Air Movie

A couple years ago, I was in the international terminal at SFO when I noticed something strange in the display cases. Most, if not all airports have exhibitions for the enjoyment of travelers. These can range from children's art to historic artifacts.

What was odd about this particular exhibit wasn't that it was on the U.S. civil rights struggle. The photos of marches and speeches would have been inspiring were it not for the numerous black and whites of lynched black men.

I couldn't help but think this is an odd choice to greet international visitors to the United States. As I continued walking, I became angry at the horrific photographs of mutilated black men hanging from trees or shot. Normally, I would be angry at the people who committed these heinous acts. But to be honest, on this occasion I was angry at whomever was responsible for allowing this exhibition.

I was reminded of this during my flight from Atlanta this past weekend. The on-flight movie was the remake of the "The Manchurian Candidate". In the original with Frank Sinatra, the enemy were Communists. With no more Communists around, the remake has the enemy as "big business" complete with "no-bid contracts", etc...very obvious.

With the huge variety of films available I would think an American airline would stay clear of ones with anti-American themes. In fact, wouldn't it be wise to show films promoting this country's values?