Now they're blaming Hollywood

[nascarblue]

I just read this article in yahoo that basically lays blame on Hollywood. From the title, I thought it was going to be an article on how the Bush Homeland Nazi's were coming down harder on Hollywood to further censor them.

Here's a couple of quotes I found to be gems..." Gay sex, or sympathetic portrayals of pedophilia may still win critical accolades" and "Patriotism may be the last refuge of scoundrels in Beverly Hills, but right now, young American soldiers are willing to risk death to fight for their country in Iraq . Where are the epics that express that vision of life?"
"sympathetic portrayals of pedophilia winning critical accolades"? Is she high?

US soldiers? How about the tens of thousands of Iraqis who have died or been tortured and maimed? We hear about our soldiers every day. We hear nothing about innocent Iraqis. They're put in some kind of "insurgent" category regardless if they're a 4 year old boy or a 70 year old woman.

I let her know that it's not Hollywoods job to tell us the truth about the soldiers, it's YOUR JOB! The media. Still, we do get more of the truth from Hollywood documentaries than we get from mainstream newspapers and television.

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ucmg/20041231/cm_ucmg/ishollywoodnext&e=7&ncid=742

[Carni]

1. Judging from those perverted photos at Abu Gharib

..." Gay sex, or sympathetic portrayals of pedophilia may still win critical accolades" and "Patriotism may be the last refuge of scoundrels in Beverly Hills, but right now, young American soldiers are willing to risk death to fight for their country in Iraq . Where are the epics that express that vision of life?"

They could make a nice collection of gay porn movies about our own military in Iraq!

[Journeyman]

2. I don't get out to the movies much. . .

Can someone name the last "sympathetic portrayal of pedophilia" that won widespread critical accolades?

[TheFarseer]

5. Republicans are against pedophilia

so democrats must be pro-pedophilia. It doesn't even dawn on cable news hosts and RW radio that something might be opposed by all. Democrats stand against everything republicans hold dear. Don't you know that democrats love illegal immigration, huge budget deficits, abortion, high taxes, out of control spoiled children, want cars to be illegal, and hate the United States of America with a seething passion? And that means all of us too - there can be no differing opinions within the opposition party. That would be too confusing to republicans.

[maxudargo]

7. The only one I can think of

is Todd Solondz's Happiness from a few years back. It got mixed reviews, but some critics thought it was really good. One character was a pedophile, and he was not portrayed in a totally unsympathetic way. But it certainly didn't endorse or excuse his behavior either. Really it portrayed him as a monster, while refusing to allow us to pretend the monster was not a human being.

And that's what these people are really complaining about. Everything should be black and white and conform to their preconceived notions and prejudices. Independent filmmakers have a tendency to challenge prevailing beliefs, and that's just damn unpatriotic.

[rfranklin]

3. I think those accolades were isolated to a few priests and fundies...

who believe that sexual assault is an essential part of disciplining children.

[Patchuli]

4. What really is amazing

with all the carping and complaining that the so-called 'Moral
Majority' makes about Hollywood, I see that the number one
television shows are full of gays, horny housewives and sex.

I know that it's not my progressive family that watches that
garbage. If our tv is on, it's either on PBS or 60 Minutes which
I've watched since I was a kid. I will confess to liking 'Cold
Case' but that's about it.

I find it really hypocritical that people say one thing and watch
the opposite.

God bless our troops and I pray that President Birdbrain figures
out how to get them out of the harm's way he needlessly put them
in. I also pray for the innocent Iraqi people who just want us to
go away!

[Tikki]

6. I salute those in Hollywood who are trying....

..to make a difference, but I wonder what is holding back the rest of The Industry from doing Moore. I guess I already know the answer. sigh.

[Cats Against Frist]

8. Ok, so I agree with her that most POPULAR culture is "titillating" trash

and that people are struggling to marry a coherency in their lives and bodies and children and money and society, but the LAST thing that we need is for repressive, oppressive and regressive social institutions that have NOT worked, in the past, to make a return to create and handy-dandy, easy-to-digest narrative for life and culture.

I am a writer -- a poet -- and most of my material comes from picking up and re-framing the tidbits of the aftermath of modern and classical philosophies, their constructs and their effect on everything from the human psyche to the body to economic systems. I mean -- that's pretty much what any poet writes about, right? Usually most contemporary, innovative poetries can be narrowed down to something roughly representing critical theorization -- however convoluted the "message" may be. To read contemporary poetry, you almost have to understand philosophy and narrative, and be able to work with shifting or contextual epistemologies.

No matter what the conservatives try to string together to create an all-encompassing, cohesive "narrative," the only truth always prevails -- that their determinism is merely an elaborate fantasy, created to keep them from putting a handgun in their mouth. Why do you think so many artists kill themselves? It's because they have no such filter -- or any capacity to create one that sticks.

For people who complain that the "liberal solution" will never work, because of "human nature," they've certainly got a long list of social engineering that they'd like to try. Maybe some more Amy Grant for the masses, and teenaged pregnancy will disappear. Funny -- the girl who introduced me to Amy Grant, in high school -- the eldest daughter in a family that attended the Free Methodist church, which is associated with a college that won't let the students dance or play cards, and keeps the down from opening any bars, got knocked up, un-wed at 19 while attending Taylor University -- a CHRISTIAN college. And what about priests and little boys? Do I need to say any more?

Child molesting gets critical acclaim, because it's a REAL story, as opposed to recycled narrative bullshit that is fodder for dull minds.

When people have a filter, you get "art" like Thomas Kinkade and Pat Boone. It's a shame, but necessary for capitalism, I suppose, for people to be fed the same, tired constructs again -- the same tired narratives -- rising action, climax, denoument, and always, always "inspirational."

I thank a god that I don't believe in, every single day that no matter how miserable and hopeless that it can get, I'm not walking around with a piece of gravy bread in my brain, though. That's for damn sure.