Our 24/7 news culture sees even a human disaster like the tsunami in Asia as a chance for inspirational uplift, for "incredible stories of lives saved in near-miraculous fashion," to quote NBC's Brian Williams. (The nonmiraculous stories are already forgotten, now that the media carnival has moved on.) In fact, this also applies to Iraq. In the world created by the American media, propaganda, and politics, the daily slaughter in Iraq isn't story of the many many people getting sucked and killed in this whirliwind of Iraq, but it is the story of some of the lucky ones who escape getting killed or miamed. We are back to the days of the gladiators where a public at a certain height of arrogance and power started creating these spectacles of gore and death. It was the equivalent of a movie hall in which an alternate reality was created. The concept of reality in the US administration, which seems to be supported by a simple majority of people is not the same reality that is supported by a majority of people in the rest of the world.

Frank Rich in the NY Times goes on to say that Mr. Clint Eastwood's film "Million Dollar Baby", (Dirty Harry In That Famous Movie) while also boasting great acting, is the only one among Oscar contenders that challenges America's current triumphalist daydream.

"Million Dollar Baby" has the temerity to suggest that fights can have consequences, that some crises do not have black-and-white solutions and that even the pure of heart are not guaranteed a Hollywood ending.

What makes some feel betrayed and angry after seeing "Million Dollar Baby" is exactly what makes many more stop and think: one of Hollywood's most durable cowboys is saying that it's not always morning in America, and that it may take more than faith to get us through the night.