Che Guevara Bringing in the Big Bucks at PBS!
News Busters - props
Over the weekend Chicago's local PBS affiliate aired a segment of a DVD box set that is being distributed by PBS called The British Beat. The DVD is a retrospective of the British Invasion and features Animals lead singer Eric Burdon donning a giant Che Guevara button down shirt at a 2005 concert where he stumps for PBS on stage. Note that this is a 4 disc box set and PBS could have chosen any number of segments to air for their pledge drive…..
In 2004, Che Guevara was presented at the Sundance Film Festival as a symbol of freedom when the witless attendees gave a standing ovation to Walter Salles' portrayal of a young Guevara in The Motorcycle Diaries. The movie was propped up with much critical acclaim among pro-Castro segments of Hollywood along with film critics in the mainstream media who gave the movie high marks.
But the film was also met with criticism by those who noted that Guevara was responsible for creating Cuba's gulag style labor camps that routinely led to the torturous death of political dissidents, homosexuals and anyone that was branded an enemy of the "revolution". Historians noted that Che enjoyed presiding over summary executions at the La CabaÒa fortress in Havana many of which Che administered himself with a signature bullet to the back of the neck. Rather than celebrate Ernesto "Che" Guevara as a man of the people, critics claimed that a more apt depiction should place him in history next to the likes of Pol Pot…. ….
Terry Trippany
