Spike Lee’s 9/11 Truther Doc

[Okri]

FWIW, this is from Richard Roeper on Twitter

"Just watched the final cut of Episode 4 of Spike Lee's "Epicenters NYC"--the version the public will see on Sept. 11th. There's not a whisper of any truther conspiracy bullshit."

[Sabin]

OscarGuy wrote
I would reserve any judgement until I saw it, sure, but this wouldn't be coming up as a topic of conversation if it wasn't concerning. And sometimes, strong liberal voices believe bat-shit crazy or even dangerous things (Robert De Niro and his anti-vaxx beliefs for example). The question really should be, has his recent efforts (such as the Trump supporter in Da 5 Bloods) give him more allowance for innocence or does it suggest a troubling right-wing ideology pushing its way through?

I think Spike Lee is a skeptic. I don't think he's right-wing at all. There's nothing troubling about BlacKkKlansman. If anything, it represents the most establishment/unity-minded film in his canon. Also: we know what happened to Lee's Trump supporter in Da 5 Bloods.

He's also from a time where people on the left were the conspiracy theorists.

[OscarGuy]

I would reserve any judgement until I saw it, sure, but this wouldn't be coming up as a topic of conversation if it wasn't concerning. And sometimes, strong liberal voices believe bat-shit crazy or even dangerous things (Robert De Niro and his anti-vaxx beliefs for example). The question really should be, has his recent efforts (such as the Trump supporter in Da 5 Bloods) give him more allowance for innocence or does it suggest a troubling right-wing ideology pushing its way through?

[Sabin]

OscarGuy wrote
If you give credence to nutty theories that have no basis in fact (like Muslims celebrating in New York City when the towers collapsed), then you just feed the hysteria and misinformation of those who perpetuate it. Now, if he were taking their assertions and one by one dismantling them, then perhaps they would have a valid purpose, but if they are presented without comment, then he's guilty of allowing misinformation to thrive and we have enough of that bull shit going on right now.

I haven't seen the doc. I think one could be charitable to Lee by saying he didn't want to paint hagiography in what was a really uncertain time. But there's a difference between talking to individuals who believe in a conspiracy and talking to a LEADING conspiracy theorist. Richard Gage founded a non-profit, Architects & Engineers for 9/11 Truth, Inc, for the explicit purpose of pushing his theory. He's also a liar. I don't know all the details but apparently he gives the impression that the American Institute of Architects supports some of his theories but they've explicitly told him for years that they do not and he has to stop doing that. He believes the attacks may have been a Jewish plot. He also believes that COVID-19 is a "plandemic" designed bring us to our knees. I haven't seen the doc but I wonder if Lee heard about some of the other things this guy has said, they came as a surprise, and didn't want his film associated with it.

Anyway, the more I think about it, I don't think I see anything terribly wrong with someone saying they have doubts about what really happened on 9/11. But there's a difference between platforming normal people with concerns vs. a leading conspiracy theorist peddle their views. But yes, we have a lot of misinformation right now. It's a major problem to the point where, truly, I don't know how our country survives. Let's say there was a documentary about gun control. We have a lot of people who believe that the Sandy Hook kids were crisis actors. Do we need to give them a platform too?

[OscarGuy]

They shouldn't be, though. If you give credence to nutty theories that have no basis in fact (like Muslims celebrating in New York City when the towers collapsed), then you just feed the hysteria and misinformation of those who perpetuate it. Now, if he were taking their assertions and one by one dismantling them, then perhaps they would have a valid purpose, but if they are presented without comment, then he's guilty of allowing misinformation to thrive and we have enough of that bull shit going on right now.

[Reza]

I don't see why so many are up in arms even if he has included conspiracy theories as part of his documentary. Truth, lie or nonsense these theories are a vivid part of post 9/11 and until people feel their questions have not been adequately answered by the Government these will continue to be part of the conversation.

[Okri]

Yeah. He's stating he's re-editing it, but to what extent I don't know.

Rather disappointing.

[Sabin]

Not sure where else to put this but 30 mins of Spike Lee’s 9/11 doc is devoted to 9/11 truthers.

https://www.indiewire.com/2021/08/spike ... 234660145/