MovieChat Forums > Citizen Cohn (1992) Discussion > As it relates to present day climate in ...

As it relates to present day climate in the US...

posted 21 years ago by ranndino
12 replies | jump to latest

Saw it last night on HBO. While it's true that Cohn was gay that was a minor part of what the movie was about. I would say the film shows what happens when radical right wing idiots get too much power and start a crusade against everyone who disagrees with them.

Woods is excellent in this film playing a total a-hole so convincingly that as a viewer you want him to get run over by a bus about 10 minutes into the movie. When an actor can make you intensely emotional, whether positively or negatively, towards a character he portrays that is great acting.

It's a good movie to watch in these times of extreme right wing conservatives dominating the American government, the airwaves and book sales. The rhetoric and the despicable way of going about achieving their misguided goals reminds me very much of what I see today. They harass people, don't let them talk when they try to defend themselves, use intimidation tactics, etc. These are truly disgusting, disturbed, completely misguided people with absolutely no sense of what's right and wrong (a quick look into their personal lives only confirms that).

A great favorite of many conservatives, Ann Coulter, not only defended McCarthy in her latest book "Treason", but with her views could be a proud member of his staff. She basically calls everone who disagrees with her extremely right views on everything traitors with all the concequences attached to such a label reserved for them. People need to see this film to realize how dangerous people like Coulter are. I also wonder what's up hers? I'm sure she has an interesting past and upbringing. Maybe it's time someone looked into it.

There are many conservative pundits who are simply stupid, ignorant and misinformed people. Coulter is not dumb and she knows exactly what she's doing just like Cohn. These are the ones we have to watch out for.

This film shows why.

Bad things happen to people who forget their history.The rhetoric and tactics used to bash anti- war sentiment in the US when Bush recklessly threw our country into the war in Iraq shows that this is exactly what has happened. We now see that the anti-war sentiment had a lot of reason to it and perhaps if we had listened to people who were well informed at the time we wouldn't be in the situation we find ourselves today.

[–] 21 years ago

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[–] jtpaladin 20 years ago

Sadly, your entire rant is based upon false information. Roy Cohn was nothing like the character portrayed in this idiotic TV-movie. And get this through your head, McCarthy was right, there were communists in government. He exposed a number of them and the recently released Venona documents back him up that the govt. was full of security risks.

People like you work diligently to try and cover up those truths because you want to see a communist revolution destroy our country. Sorry, but as long as patriots like me are alive, people like you will be stopped.

[–] Future_Jobber 20 years ago

Okay so, assuming that he did expose communists in the government, was it worth destroying the lives of many innocent people? Was it worth sending your country into a frenzy, turning people against one another, and causing the US to invade other nations and topple elected governments?

Even if there were communists in the government, do you honestly think they would have brought it down? YOu can't possibly believe that.

[–] 20 years ago

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[–] foxberg 19 years ago

Tell me about it. That other poster sounds like if he had a chance he'd ship all the minorities in this country back to were they came from. Just to preserve his perception of "Freedom". People like that pose the biggest threat to this country because of their single mindedness and stubbornness. Because of people like that this country will see another four years of war and economy downhill. The population in America surprises me sometimes. It seems like nothing is ever going to be a lesson. It looks like the majority of people live in their own shell and can only follow what lies they are fed. No thinking, no brains. Can't find weapons of mass destruction? So what?! "They" know what they are doing. "Solders were killed in Iraq to preserve our freedom and our way of life!" Are you kidding me? Tell it to the parents of those who fell by the virtue of being sent to some god forsaken place to fight for a cause that no one can really explain. I'm just wondering what's gonna be next: "America above all"? I hope not, for our own sake. It's very sad to say, but the only real President this country saw in the past 20 some years was Ronald Reagan.

[–] 19 years ago

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[–] Angel_of_Mons_1914 19 years ago

James Woods portrays an excellent Roy Cohn, however, I do have to take issue with a liberty that HBO takes with history concerning the Red Scare and in particular, the Rosenbergs. While it was impossible for them to know at the time (not that I believe it would've made much difference) recent release of KGB documents show that the Rosenbergs DID provide the Soviets with enough information to help them construct a hydrogen bomb and deserved death for their treason. The movie asserts that they were innocent and that Roy Cohn "never found a communist". Quite untrue.

[–] saint_pat 18 years ago

The KGB documents show that Julius Rosenberg was a spy, but fail to show whether he was an atomic spy. Furthermore, the fact that his wife is referred to by her real name in the documents makes it questionable whether she was involved. Ethel's brother David Greenglass has since admitted he falsely implicated Ethel. Neither Julius nor Ethel deserved the chair.

[–] r2626 15 years ago

Still looking for communists under every rock.. I didn't know that Democrats wanted a communist revolution. I guess all of us are lucky to have a patriot like you looking out for us. I am sure you are satisfied with Dubya's handling of the presidency. Tell me, just how is a patriot like you going to stop a communist revolution? I think you are another neo-con nutcase trying to revise history and glorify morons like Coulter, Limbaugh, Savage and the other right wingnuts that pollute the airwaves.

[–] 15 years ago

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[–] widescreenguy 18 years ago

if you americans detest the right wing ewxtremoes so much, why do you keep voting them into power??? george dubya is ALL about oil. you need to take a hard look at the thrashing so many of the world's inhabitants have suffered thanks to the detestable meddling of YOUR govt via CIA propping up tyranny.

you put shaw pahlavi in power, the most hated leader in all the middle east in the 20th century, you meddled in nicarauga umpteen times and STILL lost influence there because of the degree of corruption in somoaza's regime. nguyen van thieu absconded from vietnam with a chopper weighed down with gold bullion, do tell, where is he now?

you gave arms to saddam in order to 'get back' at the iranians, look where that got you.

your nation is the most powerful in the history of civilization and run by the village idiot. very dangerous combination.

when are you going to try something different other than all these sinister complex conspiracies attempting to corral and guide events strictly in terms of american wants?

if you invade Canada to steal our water when you finally filth up or use up all of your own, be prepared for a disaster visited on your nation. WE are the ONLY country in existence to beat you TWICE at your own game. 3 strikes youre out.

hint: we in fact have NEVER lost ANY war we have involved in, because we really do it ONLY for the right reasons. you do it with a preponderance of hidden agenda.

also hint: we are a very peaceful country completely capable of going nuke if it comes to that. all we have to do is wheel a couple ATVs across the border somewhere out in the barren grasslands out west. where do you think you got the uranium for the trinity test?

mind your OWN business and that DOESNT include messing around with every sovereign nation that ticks you off. like cuba. atrocious hypocricy there considering the amount of sucking up you do for profit dealing with the vastly WORSE beijing communists.

[–] widescreenguy 18 years ago