Charles Krohn, a retired Army lieutenant colonel who has contributed to Slate both articles and progeny (his son Cyrus is Slate’s associate publisher), writes to Culturebox:
My military friends and I are indignant that Secretary William Cohen presented an award to Stephen Spielberg yesterday for Saving Private Ryan. What kind of a deal is this? Is this a loose attempt to dangle prizes in front of anyone who makes a pro-Army film? What do we do to directors who make antiwar films–lend them military equipment that doesn’t work? What’s the Pentagon doing anyway, commenting on the merits of Hollywood productions? What about high Department of Defense awards to poets and writers, maybe even musicians, who conjure up the proper martial spirit? If we’re going to keep religion out of the classroom, let’s keep the Pentagon out of the theater.
