's "Greater Israel" and the decimation of potential rivals (which means just about everyone).
Probably...
It would seem that many of us are wary of mentioning the dancing Israelis, and the other points in Johndoraemi's excellent post above, for a simple reason: the 'anti-semite' accusation mehodology is so often used, and continues with such great effect in neutralizing any crits of Israeli government policy, intentions, or actions.
Also, it doesn't help to have lots of rabid neo-nazi types around, advertising 9/11 truth efforts along with their anti-Jewish garbage.
It often seems smart to steer clear of this trap.
Other ideas?
Ideas?
We'll get 'em
Still effective, at least partly
I still think Jarek's 'which Jews?' reply was an effective way of countering the charge.
Great letter
It was emailed to Mr Lee as well, right?