Dumbed Down

Has Alex Gibney blown it?

I haven't seen the film, and I'm not sure I want to after listening to Gibney.

Judge for yourself as you listen to this NPR segment or read the transcript of the documentary filmmaker's discussion of his new film, We Steal Secrets.

The interview has a Lohan or Kardashian-like Hollywood Tattler quality to it, accentuated by its reliance on salaciousness.  It made me cringe last week when I listened on OPB.  I thought of a sewer springing a wikileak and flooding out of my radio.

My, how far NPR has fallen in recent years.

Gibney goes off on Manning's sexuality and Assange's apparently rogue appetites without giving much consideration to what ought to be a few of the questions at hand: Was the Iraq War a criminal conspiracy perpetuated by the George W. Bush administration, a conspiracy continued and further exasperated by our current POTUS? We do know that war crimes were and are being committed, don't we?  Shouldn't we be addressing the situation?  Why not?

Sounds like he may have missed the boat on this one, creating a hatchet job focused on personalities rather than real issues. Surprising for a guy who has done stellar work in the past.

Here is an example of Gibney's better side.


TS