Whitewash

Last night, Elizabeth Smart faced off with Jessica Lynch in primetime. Until the ratings come in we won't know who won, but regardless, the clear loser was the American public.

"The Elizabeth Smart Story," which aired last night on CBS at 9 p.m., told the story of the abducted girl from Utah who turned up nine months later in the hands of a family acquaintance, long after most believed she was dead.

It was touted as a feel-good movie, and for good reason. The film ignored much of the disturbing details of Smart's ordeal, such as the sexual abuse she endured or the lasting psychological scars that she no doubt bears.

In Elizabeth Smart's TV story, however, everyone lives happily ever after. Cute daughter reunited with happy parents. The end.

Unfortunately, for an overwhelming majority of abducted children, there are no such happy endings. "The Elizabeth Smart Story" not only does injustice to Smart's real experience, but also that of missing and abducted children nationwide.

"Saving Jessica Lynch," which aired on NBC, also at 9 p.m., was a little more faithful to true events but still played fast and loose with the facts.

The story is told mainly through the eyes of the Iraqi doctor who supposedly helped Lynch "escape." The writers of the film deserve credit for including the doctor, an Iraqi, as a central character, because he was.

It has been reported in the British and American press that there was not really any rescue at all in Lynch story - reportedly, the Iraqi staff at the hospital where she was staying tried to turn her over to U.S. forces, but were forced to retreat after the U.S. troops fired on them. The next day, U.S. troops stormed into the hospital - where there were no Iraqi guards or soldiers - and "rescued" her.

The true facts of the rescue are still unclear, but the sentimental Hollywood version that aired last night serves only to obscure the issue.

More importantly, the movie again misrepresents the context in which Lynch's story takes place. Instead of a look at the grim reality of the war in Iraq, the American public gets a cheery story about a perky young soldier who lives happily ever after.

There were several soldiers killed in the ambush that injured Lynch, but there will be no movies made about them.

Last week alone, 32 military families learned that in war, there is rarely a happy ending.

Yet last night, millions of American families saw the glossy Hollywood version of Iraq, where the soldiers live happily ever after.

This whitewash of real events and tragedies is not only disturbing but also ironic, considering what happened to a similar television movie about Ronald Reagan that was just canned.

The film, which was to air on CBS, quoted Reagan as saying "They that live in sin shall die in sin" in reference to AIDS victims.

The vocal conservative minority in America pitched a fit, and after weeks of pressuring the network, got the show taken off the air. They claimed nobody could verify Reagan actually spoke the comment in question.

The rabid response of Reagan supporters is yet another victory for those who wish to whitewash the reality that affects us all. They did have the right idea, though, even if their real goal in squishing the show was political - pop-culture portrayals of real events and real tragedies should be accurate.

When the American public starts clinging to Hollywood-reality rather than reality-reality, crazy things can happen. If you don't believe me, ask some Californians who their governor is.