New 'Waco' Dramatized TV Series Attempts to Strike a Balanced Narrative

[dannno]

http://www.businessinsider.com/waco-creators-say-media-did-not-tell-full-story-2018-2

[h=1]The creators of a new TV series about 'Waco' say the media didn't tell the full story of the infamous siege[/h]

• The creators of "Waco," a miniseries on the Paramount Network, said they learned that the media coverage in 1993 was very one-sided.
• In their research, John Erick and Drew Dowdle learned more about the people living in the cult.
• The idea for a show based on the 51-day siege came while they were researching a character for a completely different project.
• The show stars Michael Shannon, Taylor Kitsch, and Rory Culkin.

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The creators of new TV miniseries "Waco" always meant for it to show the whole truth of the 1993 Waco siege, by telling the story from multiple perspectives: especially those that weren't told by the media. But they didn't expect it to have such cultural relevance to our current political landscape.


"Waco," a miniseries on the Paramount Network (formerly Spike TV), stars Michael Shannon, Taylor Kitsch, John Leguiziamo, and Melissa Benoist. Business Insider recently spoke to the creators of the show, brothers John Erick and Drew Dowdle. In writing the show, they said they discovered the media only told one side of the story in 1993.


With "Waco," the Dowdles hoped to emphasize the power of communication, and that there's more to this story, and every person involved.


"We really tried to see what makes people tick on all sides of this, that was really important to us," co-creator Drew Dowdle said.
[h=2]The Siege[/h] The Waco siege, which lasted from February 28 to April 19, 1993, was a 51-day standoff at a compound belonging to a religious group called the Branch Davidians, led by David Koresh.


Koresh convinced his followers that he was Christ. They lived together on the compound — which they called Mount Carmel — to prepare for the end of the world. The Mount Carmel compound had no electricity, heat, or running water.


The standoff, between the Branch Davidians and the FBI along with the ATF (Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms), began when the ATF attempted to raid the compound to find illegal weapons. There were also rumors of abuse against women and children on the compound.


Eventually, the FBI initiated a tear gas attack in an attempt to force the Branch Davidians out, resulting in a fire. 76 people died, including Koresh.


The Waco siege is cited as one of the motivations behind the 1996 Oklahoma City bombing. During the standoff, crowds gathered on a hill a few miles away from Mount Carmel to see what was happening. Oklahoma City bomber Timothy McVeigh, then 24, visited that site, where he distributed pro-gun literature and bumper stickers.
[h=2]"The power of talk"[/h] "Waco" was in development before topics like gun control and white supremacy saw high-profile coverage leading up to the 2016 presidential election.


"Waco" co-creator John Erick Dowdle said he felt like the country was "already going down that path," even though they started working on the series four years ago. "We've lost some ability to talk," he said of America. "And this show is an exploration of the power of talk."


In "Waco," Michael Shannon's FBI agent Gary Noesner (who the Dowdles spoke to personally) makes multiple attempts to communicate with Koresh and the Branch Davidians.
He tries to convince other agents — both his colleagues at the FBI and ATF agents — to prioritize peaceful communication over violent tactics. Unfortunately, not many others seem to see things the way Noesner does.

[h=2]Firsthand accounts[/h] The Dowdles said they stumbled upon the idea for a show about the Waco siege "kind of randomly."


In reading firsthand accounts of the Waco siege, meant as research for a character in a completely different story they were writing, the Dowdles realized this was the show they should write.


The Dowdles spoke to people on all sides of the siege: FBI agents, ATF agents, and David Thibodeau, a Branch Davidian who survived the fire (played by Rory Culkin in the series). Through Thibodeau, whom they spoke to extensively, the audience gets to see how someone could believably get roped in by Koresh, who is manipulative but charming, and a very convincing leader.

cont..

 

[DamianTV]

In a world where War = Peace and Freedom = Slavery, would Balanced = Completely Fucking Lopsided hold true?

 

[Anti Federalist]

The Waco siege, which lasted from February 28 to April 19, 1993, was a 51-day standoff at a compound belonging to a religious group called the Branch Davidians, led by David Koresh.

Wasn't a compound, it was a church.

 

[otherone]

In a world where War = Peace and Freedom = Slavery, would Balanced = Completely $#@!ing Lopsided hold true?

 

[donnay]

Wasn't a compound, it was a church.

They said the same thing about Edward and Elaine Brown. They actually used: "Fortress-like Compound." Giving people that they were ready for war.

 

[Matt Collins]

Has anyone seen this? Is it worth watching, or is it whitewash propaganda?

Does it paint the government, including FBI/ATF/Clinton/Reno in the proper light of being murders? Anything less is propaganda.

 

[pcosmar]

Koresh convinced his followers that he was Christ.

Did he?
I don't remember hearing that from any of the survivors.. or old recordings I had heard.

They thought he was a prophet.

 

[phill4paul]

Did he?
I don't remember hearing that from any of the survivors.. or old recordings I had heard.

They thought he was a prophet.

yeah, I have never heard this either.

 

[Anti Federalist]

Has anyone seen this? Is it worth watching, or is it whitewash propaganda?

Does it paint the government, including FBI/ATF/Clinton/Reno in the proper light of being murders? Anything less is propaganda.

That's what I'm trying to determine myself.

 

[Anti Federalist]

Did he?
I don't remember hearing that from any of the survivors.. or old recordings I had heard.

They thought he was a prophet.

yeah, I have never heard this either.

That's because it was government media bullshit

 

[dannno]

Has anyone seen this? Is it worth watching, or is it whitewash propaganda?

Does it paint the government, including FBI/ATF/Clinton/Reno in the proper light of being murders? Anything less is propaganda.

So far only 4 episodes of 6 are out, the fifth episode airs on 2/21/18.

I would say it's pretty good so far, they make the agents out to look pretty blood thirsty. They have a Texas radio talk show commentator who they show throughout the series and he is pretty sensible.

The first episode actually dramatizes Ruby Ridge. They quickly show a flash of the mom holding the baby, then they show a shot fired through the door at a poor angle where you can't really see it and then later her on the floor with a bullet in her head and the baby crying - they probably avoided showing it because it is a TV show and not HBO, Showtime, Netflix, Amazon, maybe even AMC.. but I'm not sure that they did a very great job connecting the audience with the mother, the child, and then they don't actually show her getting shot while holding the child.

So you have to really be paying attention or know what happened to understand the horror that happened in that scene, but the fact that Vicki (the mother) was shot does become a topic several more times in the show so people know it happened.. I just don't know how many realized she was holding the baby at the time.

The negotiator for the FBI apparently actually wanted to open an investigation into Ruby Ridge and the protagonist within the government is the negotiator. The antagonist is the military agent guy Richard Rogers who always pushes for more force and that always messes things up.

The show takes the Davidian's take on how the conflict started and escalated, at least in general.. but of course everybody wants to know what they do in the end.

Koresh convinced his followers that he was Christ.

Did he?
I don't remember hearing that from any of the survivors.. or old recordings I had heard.

They thought he was a prophet.

Ya, the article posted about about the Messiah was featured in the show.

The way Koresh explained "Messiah" was someone who brought you to God. So in one case David claimed that someone's mom was their Messiah, in another case a man's son who was blind was his Messiah. And yes, he claimed to be a Messiah for many people, but did not claim to be Jesus.

 

[dannno]

Oh and so far there is no evidence that the Davidian's had any illegal weapons, although the government seems to be convinced they do.

In the show, much of the drama in the church centers around David Koresh, a polygamist, while all of the other men take a vow of celibacy. He takes on the burden of having sex for them. His 'main' wife he got married to and had a child with at age 14, which was legal under Texas law with parents permission which he had.. however.. later he decided to marry her younger sister who was only 12. Apparently people in the church were unsure of what to think at first until the 'main' wife, her older sister, has a dream and in the dream God told her it was OK and so the wedding and consummation went forward, and she had a child.

I dunno how much of that side is true.

 

[Raginfridus]

Did he?
I don't remember hearing that from any of the survivors.. or old recordings I had heard.

They thought he was a prophet.

He never claimed to be Christ, but a prophet who needed to finish his last Oracle or some shit. The attorney of Koresh's grandmother, who was trying to reach out to the jackboots and propagandists was emphatic that once David had written his stupid prophecy he would surrender. The jackboots just wanted blood, and the propagandists just ran interference for that scraggly DOJ cunt.

 

[Dark_Horse_Rider]

recently watched corbett reports Tim Mcvaye youtube, lot of interesting parralells and connections

 

[Dark_Horse_Rider]

They said the same thing about Edward and Elaine Brown. They actually used: "Fortress-like Compound." Giving people that they were ready for war.

Mission of PatCon was to try to destroy the public perception of anti govt groups

 

[TheTexan]

This sounds good.

I've always wondered what cults & their compounds were like behind the scenes

 

[TheTexan]

I've also wondered why their cult decided to light their own buildings on fire like that.

Maybe it was just a cult thing.

 

[Raginfridus]

I've also wondered why their cult decided to light their own buildings on fire like that.

Maybe it was just a cult thing.

You were there, weren't you?

 

[TheTexan]

Wasn't a compound, it was a church.

Ya ok sure.

 

[oyarde]

Does it show clearly illegal activity like Alabama military craft overhead and Army Special Forces at the scene ?