Conservatives Are Mad Neil Armstrong Biopic ‘First Man’ Doesn’t Contain Enough American Flags
Yes, really.
A very small, very stupid controversy is brewing over the upcoming Neil Armstrong biopic First Man over the fact that it apparently doesn’t contain enough American flags. Yes, really.
The space race drama, which stars Ryan Gosling and is directed by La La Land filmmaker Damien Chazelle, premiered at the Venice Film Festival this week to strong reviews. But some are upset over the fact the film apparently omits the moment when Armstrong plants the American flag in the lunar surface.
To be clear, the flag is in the film. Right there on the moon. Chazelle just didn’t actually include the scene of it being planted. When asked why the moment was omitted, Gosling told reporters that the moon landing was widely regarded as a “human achievement” rather than a purely American one. And that has pissed some Americans right off.
Driving the outrage were the hosts of American morning show Fox & Friends. Host Pete Hegseth called Gosling “an idiot”, while his co-host Ainsley Earhardt attempted to connect the issue to NFL football players kneeling during the national anthem. Which… uh… what?
“This is where our country’s going,” said Earhardt. “They don’t think America is great, they want to kneel for the flag, for the anthem … they’re scared to use the American flag. It’s Hollywood.”
The flames of confected controversy was then fanned by Florida senator and failed presidential candidate Marco Rubio, who tweeted that the omission was “total lunacy”.
This is total lunacy. And a disservice at a time when our people need reminders of what we can achieve when we work together. The American people paid for that mission,on rockets built by Americans,with American technology & carrying American astronauts. It wasn’t a UN mission. https://t.co/eGwBq7hj8C
— Marco Rubio (@marcorubio) August 31, 2018
Again, just to be clear, the flag is in the film.
Chazelle has since issued a statement insisting there was nothing political about his decision not to include a shot of the flag being planted. No shit.
Meanwhile, plenty of people have been making fun of the controversy on social media.
You can see the fucking flag in FIRST MAN.
— erickohn (@erickohn) September 1, 2018
As a patriotic American, I, for one, am profoundly disappointed that Damien Chazelle chose not include a scene with Donald Trump planting the flag on the moon in First Man.
— Franklin Leonard (@franklinleonard) August 31, 2018
Why wouldn’t they just have an American cut of First Man where we see the flag planted on the moon accompanied by the theme to Team America?
— Frank J. Fleming (@IMAO_) August 31, 2018
Spoiler alert: In “First Man”, the producers not only kibosh the American flag but also strongly imply Neil Armstrong was the first member of a furry community on the Moon. https://t.co/KADrgCHd6u
— James Morrow (@pwafork) August 31, 2018
First Man hits cinemas in Australia on October 11. Feel free to boycott it, if you’re a moron.