Errol Morris Says He's Tired of Interviewing People | Film | Los Angeles | Los Angeles News and Events | LA Weekly
@bbridges, Look at the last sentence in the 2nd paragraph. That pretty much sums up the point I was trying to make but didn't quite flesh out in the thread title...but I did subsequently mention.
"...Savoring bullshit — especially first-class bullshit, like that from Iraq War spinmeister Donald Rumsfeld, the star of Morris's new documentary, The Unknown Known — isn't about swatting down Rumsfeld's half-truths and evasions. Others have mission accomplished that. Morris lets Rumsfeld bluster on, listening for an answer to the question that has obsessed his entire filmmaking career: When does a liar get so good at deception that he even convinces himself?..."
"...Between that and Morris' liberal politics, it's hard not to wonder why Rumsfeld would agree to an interview in the same room where Morris questioned Abu Ghraib's cardboard villain, Lynndie England. Why give the filmmaker unprecedented access to the 20,000-plus memos written during his five-year stint in the George W. Bush administration?
For one of two reasons: Either Rumsfeld is convinced he did the right thing, or he's convinced he can convince us that he did..."
For whatever reason I am fascinated with people who are able to commit acts...or enable them...and then be in complete denial about their level of involvement. From Charles Manson to O.J. Simpson to Rumsfield. I don't think it just comes down to simple out and out lying, well i guess it does initially, but there are people who are able to consciously lie about things to cover up and then get so deeply caught up in it that they believe their own lie. Or maybe its just a matter of painting yourself into a corner. but whatever the reason, it becomes a self propagating lie. This isn't a new phenomena of course but it is a quality that I find myself really interested in, and it is a mystery to me of how they are able to pull it off to themselves
I'm no choirboy but certainly wouldn't put myself in to the same class as the previuosly mentioned people but I can't lie to save my life. I break like a piece of pencil lead. I have no poker face. The people that can pull this off are fascinating to me, its a mystery to me. I don't think it comes down to diagnosing (spl?) said people into a certain "condition" i.e. being a sociopath etc. as the three people I mentioned above all took different life paths.
As Rummy himself might point out, if you believe in the lie then is it a lie?