The Waco miniseries is, uh, kind of disgusting

I just finished watching this. Did any of y’all see it? It was an amazing Taylor Kitsch performance, and now I’m a bigger fan than ever. But good lord, what a godawful ret-conning of a) the Branch Davidians as a peaceful and friendly Bible study group who just want to get along and b) the FBI and ATF as a bunch of sneering villains who have no experience with stand-offs involving hostages. What the heck kind of script was that?

Oh, I see. It was based on a book written by a Branch Davidian survivor and another book written by one of the team of negotiators who seems to have presented himself as the only guy talking to the Davidians, not to mention the only guy who really knew what was what. It’s interesting that according to the miniseries, he was relieved of duty during the stand-off. I’m sure he doesn’t have any sort of axe to grind in his book.

Aside from the weird agendas in the script, it was a competently made miniseries with a fantastic cast. Kitsch, as I mentioned. Seriously, I can’t believe there was ever a time he was the poor sap in John Carter and Battleship. Also Paul Sparks as Koresh’s right-hand man and Michael Shannon as the lone heroic negotiator who was Right All Along. I love those guys. Melissa Benoist, aka Supergirl, is memorable as Koresh’s determined main wife. I wish the script had spent more time developing her and the other women in the compound (Martha Marcy May Marlene, anyone?). The awesome Andrea Risenborough wasn’t given much to do, but they did a great job of making her look plain. That can’t be easy.

Anyway, I’m really disappointed with a script that just feeds into the idiotic anti-government types who are convinced Waco was a massacre perpetrated by the government instead of the doomsday cultists inside the building. I’m sure Timothy McVeigh would have enjoyed this miniseries immensely. The average Trump voter, too. What a great time to portray the FBI as inept! Whee!

-Tom

It was both, wasn’t it? A doomsday cult of gun-lovers mixed with ATF that seemed to not understand the potential danger and mishandled the situation. I live in Austin, so Waco isn’t far, and I accompanied a friend from overseas who wanted to visit the site. It was spooky as all hell. I’m not a person who believes in ghosts, but that place was unquiet.

Have you seen the miniseries? Because it doesn’t just paint the ATF as clueless when they served the initial warrant – I don’t really have a problem with that – but it paints the FBI as clueless when they took over the siege. A sneering tactical officer and a fat inept bureaucratic commander – at one point he’s seen polishing his shoes – simply wouldn’t listen to the Wise Understanding Perceptive Negotiator With Experience and Compassion! Such a facile made-for-TV set-up. Ugh.

And, yeah, the situation ended with the worst possible outcome, but the bulk of the responsibility lies with the guys who set the place on fire and murdered the kids inside. And that wasn’t the FBI, according to every subsequent investigation that wasn’t a kooky documentary by some nutball who will probably also tell you something about Tower 7 at the World Trade Center. But the miniseries’ script – by filmmakers whose only previous experience was a couple of decent horror movies – would have you believe the Davidians were peaceful throughout, and the FBI all but murdered them, largely by trapping them in the compound so the women and children couldn’t get out. That’s not what happened. Not by a longshot.

The series was also conspicuously sympathetic to the Davidians, downplaying the cult aspects, and even suggesting that they weren’t a cult. I was hoping there would be some development of Koresh as a character as the situation got increasingly dire, and as he lead his followers into suicide by fire, but no such thing happened in the miniseries, and there wasn’t so much as a hint that any of the Davidians might have killed themselves. Instead, Koresh was just a little manic at times, but mostly he was a reasonable guy who wanted to worship according to his own beliefs, even if they were a little unconventional, and besides, it’s legal in Texas to marry someone who’s 14, so what’s the big deal anyway?

Frankly, I’m astonished this got made. Why tell a story that excuses the Davidians and blames the FBI? It’s just weird and it makes me very uncomfortable given the current situation.

Still, Taylor Kitsch kicked all kinds of ass. I could easily watch this again just to admire his performance.

-Tom

I haven’t seen the miniseries. Kitsch is a pretty great actor though, so I’m not surprised that he kicks ass. And I agree that the Davidians killed themselves with fire and were without any doubt religious lunatics. The ATF did, however, manage to get four agents killed in a poorly considered attack on a position defended by crazy people with lots of guns. Incompetent? Yeah, I have to say at least a little.

You’re honestly astonished? Seriously?

Watch Fox News for a few segments. It will fill you right in.

Right-wing/religious wackos getting snuffed out by overbearing, incompetent government goons is a reoccurring Right fixture. See: Ruby Ridge, et. al.

(Note that this only applies when Right-wing/religious wackos are.snuffed out when a Democrat is president. )

This post was brought to you by the letters P and R

The Weinstein Company that created the Waco miniseries – and Hollywood in general – don’t tend to be sympathetic to right wing conspiracy theories, much less Fox News. Remember how American Sniper was an anomaly? Because this goes well beyond the jingoism in American sniper, and in a whole other direction.

-Tom

That is disgusting.

But remember one thing about Hollywood: in the end, politics don’t matter. Money does. And they don’t mind pandering to the right if there’s a buck to be made. John Milius has made a career out of this.

The 70s were a very different time, and the right Milius pandered to was a very different right.

Actually, I don’t think the Waco miniseries is an intentional attempt to pander to the right. That’s Clint Eastwood’s job. Instead, it’s an adaptation of two pieces of source material, one critical of the FBI, and the other whitewashing Koresh. My guess is the Dowdle brothers – the creators the miniseries – aren’t good enough storytellers to rise above the agendas of their source material. My surprise is that no one at the Weinstein company called them on it. But I was mainly surprised when it was all said and done that I’d just seen the equivalent of a wacko alt-right documentary about how the Evil/Inept Government is oppressing peace-loving, independent-spirited, god-loving, legally-gun-owning individuals pursuing the benefits of freedom and the American way. Ick.

-Tom

I thought it was a great miniseries, great acting all around (really liked Leguizamo in the first few episodes) and the message is clearly anti FBI/ATF (moreso in there ineptness which isn’t that far from the truth imo). The movie isn’t so much anti government as its against a cold bureaucracy that doesn’t take the time to manage a delicate situation. Still, they did leave out the calculated manipulative brainwashing that Koresh did. Some of the survivors of the Davidians did NOT paint Koresh in a good light, the miniseries definitely fudges that up. Kitsch is VERY likeable in the series! He even plays some pretty good rock covers like My Sharona!

Also I loved JFK, probably one of my fave movies in the past 40 years, but nobody can state that everything in that movie is fact. So much incidental conspiracy evidence, but still a great movie!

So what’s the most comprehensive and objective account we have of what went down in the raid? Wikipedia?