We haven’t seen “First Man,” the film in which Ryan Gosling portrays Neil Armstrong, but we’ll let our film critic Stephen Miller (hey, he went to a women-only screening of “Wonder Woman” and praised it) have his say:
The irony of the flag bullshit is that First Man is one of the most American movies I think I’ve ever seen.
— Stephen Miller (@redsteeze) October 15, 2018
You remember the flag controversy; Gosling told the press the reason the planting of the American flag on the moon wasn’t depicted in the film was that the moon landing “was widely regarded in the end as a human achievement” and not just an American one (a theory shot to hell by Chuck Yeager and Buzz Aldrin).
Some people are mad that #FirstMan doesn't explicitly show the iconic moment an American flag is physically planted on the moon.https://t.co/xeNuc0gxyI
— Vox (@voxdotcom) October 14, 2018
True, but:
“It’s hard to walk away from this film without thinking the film is incredibly patriotic," says First Man screenwriter Josh Singer. https://t.co/PO1ba3W8RU
— Vox (@voxdotcom) October 14, 2018
Actually, it’s possible to stay away from the film thinking it’s too patriotic. Slate writer Mark Joesph Stern was glad the film tanked (it landed in third place over the weekend, pulling in just $16.5 million) and went on a mini-rant about indoctrinating kids with NASA propaganda:
First Man's weak opening is very encouraging—I'm sick of Hollywood's space propaganda. We should spin off NASA's earth science division and abolish the rest. Children are starving in this country so we can pour billions into a national vanity project. https://t.co/xl2Dpckvig
— Mark Joseph Stern (@mjs_DC) October 15, 2018
Recommended
Most Americans are indoctrinated with relentless pro-NASA propaganda from an early age in school because boomers are obsessed with space race bullshit. It's a national embarrassment.
I yield to no one in this, my hottest and most correct take.
— Mark Joseph Stern (@mjs_DC) October 15, 2018
And what was scientific genius Clock Boy wearing the day he was arrested for bringing his “cool clock” to school? A NASA T-shirt, that’s what. The indoctrination is real.
Hope all you haters and losers are happy with Trump's Space Force, the logical conclusion of our absurd national mania for shooting shit into space! https://t.co/W5WK2Bgu9s
— Mark Joseph Stern (@mjs_DC) October 15, 2018
NASA is half a percent of the federal budget. But sure let’s go after one of the few agencies that does basic science research by pitting it against starving children. ?? (Not even getting into the benefits of, say, satellites on the global economy.)
— Maxsimile (@Maxsimile) October 15, 2018
Two small points, Mark. I see you're a dog lover, which is great. Did you know that the US spends more on pets than the NASA budget? And where do you imagine those NASA dollars go, into space – maybe the sun? No, they get spent here on earth.
— Wayne @CAU-Pegasus (@w_mccan) October 15, 2018
NASA's FY 2011 budget of $18.4 billion represented about 0.5% of the $3.4 trillion United States federal budget during that year, or about 35% of total spending on academic scientific research in the United States.
— Ed Dunkle (@eddunkle) October 15, 2018
And seriously: how many billions have been spent on the “War on Poverty” since the 1960s, and what do we have to show for it?
What science ever done for me?
-Sent from my iPhone
— ?Bierkegaard? (@carsonraft) October 15, 2018
The computer chip that put man on moon was chip later used in 1st personal home computers. So that’s what space program did for you. Many of innovations you take for granted came out of space program research. Throw away your smart phone & tablet if your such a dweeb.
— Mean Wee Old Woman Deb (@mddebm) October 15, 2018
Imagine being a good liberal and shitting all over JFK's legacy https://t.co/KC1rZ8yqpM
— Jim Treacher (@jtLOL) October 15, 2018
Since you've dubbed it "Hollywood space propaganda," I'm going to assume that you haven't bothered to see the film, as it actually does address backlash to NASA in the midst of the Vietnam War and the civil rights movement. There's a very memorable and well done sequence on it.
— Adam Spook't ? (@adamspechtacles) October 15, 2018
Perhaps I'm a naive optimist, but I believe that the work of NASA is critically important to the survival of our species. To suggest that children are going hungry as a direct result of NASA funding is deeply disingenuous and quite disappointing to read from you.
— Adam Spook't ? (@adamspechtacles) October 15, 2018
i actually felt that the movie questioned the whole point of the mission and more than suggested that it might not have been worth the human and financial cost
— Karen Turner (@kthalassa) October 15, 2018
Scientific research ALWAYS pays off.
The original dollars spent on manned space program have paid for themselves a million times over.
— Daddoo (@daddoo2016) October 15, 2018
"Space propaganda." Or as intelligent people call it, "history."
First person to set foot on a celestial body other than Earth??? Using 1960s tech?!
Meh.
*shakes head* https://t.co/aplu7yd9Ai— David Proctor (@freedomtrombone) October 15, 2018
Mark this is a bad take.
— Felon Musk (@karandikara18) October 15, 2018
Intellectual deficiency on full display right here folks.
— Pinch ⭐️ (@BBPHredux) October 15, 2018
P.S.
I’m very encouraged that people are rejecting this America-hating propaganda and refusing to accept omission of the flag.
— William T. Chesterfield ? (@WTChesterfield) October 15, 2018
We wonder just how bad the flag controversy was for the box office take; it certainly didn’t help. But word on the street is it’s very patriotic … maybe worth a look?
Related:
Proud to be an AMERICAN! Buzz Aldrin just punched #FirstMan right in the MOUTH and it's glorious https://t.co/WHvh1FRBfS
— Twitchy Team (@TwitchyTeam) September 3, 2018
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