How Manufactured Outrage Starts
One of the Fall’s biggest movies premiers is First Man, a biographical/action movie about Neil Armstrong. It screened last week at the Venice film festival to rave reviews and Oscar talk. A movie about one of our biggest 20th century heroes complete with jets, rockets, and spaceflight? Cool, eh? Not so fast, bucko, we have to go through the Patriot Test. Uh, oh, the movie left out the actual planting of the US flag on the moon. Trigger The Outrage Machine. Now, for context, only a couple of hundred people have seen this movie so far; it doesn’t release until October 12, but right wing screamers from Breitbart to Twitter to even Marco Rubio have whipped up The Outrage Machine and turned the movie into a political hot potato over leaving out a flag planting scene. Again, NONE of the people screaming on social media have actually seen the movie, and apparently not even the trailer, since our beloved totem was even featured in that. Have a look:
Those who have actually seen the movie say the flag is all over it, and even shown in the moon scenes. Ryan Gosling, who plays Armstrong in the film, said that the the story depicts “human achievement” more than simply American, which, in fact, is the way Armstrong himself saw it. They chose to focus on Armstrong’s story, not only American culture. And to some, that is the unforgivable sin.
So where is the outrage coming from? It’s coming from radical partisans (who haven’t seen the movie) using bullshit to whip up anger of the base using the excuse that Armstrong’s biography wasn’t All-American-Flag-Wavingly-Jingoistic enough. Oh, and that Gosling is a goddam Canadian daring to play an American hero. That all adds up to blasphemy against Jingo, the All Seeing God of all things nationalistic.
The whole controversy is manufactured from whole cloth to only piss off the base. What does the base do? They get pissed off, of course, and light up social media with fake outrage over nothing. And that’s how it works.
Elite Republicans create bar-room brawls for rank and file Republicans, thereby creating a diversion while Elite Republicans tunnel under the bank.
1Maybe they could all get worked up enough to have a group heart attack
2And that’s why we should ignore them. No comments, no arguing, block, mute, gone.
And on Twitter that big red X (which every teacher knows means WRONG) means you don’t even need to read the message before dismissing into the void.
3It’s also a way to be able to shout “Victory!” afterward. If you get outraged about something real, then if your outrage doesn’t make changes in whatever it is you’re complaining about you don’t “win”. So the easiest way to do this is to complain that something isn’t done when it actually is (ie., flag in this movie; saying “Merry Christmas”, etc.). Then you can afterward claim that the reason the flag is “now” in the movie (or “Merry Christmas” is being said) is your complaints and outrage. Look at how powerful you are! (They have to balance claiming to be both powerful and powerless to maintain their belief system.) Just ignore that the flag (and Merry Christmas) is “now” in the movie/being said because it always was.
4It’s a holiday weekend, which means a slow news cycle. Therefore limited “fake news” to scream about, so manufactured outrage (perfect phrase) needs to replace it, and fast. (There’s burgers to grill.) Like a single wide trailer, the purveyors of manufactured outrage will deliver fast, pre-fab, and furnished, ready for use at your Labor Day picnic gatherings, anytime there’s a lag in the conversation.
5Whoever started this is probably laughing their ass off at all the gullible idiots in this country.
6on the plus side, all that constant fake outrage can’t possibly be good for their blood pressure or heart, likely resulting in their premature demise.
7So what is preventing them from funding just the kind of entertainment that would suit their nationalistic mandate?
Of course low attendance at one of these “approved” movies would set off another round of manufactured outrage and paranoia about the media and search engines being against conservatives.
8I don’t have to see it in the movie because I was watching it on TV in the actual broadcast from the moon. Some persons’ sole role in life appears to me to be to stir up sh*t about the least little thing. One would think they have better things to do, but their continuity in building mountains out of molehills show they don’t. Every day of my life, I’m more appreciative of the fact that my parents taught me to think for myself and to avoid jumping on bandwagons simply because someone else is doing it.
9Majii, I am also one of those millions who watched the moon landing and flag planting on TV. Apparently none of the “outraged” were alive then or if they were, did not own a TV or preferred watching something else. It amazes me that there are so many people around who have all the time in the world to get worked up about a nothing burger. All that energy wasted! Could have been better used stocking food in a food pantry or some such thing! Ten to one you would never see any such personality anywhere near or doing such work. Heavens to betsy! Why that would be socialism! Shucks! Mamma used to call it christianity.
10A dear friend put both of us in the category of people whose hearts go around looking for things to bleed over. These people have gall bladders that go around looking for things to spew over. I’m glad I’m not in their category.
11I’m still mad at Neil Armstrong.
He should have hopped off the Lunar Lander and said:
That’s one small step for an American, one giant leap for America!!!
12Majii; I too sat enthralled into the wee small hours of the morning to watch our hero step down onto the moon.
There was a nice interview with the director who wanted to make this about the human engagement, not the political part of the endeavor.
PS I was ever so pleased about 2 decades ago when I was pushed from behind and wound up standing on Neil Armstrong’s feet. One small step, you know.
13On flag holidays, how many flags do you see in the rain, and in the dark? Many are put out by real estate agents all over a subdivisions, only to sag and drag on the ground for a couple weeks.
GWB autographed flags. They wear them, make flag rugs to stomp on even flag door mats, turn them into clothing to sit their asses on. I never once heard a complaint.
14Neil Armstrong’s family is fine with the movie and do not believe at all that it is anti-American and that is good enough for me.
I respect Buzz Aldrin’s opinion regarding the movie, but I don’t agree with it.
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