Dangerous and a lesson to us all

Rating: 4/10 (30 December 2007)

There is no doubt that this is a moving and inspirational film but therein lies its danger. I still think that it's moving and inspirational after watching the film DESPITE knowing from the start that almost everything in it is a provable lie and that Carter was almost certainly guilty. Anybody undertaking even the most cursory of research will inevitably realize that Carter is a congenital liar and fantasist and twists the truth even in the face of overwhelming contrary evidence; no - his first victim wasn't a paedophile but was hit over the head with a bottle so his watch could be stolen by Carter, no - he wasn't a very good boxer and was a has-been at the time of his arrest, no - he fairly lost his one title fight and his opponent successfully sued the film for the suggestion that it was a racist decision, yes - he was a criminal with multiple convictions for robbery and violence, no - he was a terrible soldier with four court martials and no medals, no- he was not involved in the civil rights movement in any way, yes - there were black jurors (2) at his trial, no - he failed a lie detector test and refused to take another one, no - he was pulled over by the police within 10 minutes of the 911 call because his car matched exactly the description given by witnesses but was let go because he was the well-known boxer It is a sobering example of just how frighteningly powerful propaganda can be and how easy it was for Hitler and Stalin to lodge their ideas in the minds of the masses.