First, I will not waste our time here by enumerating all of the historical or factual inconsistencies, and detours around the truth as presented by Robert McNamara in this documentary. My intent and focus is not for the sake of historical correction. I'll let others tend to that as they most assuredly will. Plenty of fodder here. Astoundingly so.
Rather, my review will more importantly theorize the nature of Robert McNamara, and what such a character can wrought, as based on my watching this documentary twice, transfixed. And I'll do so, not to necessarily set the record straight as to the history, but to record what I believe is a moral lesson to be learned here from the essence of McNamara as presented in this documentary and when weighed against ubiquitous historical accounts that most certainly conflict with McNamara's dubious account.
I found the interviewee to have a subdued yet profound sustained arrogance that is rather remarkable and is seldom seen in a person with a similar record to his. Subdued given his physical age, perhaps. More likely subdued given the long period he has had to carry his burden of guilt, however small that burden is for someone as self-assured, as intellectually obtuse, as detached from an ability to be honest, as devoid of good spirit as he is.
Usually people such as McNamara, when targeted for an interview, steer clear of such venues as their records are clearly indefensible. Not Robert McNamara ! He actually agreed to this documentary. Hubris in its crystalline highly refined form.
The unique quality of this documentary is that it provides just that. A glimpse into who these particular creatures truly are. We are all eventually exposed to these types in our lives, but few of these specimens descend to McNamara's level. And to observe one in the wild as he's hunted or stalked, in this instance by the interviewer, however timid....well it's an intimate experience indeed.
There have been no such documentaries where Polpot, Ho-Chi Minh, Stalin, Genghis Kahn, Alexander the Great, Ill Duce, Hitler, Nero, Mao or Napoleon were interviewed face to face. Mostly because the technology did not exist, obviously. But I'm left to ponder whether they would have committed themselves the way Robert McNamara has here, given their own indefensible records? Regardless, this documentary provides a unique opportunity to study this general category of persons. It's surreal to observe this documentary in terms of a character study.
To size up Robert McNamara as a man. To watch intently how he navigates, evades, rationalizes, plays slalom around the agonizing truth, and searches for an absolution that will never come. How he insinuates a defense by nibbling around the edges of his own record, but refuses to flat out address the more pointed questions put to him regarding the heart of his own record. Watching him shamelessly hide behind President Johnson (D) when pressed, as if he were an innocent bystander and not Johnson's key military advisor. The cherry-picking of WH recordings that laughably endeavor to produce an exoneration from the less savvy viewer. Someone like McNamara would call that low hanging fruit. And he won't agree to play other recordings where he recommends troop escalations to President Johnson. He would have never agreed to the interview(s) if they were included. For these reasons I most certainly do not fault the Director Errol Morris. He got what he could get from Robert McNamara. And then there's Robert McNamara's 10 Lessons that he was arrogant enough to present to us peasants in this documentary. My personal favorite lesson McNamara afforded us was "Get the Data".
Historical accounts (unsurprisingly not included in this documentary) indicate Robert McNamara would regularly study data and statistics, and from this "data"--that he got---he would proceed to conduct the Vietnam War from a scientific standpoint. He would actually use this data exclusively, sans any other factors human or otherwise, to ascertain target packages for our bombers, to qualify escalation of the war, to quantify additional troop deployments, to assess bomb damage, and to assess enemy casualty figures and enemy dispositions. Get the Data ! 58,318. Now there's a data point Americans would've appreciated your analysis of Secretary McNamara.
The obvious absurdity backstopped by supernatural arrogance that comes part and partial with receiving "Ten Lessons" from Robert McNamara of all people, one is left drop-jawed in utter disbelief. Is this a real person?
As I watched Fog of War a 2nd time, I specifically and forcibly strived to find repentance in this man but found none. Remarkable. Sad really.
Specifically, I believe deep down inside he suspects his actions "may" have been wrong. Perhaps. But it is this suspicion that he is wrong, and not the actions themselves, that causes him such deep pain from within. Pride ! He is a very proud man, brilliant as per the written test scores and unprecedented list of marquee credentials. Why he has a Presidential Medal of Freedom didn't ya know? But his pride is an obstacle for him, an obstacle to that which that medal of his was meant to honor: Freedom. Ironical. A man enslaved to his own Pride. Drowning in his own unrepentance. An obstacle to him even in his advanced age. Cause of Death ~ PRIDE. All the time he must have spent after serving as Defense Secretary, pondering--anguishing-over how he can make this so that he can be proven right and rest easy.
The thing about humility and repentance is that they come at the expense of pride alone or they come not all.
Hopefully before he took his last breath he forsook the pride that hamstrung him so profoundly in life, and repented. If he did, oh what a glorious first and last act of courage.
I find it fitting to close out my review of this exceptional documentary and case study by quoting a different humanist and fool who was much admired by Robert McNamara and many others:
"Our problems are man-made, therefore they may be solved by man. And man can be as big as he wants. No problem of human destiny is beyond human beings."
When man relies solely on his own understanding, separating himself from God, elevating himself and other men above God, parading himself about like a jackass, fawning over the hollow merits of intellectualism, drowning in their own self-righteousness, self-servitude, self absorption, adopting a relativistic regard for truth, what could possibly go wrong?
Rather, my review will more importantly theorize the nature of Robert McNamara, and what such a character can wrought, as based on my watching this documentary twice, transfixed. And I'll do so, not to necessarily set the record straight as to the history, but to record what I believe is a moral lesson to be learned here from the essence of McNamara as presented in this documentary and when weighed against ubiquitous historical accounts that most certainly conflict with McNamara's dubious account.
I found the interviewee to have a subdued yet profound sustained arrogance that is rather remarkable and is seldom seen in a person with a similar record to his. Subdued given his physical age, perhaps. More likely subdued given the long period he has had to carry his burden of guilt, however small that burden is for someone as self-assured, as intellectually obtuse, as detached from an ability to be honest, as devoid of good spirit as he is.
Usually people such as McNamara, when targeted for an interview, steer clear of such venues as their records are clearly indefensible. Not Robert McNamara ! He actually agreed to this documentary. Hubris in its crystalline highly refined form.
The unique quality of this documentary is that it provides just that. A glimpse into who these particular creatures truly are. We are all eventually exposed to these types in our lives, but few of these specimens descend to McNamara's level. And to observe one in the wild as he's hunted or stalked, in this instance by the interviewer, however timid....well it's an intimate experience indeed.
There have been no such documentaries where Polpot, Ho-Chi Minh, Stalin, Genghis Kahn, Alexander the Great, Ill Duce, Hitler, Nero, Mao or Napoleon were interviewed face to face. Mostly because the technology did not exist, obviously. But I'm left to ponder whether they would have committed themselves the way Robert McNamara has here, given their own indefensible records? Regardless, this documentary provides a unique opportunity to study this general category of persons. It's surreal to observe this documentary in terms of a character study.
To size up Robert McNamara as a man. To watch intently how he navigates, evades, rationalizes, plays slalom around the agonizing truth, and searches for an absolution that will never come. How he insinuates a defense by nibbling around the edges of his own record, but refuses to flat out address the more pointed questions put to him regarding the heart of his own record. Watching him shamelessly hide behind President Johnson (D) when pressed, as if he were an innocent bystander and not Johnson's key military advisor. The cherry-picking of WH recordings that laughably endeavor to produce an exoneration from the less savvy viewer. Someone like McNamara would call that low hanging fruit. And he won't agree to play other recordings where he recommends troop escalations to President Johnson. He would have never agreed to the interview(s) if they were included. For these reasons I most certainly do not fault the Director Errol Morris. He got what he could get from Robert McNamara. And then there's Robert McNamara's 10 Lessons that he was arrogant enough to present to us peasants in this documentary. My personal favorite lesson McNamara afforded us was "Get the Data".
Historical accounts (unsurprisingly not included in this documentary) indicate Robert McNamara would regularly study data and statistics, and from this "data"--that he got---he would proceed to conduct the Vietnam War from a scientific standpoint. He would actually use this data exclusively, sans any other factors human or otherwise, to ascertain target packages for our bombers, to qualify escalation of the war, to quantify additional troop deployments, to assess bomb damage, and to assess enemy casualty figures and enemy dispositions. Get the Data ! 58,318. Now there's a data point Americans would've appreciated your analysis of Secretary McNamara.
The obvious absurdity backstopped by supernatural arrogance that comes part and partial with receiving "Ten Lessons" from Robert McNamara of all people, one is left drop-jawed in utter disbelief. Is this a real person?
As I watched Fog of War a 2nd time, I specifically and forcibly strived to find repentance in this man but found none. Remarkable. Sad really.
Specifically, I believe deep down inside he suspects his actions "may" have been wrong. Perhaps. But it is this suspicion that he is wrong, and not the actions themselves, that causes him such deep pain from within. Pride ! He is a very proud man, brilliant as per the written test scores and unprecedented list of marquee credentials. Why he has a Presidential Medal of Freedom didn't ya know? But his pride is an obstacle for him, an obstacle to that which that medal of his was meant to honor: Freedom. Ironical. A man enslaved to his own Pride. Drowning in his own unrepentance. An obstacle to him even in his advanced age. Cause of Death ~ PRIDE. All the time he must have spent after serving as Defense Secretary, pondering--anguishing-over how he can make this so that he can be proven right and rest easy.
The thing about humility and repentance is that they come at the expense of pride alone or they come not all.
Hopefully before he took his last breath he forsook the pride that hamstrung him so profoundly in life, and repented. If he did, oh what a glorious first and last act of courage.
I find it fitting to close out my review of this exceptional documentary and case study by quoting a different humanist and fool who was much admired by Robert McNamara and many others:
"Our problems are man-made, therefore they may be solved by man. And man can be as big as he wants. No problem of human destiny is beyond human beings."
When man relies solely on his own understanding, separating himself from God, elevating himself and other men above God, parading himself about like a jackass, fawning over the hollow merits of intellectualism, drowning in their own self-righteousness, self-servitude, self absorption, adopting a relativistic regard for truth, what could possibly go wrong?