Ray Ciervo Ministries

Recently, I watched a movie of Dieter Dengler, a Navy pilot who was shot down during the Viet Nam war. The film was moving as it portrayed Dengler's torture, plot and subsequent escape. Dengler was kept in a small prison with two other American prisoners and three from Thailand. What made Dengler's story more interesting is that he was shot down over Laos.

Because of my inquisitive nature I googled Dengler and tracked down a couple of Youtube shorts. I also found out that Dengler died of ALS recently. What was surprising was that Dengler was flying an Observation Aircraft when he was shot down. What made this somewhat disconcerting is that the movie portrayed him flying a "Skyraider" which is a WW2 vintage fighter/bomber. Why filmakers feel compelled to remake movies according to thier own imagination always amazes me. One would think that portraying the story as close as possible would be true art. However Hollywood sees it differently.

Take the case of Jeremiah Johnson. Johnson was a real mountain man who actually left civilization to live in the far reaches of the Rocky Mountains. However, the filmakers took considerable liberty to make Johnson a likeable character. In reality, Johnson's nick name was "Liver Eating Johnson" because after he killed his hated foe, he ate their liver. This would not make for an appetizing film, so Hollywood distorts, creates, or twists the facts to suit its end.

I believe the real issue is that everything that comes across the screen is an illusion, not reality. Video creates an unreal environment. Not even "Reality TV" is real. It is anything but real as it is altered and modified to fit what the directors and producers want to portray.

Although, I enjoy films and some TV shows as entertainment, I've learned how to watch it. Even the way I watch the news is through personal censorship. I'm aware that what I am viewing is selected material presented in a way to makes me keep watching. After all, TV is about ratings. Live TV will talk about "teasers" that may or may not deliver what they promise. It is, after all, just an advertisement to keep you watching.

I'm not against TV. I still believe it can a useful tool. However, it is used to sell . . . anything and everything. It's used to sell goods, ideas, and people. Media is the most promininent influence on our culture. What's a person to do? Well, for one, stop believing everything you see on TV or in the movies. In every case it has been altered to fit someones idea of what will sell. Using the idea of "creativiity" directors, producers and writers take license to push their agenda.

What about Dengler? The man was a model of persistence and determination. For the most part the film, "Rescue Dawn" got it right. What it didn't get right was the type of plane he was flying and "Gene" on of the prisoners who escaped with Dengler. In the film, Gene is made out to be somewhat of an obstacle to escaping. Others would say that's not at all the case. The point is that reality was distorted to make "better" film making. That's the illusion.