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Alert: Attack on Pearl Harbor
By Neela Banerjee
In the opening scene of the Hollywood extravaganza Pearl Harbor, the young heroes Rafe and Danny hijack a crop-duster in their rural Tennessee backyard. Consumed by their excitement that they actually flew — which, of course, foreshadows their future as World War II pilots — they don’t notice Danny’s overall-wearing father sneaking up to take his son away in a fit of anger. Rafe, the strong yet illiterate one, defends his friend by smashing a wood two-by-four over his father’s head and calling him a “dirty German.” The insult reduces the father to a stuttering heap, as he declares that he fought hard in the last war.
Scenes like this abound in the 3-hour, $140-million epic movie that swept box offices this past weekend to become the No. 1 movie in the United States, bringing in some $75 million.
Along with heavy-handed cliches and simplistic dialogue, the movie displays an utter ignorance of the existence and struggles of entire communities of people.
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