MovieChat Forums > South of the Border (2010) Discussion > Stone: A Propagandist for Oppression

Stone: A Propagandist for Oppression

posted 14 years ago by Satan2016
12 replies | jump to latest

Finally, a just review of Stone's junk documentary by a native of Venezuela. Closing paras below http://reason.com/archives/2010/07/01/a-propagandist-for-oppression

By portraying Chávez as a benevolent and misunderstood hero, Stone plays the role of useful idiot, providing the Bolivarian Revolution with the cultural legitimacy it needs to capture the attention of Western “progressives.” Hidden beneath this self-righteous veneer of solidarity with the Venezuelan poor, however, South of the Border is easily recognizable as the record of a director’s collaboration with tyranny. By refusing to mention any of Chávez’ victims, Stone has produced a version of Venezuelan history that tacitly justifies the oppression of dissidents.

In Venezuela, where such dissidents have no choice but to exist, Stone’s film has failed miserably. Venezuelans, we should always remember, are living under a government that forces all domestic television and radio stations to broadcast Chávez’ incessant and interminable public speeches and propaganda. Stone cannot possibly expect Venezuelans to pay for what they are already obliged to suffer.

[–] devirginizer83-1 14 years ago

I would believe very little of what I read from Reason.com. It is a notoriously right-wing, pro-Republican, pro-corporate website.

They have such wonderful, unbiased articles as:

Entrepreneurship Helps Make America Great: Free enterprise matters by John Stossel

Spend, Baby, Spend!: The trouble with Obama's economic agenda by David Harsanyi

and

Is the Cure Worse than the Disease: ObamaCare is already failing by Peter Suderman.

Yep. Sounds like a real trustworthy site.

Reading about this documentary in this site is tantamount to reading about Israel in Hamas' website.

[–] kryptonian_king 14 years ago

So your saying that Oliver Stone, a man with absolutely no experience of living under a dictator and who sucks at the teat of a free enterprise system to make his millions...

is more trustworthy than a native son of one of these countries and fears for his countriy's future under the unbridled ambition of a socialist dictator?

And the whole reason is because the man's article is on a site that values free enterprise, opposes insane government spending, and points out the very real problems of our new healthcare system?

Seriously...some people need to get their sense of proportion checked for defects.

[–] devirginizer83-1 14 years ago

So your saying that Oliver Stone, a man with absolutely no experience of living under a dictator

That’s funny. I didn’t know you had to have experience under a dictator to be able to offer your opinion about those societies. I guess I can’t never say anything about Stalin since I didn’t live under him or listen to Spielberg talk about the Holocaust since he didn’t live under Hitler.

Truth is…Oliver Stone’s opinion is completely valid. In fact…I trust him more as an outsider looking in than an overfed, overpaid, privileged Venezuelan right wing émigré who clearly has an ax to grind. Stone has no invested interest in the Venezuelan leftist experiment. He’s just a curious artist looking in, offering his view of events. Your Venezuelan scab on the other hand clearly has a side picked…the wrong side.

And since we’re talking about direct experience under dictatorship…then my opinion joins Stone’s and unlike Stone I HAVE actually lived under a dictatorship. A South American dictatorship of Right-wing generals who did nothing but rape my country, sell its riches to American corporations and brutally suppress any opposition. I also have experience with the other side of the coin: a leftist president, of proletarian origins, comes to power and tries to change an unequal and unjust society encountering opposition from the upper class crying “dictator” at every corner.

I see the same thing happening in Venezuela. This writer is so familiar to me…I’ve read dozens of articles attacking Lula for the same imaginary crimes.

and who sucks at the teat of a free enterprise system to make his millions...

So? See…this is one of the (myriad of) problems with you right wing pro-corporate shills…you think anyone who sympathizes with socialist policies MUST be a card carrying communist!

Just because Stone is fascinated with what is going on in Latin America and sympathizes with those changes does not mean he hates the capitalist system and wants to see it gone.

I for one would love to see a quote from Stone where he disavows the Capitalist System and declares his allegiance to World Communism. If you can’t find it…then shut up.

is more trustworthy than a native son of one of these countries and fears for his countriy's future under the unbridled ambition of a socialist dictator?

A native son who doesn’t even live in Venezuela! You blast Stone for not having experience living under Chavez and defend a man who also has no experience living under Chavez. Is that a double standard I smell?

And again with that dictator fantasy. Your ilk is just pissed because the man you hate was actually ELECTED by the people while YOUR dictators take power by force and keep it by force. They have no popular mandate.

And the whole reason is because the man's article is on a site that values free enterprise, opposes insane government spending, and points out the very real problems of our new healthcare system?

Yes. Just as I wouldn’t read Hamas’ website for unbiased information about Israel I wouldn’t read an obviously and blatant right wing website for information on such a controversial leftist figure.

Seriously...some people need to get their sense of proportion checked for defects.

Sorry bro. You’re just mad because you got found out. I didn’t tell people NOT to read the review. I hope they read it. I read it. But you did call it:

…a just review of Stone's junk documentary by a native of Venezuela

…which is spin…because it’s not “just”. It’s incredibly biased. I want people to be fully aware of that fact when they read the review.

[–] 14 years ago

[deleted]

[–] liutenantsalt 8 years ago

So, in other words, you have nothing but shrill lies, projection, hypocrisy and pathetic conspiracy fantasies to justify the fact that you're a totalitarian scumbag who worships dictatorship and strongly desires to murder and enslave everyone who doesn't think like you.

Chavez would proud.

[–] liutenantsalt 8 years ago

"ould believe very little of what I read from Reason.com. It is a notoriously right-wing, pro-Republican, pro-corporate website."

None of which is true. You're just another pathetic totalitarian socialist Useful Idiot who has to engage in hysterics and lies to *beep* down all argument that debunks your BS.

Course, it's just as easy to turn your idiotic argument right back at you with better results. You're clearly a dishonest, psychotic, bloodthirsty, totalitarianism worshipping socialist scumbag. Listening to you shriek about how evil the well-rounded and informed Reason is because they acknowledge that Capitalism works and that Obamacare was a pathetic scam is like basing an opinion on Israel based on the pathetic lies and genocidal yearnings of the savage and barbarous Hamas deathcultists.

[–] liutenantsalt 8 years ago

@Virgin And I'd believe absolutely nothing I read from you, a totalitarianism fetishizing pathological liar who has made his indoctrination and subsequent worship of socialist oppression, imperialism and genocide quite abundant, particularly one who blindly believes a pathological propagandist like Oliver Stone but who throws tantrums that a centrist publication should be disbelieved without reading simply because they correctly make the argument for Capitalism and freely acknowledge the horrific failure of Obamacare and every other attempt to subvert healthcare by making it a government monopoly.

There's also the fact that you're as stupid as you are dishonest as you are downright evil.

[–] liutenantsalt 8 years ago

Why, taking your opinion on anything, Virgin, would be like formulating an opinion of Israel based solely on the psychotic lies of the grnocidal and barbarous Hamas deathcult.

[–] jeopardy23 14 years ago

Most of the Venezuelan media is controlled by the opposition. At least one television station openly supported the coup against Chavez and the Venezuelan government didn't revoke that station's broadcasting license until years later. If a tv station in the U.S. supported a revolt against the government, the managers of the station would have been executed or sent to gitmo to be waterboarded.

[–] liutenantsalt 8 years ago

"WAAAAH! Free Speech is biased against socialism! WAAAAH! Ignore everything the Chavista di tators do by whining about America! WAAAAAH!"

[–] bryan-477 14 years ago

There is opposition to Chavez in Venezuelan media in spite of the constant claims that say otherwise. Even though it's true that a station that backed the 2002 coup against Chavez and only existed to air propaganda against his him did not get its license renewed. Does anyone think a station controlled by a Mid-east country that did nothing but air propaganda against the US government would be allowed to do so in the US?

The irony is that Chavez, who may have faults (though elected twice and has greatly increased education, health care, and living standards for Venezuela's poor), is demonized in the US, whereas the decades of US support for brutal right-wing dictatorships in Latin America is never mentioned in our media.

The reason Chavez is so demonized is not for any human rights violations, but that he has demanded that his country be in control of its own resources.

[–] liutenantsalt 8 years ago

Stop lying. Chavez had to rig elections to win them (following his pathetic failed attempt to install dictatorship via coup in 1992), and far from being "demonized" (boo *beep* hoo), he was rightfully criticized as a tyrant for stealing the wealth and resources of Venezuela to live like a king while simultaneously working to keep Venezuelans entrenched in the same enforced poverty that had them living reminiscent of the USSRS regime that scumbag Useful Idiots like yourself and Virgin outright worship.