Mouse Wars

The debate surrounding ABC-Disney's miniseries Path to 9/11 is still heating up. Revelations that an ABC insider had assured right-ring bloggers that "The Message of the Clinton Admin Failures Remains Fully Intact" has fanned the flames. And this doesn't help cool things off:

ABC won'’t give President Clinton, Madeleine Albright or Sandy Berger a copy of its 9/11 docudrama, "The Path to 9/11".” But there is virtually nothing about the film ABC won'’t share with the right-wing blogosphere.

"Senate Democratic leadership threatens Disney with legal and legislative sanctions" according to AMERICAblog.

Well there you have it. Disney/ABC just admitted that they made a Mickey Mouse version of the September 11 story. They fictionalized it. How do you fictionalize one of the greatest tragedies in American history, not to mention a tragedy that only happened a few years ago?

It's one thing for Disney/ABC to make up some scenes with fictional characters that no one has ever heard of. It's quite another to use REAL people's names and then just make shit up about them. That's defamatory and fodder for a lawsuit, not to mention total revisionist history. September 11 only happened five years ago. Some of us are still pretty freaked out by what happened that day. You don't just go make shit up, derogatory shit at that, about key players who are still alive no less. You don't market the TV show to children around the country as though it's fact. You don't put out statements claiming the thing is based on the September 11 report when it's also based on fiction. How are viewers supposed to know which part of the libelous broadcast is fictionalized?

I am simply blown away that Disney/ABC lied about September 11 to the American people. They libeled living officials of our government. And now they plan on pedaling this garbage to millions of Americans right before the election - an election that Disney/ABC is helping to throw.

That mouse is dead.

Digby's latest thoughts:

Apparently, Walt Disney's creepy rightwing spirit remains at the heart of the Disney empire as even today they go out of their way to cater to the religious right, help Republicans win elections and airbrush reality. Where once they tainted liberals as being communist sympathisers, they now blame them for 9/11.

Kos has a good summary here.