A long-running DU pet peeve of mine

[DerekG]

I've been here for more than three years, and I still can't understand the outrage some posters express when actors and prominent figures outside of politics are revealed to be sympathetic to Republicans, Emperor Nero (aka Bush) included.

The worst example:

There was a story back in 2002 concerning John Walsh's telephone conversation with Ashcroft; subsequently, DUers were spewing vitriol at the guy who has made a life mission to retrieve children from the arms of murderers and perverts. This is the man who served as the catalyst for the passing of the Missing Children's Assistance Act of '82 and '84, and founded the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. Who gives a crap what his ideology is? Is there anyone here who has pursued an endeavor of comparable beneficence (excepting Bev Harris and her exposure of BBV)?


Or what about those infamous boycotts that occur when an actor from a production is a right-winger?

Dennis Hopper--I actually read boasts of people who swore off future Hopper viewings. Are these people serious? Are they ever going to see "Easy Rider" or "Apocalypse Now" ever again? Isn't this, kind of, well, insipid?

Mel Gibson--I perfectly understand one's desire to boycott the Golgotha Chainsaw Massacre (The Passion), but are these posters actually going to encourage loved ones to refrain from purchasing films which feature Gibson? The "Mad Max" trilogy? "Chicken Run"?

Tony Sirico--Yeah, he's a thug, but does this mean people should boycott "The Sopranos"--the best thing to happen to televison (in terms of drama) since "I, Claudius?" Are these people serious?


And boy do I love it when an artist of considerable talent makes some admittedly stupid comments, and DUers levy the label of "hack" upon them when it's clearly obvious that it isn't true.

Morgan Freeman--Following 9/11, Freeman said that Bush was "the perfect president." Entirely false, but what about the posters who attacked his skills as an actor. The fact is, Freeman stands as one of the finest performers of his generation. Politics doesn't change that.

Ray Bradbury--His words regarding Michael Moore are absurd, but he is not "overrated", nor is he a "hack"; Bradbury is, in actuality, one of the great fantasists of the 20th century.

[Wickerman]

1. Folks have opinions, and they get influenced and exacerbated by politics

Probably not right, but it happens. However, I also see people here very critical of left wing actors that have talent. The reasons aren't always as clear as political leanings or actual acting ability.

Often times people associate an actor with a role and their perceptions of his/her abilities are are colored. For example - I really liked Gibson when he did the Mad Max stuff. I thought he sucked in cop movies with Glover and frankly have found little time for him since - it has nothing to do with politics.

Did he actually suck in the role as troubled cop? Probably not. Did my esteem for him go down for choosing a role that was so mainstream? Definitely. I imagine though, that I am more apt to think he just sucks as an actor. Its an easy, albeit a lazy approach.

Yeah, it can be a bandwagon approach to attacking an actor for political leanings, but their are often more complex reasons than just that fact.

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

2. I tend to rate actors by their acting

I don't like Mel Gibson because I unfortunately watched Mad Max (well, until I got ill) and thought it garbage. I just don't like that type of film. Whatever Gibson's politics are has nothing to do with it.

I figure when an actor I like turns out to be liberal, that's just so much a bonus. Sam Waterston is the perfect example-thoughtful, cereberal films like Mind Walk-and a liberal social conscience.

[UTUSN]

3. When They Do SOME Good Things (WALSH)

the good they do is compartmentalized for me. I heard him on a talk show saying that what set him apart from CLINTON in extra-marital affairs was that he APOLOGIZED to his wife and went to counseling (now divorced from that one) and that he is pals with Jeb Crow Shrub.

Same thing with the infuriating Don IMUS. His filthy mouth can smear everybody, even on the subject of their looks, AND he supposedly has this operation for children with cancer. (I say "supposedly" because there have been allegations of exploitation.) So for that PART of him I say FINE, but the rest of him is repugnant and obnoxious and I certainly won't buy his salsa and chips.

Same goes for all the others on the list.

[Gryffindor_Bookworm]

4. You make excellent points.

Food for thought. Politics is something I take seriously, but it shouldn't cause me to change other parts of my life (i.e., what movies I see) -- and, sometimes, it has.

Thanks for making me think.

- Dawn

[LastKnight]

5. didnt morgan freeman do the kerry bio?

i have a feeling he wouldnt do that if he was a bushite. and i doubt the guy is hurting for money so its not like they bought him. opnion must have changed. but after 9 11 alot ALOT of people had a rosy view of him.

-LK

[Jade Fox]

7. I thought he narrated "The Hunting of the President" film too. ???

[Pepperbelly]

6. I never have liked Bradbury but ...

I do enjoy Heinlein who was a right-winger who supported Goldwater in '64.

on edit, the reason I don't like Bradbury? His style is, to my ear, stilted and prosaic. IMHO, of course.