The War Room

HOLLYWOOD, POLITICAL CORRECTNESS & CULTURE

I highly recommend reading the following articles on the politically correct left-leaning nature of Hollywood by two cultural observers. Both are essays that would never be found in the tired and cliched views of most Canadian film critics, still mired in the cultural mores of 1968. They also both hit directly on views put forth by The War Room in previous posts.

First up is a rather dense and long essay by New York Press columnist Armond White. In it he decries the left-wing smugness of modern day Hollywood films and the cyclical relationship they share with the critics who recommend them. This is not a generic essay but an impassioned one that hits hard and names names. He doesn't target easy films but the big ones, the Oscar winners. He is especially hard on George Clooney. What makes his essay so exceptional is not only the fact that he is such an eloquent writer, but that he is a respected film critic who does not come from a conservative political background but from a film school background. In other words, true cineastes cannot dismiss him.

"But Truman Capote's allegedly unscrupulous ambition has nothing on George Clooney's diabolical smirk now made insufferable in two features, Syriana and Good Night, and Good Luck. It's maddening to watch Clooney's media-flirtation, kissing up to the press that, in gushing response, refrains from holding him to even the simple ethical standards of a high school debate. Clooney out-smarms all his TV interviewers from Charlie Rose on up, but the reason he gets the carte blanche denied to Mel Gibson is obvious: Clooney sells the irreligious, left-liberal media their own cocktail party fantasy about themselves."

Next is an essay by the always wonderful Mark Steyn. Steyn is not as film literate as White, but he certainly is culture literate. His description of a disclaimer before the third in the series of Warner Brothers Looney Toones DVD collection is both funny and sad.

"Loved the first two: Daffy, Bugs, Porky, beautifully restored, tons of special features. But, for some reason, this new set begins with a special announcement by Whoopi Goldberg explaining what it is we're not meant to find funny: ''Unfortunately at that time racial and ethnic differences were caricatured in ways that may have embarrassed and even hurt people of color, women and ethnic groups,'' she tells us sternly. ''These jokes were wrong then and they're wrong today'' -- unlike, say, Whoopi Goldberg's most memorable joke of recent years, the one at that 2004 all-star Democratic Party gala in New York where she compared President Bush to her, um, private parts. There's a gag for the ages."

Take the time to relax and read them both as you ponder what films and DVD's to invest your time and money in this Christmas season with your family.

posted by Nicol DuMoulin @ 5:52 AM