By:Jerry Burke
Of all the features produced since the early 20th century, only three make me squirm. "The Exorcist" is and always will be the best good vs. evil gorefest, bar none. The last scene in "Field of Dreams," coming right after James Earl Jones's explanation of time, space and baseball, makes every son miss his dad. ("Wanna have a catch?" Waterworks every time.).
The last one really makes me sick. Steven Spielberg's 1998 epic "Saving Private Ryan" borders occasionally on the clich (the actors and the dialogue, not the situations), but the first 30 minutes, showing the brutal reality of the D-Day invasion of Normandy, is priceless.
This is war. This is what those guys wearing the berets marching down the street during every local parade went through. Since seeing that movie, I buy every poppy I'm offered and thank the powers that be for the bravery and courage of every man and woman who have put that uniform on and fought for my country.
It is a movie every person should see at least once, a reminder of what sacrifice, chaos and survival are. And if you lived in an area serviced by the 66 ABC affiliates that opted not to air "Saving Private Ryan" on Veterans Day -- nearly one-third of the country -- then it was up to you to rent it.
You see, despite this being the third time ABC has shown the movie, these 66 stations decided not to air it now, and not because there's a war going on right now. That would be cowardly enough on its own.
No, fellow TV watchers, these defenders of the public airwaves decided to abort "Private Ryan" because they were afraid of possible fines imposed by the Federal Communications Commission should that brain trust deem the film indecent because of its adult language and violence.
This is where we're at, huh? Not showing a film that accurately portrays war because people die and use harsh language? What in the hell do these morons think war is? A Sunday picnic with the family? Of course people curse and shoot. It's war! It's happening right now all over the world, even as you read this. It's been going on since the dawn of man and will probably go on for the next few millennia.
And if you think the FCC would fine your station for actually displaying those realities, after a brief introduction to the airing by Sen. John McCain himself, you're unworthy of having the public trust you on anything. The word is "craven." Look it up.
The FCC, as it stands now, is an abomination. I fully understand that. It whines and cries at a partially naked boob but allows "Blue Collar TV," "Joey" and "The Parkers" to continue to poison our children's fragile minds? Jerks.
This isn't the first and won't be the last time I say this, but if the icky language of "Saving Private Ryan" offends your ears so much, here's a hint: turn the channel. I'm sure there's a "Lucy" rerun on somewhere.
