June 4, 2006
"Screw all them people who don't like him."
"George is doing a hell of a job during very difficult times, more power to him." I know they keep saying, week by week, that George Bush's poll numbers have fallen even lower, and even lower than that, to the lowest of the low, 'til you'd just about think there was no person in the history of the world less popular. But take heart, Mr. President, you've got Mickey Rourke on your side. So screw all them people who don't like him.
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27 comments:
Dave, what are "protest monkeys" and what do they have to do with the president's security?
Dave, they don't let protestors within the same hemisphere as this president, so fantasizing about some fists of fury hero beating them up is rather unrealistic, but nothing I wouldn't expect in this topic thread.
Bam! Take that, protest monkey! Pow! Eat my fists, deranged Bush hater!
It's more fun if you tie a big bath towel around your neck and jump off a chair while you play.
Dave, they don't let protestors within the same hemisphere as this president,
Come to think of it, that guy passing himself off as Steven Colbert wasn't very convincing. Colbert is funny.
Dave, I like jokes. I made a joke, too. Relax, and laugh. Shazzam!
It is pretty risky in Hollywood to come out as a Bush supporter. Hollywood is not known as the land of tolerance. Of course it all depends on who your audience is. Rourke should not expect to star in Greenwich Village type roles anytime soon. (Just as the Dixie Chicks should not expect to be loved by country music fans.
Is he Harley Davidson or the Marlboro Man? I always get them mixed up.
Sloan, name a celebrity who's spoken of his or her support for Bush who has faced professional problems as a result. Bruce Willis? He's making movies. Arnold? He seems to be doing fine. Mickey Rourke? Making a well-deserved comeback. Kelsy Grammar? Look for his X-Men spinoff coming up. Gary Sinise? Hit TV show. Those repercussions are brutal, man! I don't know how anyone can have the courage to be a Bush supporter in this hostile times! Courage, man!
Those repercussions are brutal, man! I don't know how anyone can have the courage to be a Bush supporter in this hostile times! Courage, man!
When you pass a certain point of celebrity, there are no repercussions. There are, however, repercussions for those low on the totem pole, people who are trying to make it. Hollywood is monolithic in the extreme.
Freeman, those low on the totem pole aren't important enough for anyone to care, approvingly or disapprovingly, about. Joe Schmo the gaffer or Jane Doe the third bikini on the left in the beach scene aren't in any danger for their political opinions. Do you have actual evidence of thought-control going on in Hollywood, of people losing jobs because of their politics, or is this just the usual conservative victim whining? You have the courts, the legislature, the executive, most governorships, but oh my GOD! There are still places in Hollywood where it might be uncomfortable to be conservative. It's just brutal, and unfair.
But why is Hollywood so monolithic? Who is it that is suppressing Mickey Rourke, Gary Sinise, Clint Eastwood, John Wayne, and Ronald Reagan?
What evil, liberal, anti-free Market forces are behind this?
It's got to be the Jews. Communist Pinko haters of America that run Hollywood, one and all.
Elizabeth,
Does not the near absence of conservatives in the industry--like that of academia--give you at least some pause? Liberals are quick to stand up for minorities and unfair labor practices. Where's the concern here?
I'm teasing, but just look at the Oscar nominees and tell me it wouldn't be a teensy bit awkward to admit you're conservative in that environment.
Elizabeth, I'm posting based on the number of people I know in film who are closet conservatives. I'm not talking about gaffers and bikini girls; I'm talking about working actors who get decent parts but are not [yet?] stars. Why are they "in the closet" about their political beliefs? Are they all just a bunch of paranoids? Maybe, but I doubt it.
I do have experience in Hollywood, and conservatives (or centrists) stay in the closet, for good reason. I walked into one producer's office and he said, "Oh, you're from there (my city), you must be a conservative!" By now I know how to turn that into a joke and stop the interrogation. And, yes, background actors, who work for minimum wage and hope for a "break," keep their mouths shut or the director/stage manager will never call them again.
Mickey Rourke will be in more movies because he's been in some good ones recently. Tim Robbins will be in more movies for the same reason. Any lower-caste actor or production person who's more intent on their politics than their work will probably have trouble finding work, liberal or conservative. Why does it surprise you that an industry based on performance and creativity would be more liberal than conservative? That's the history of theater and entertainment. In the end, who cares what actors think about politics? Conservatives are way too heated up because there's a couple of feet of land they don't control yet. Hegemony is so unattractive.
Conservatives are way too heated up because there's a couple of feet of land they don't control yet.
o-kay...
Elizabeth is right that Hollywood ultimately rewards those who bring in the cash at the box office. However, she is wrong to assume that conservatives have equal opportunity. Much of Hollywood is cronyism, which is why so many bad movies are made. It's much easier to get a job if you are a liberal in an industry dominated by liberals.
Elizabeth; How about Ron Silver, Michael Moriarty, Drew Carey and Lionel Chetwynd. All with varying degress of success now seemingly on...Uh, not exactly a black list, but surely not working as much as before.
So, Elizabeth, conservatives should remain in the closet, and gay people should not?
Sloan's right. It's probably easier to get a job in the DOJ right now if you're conservative, too. And in any number of other work places and industries that lean toward conservative politics. But it's also a fact that talent, and good work, is rewarded in the entertainment industry, just as they are anywhere else.
I don't pay attention to the politics of actors and musicians very much. I know that I like the work of people who I assume are conservative; I don't judge creative work by dogma.
pat patterson: I'm not familar with Lionel C., sorry, but two of the others are working, steadily. Ron Silver just finished up on West Wing, and Drew Carey is working as steadily as anyone else who's moved on from a hit TV show. Michael Moriarty is another case entirely; I've read him refer to himself a centrist, by the way.
PatCA--I never said that; it's a shame to see you try the strawman approach. I said I don't believe that any actor or production person looking for work is going to get it through their political activism, liberal or conservative.
"Any lower-caste actor or production person who's more intent on their politics than their work will probably have trouble finding work, liberal or conservative."
That's your assumption--and it's not true. And I don't see what the difference is between the "right" to reveal your politics or reveal your sexuality in the work place.
PatCa, I've never said there is a difference. I don't think the workplace should punish people for their politics. I've only said I'm not surprised that more liberals gravitate to certain industries, and more conservatives to others. I haven't argued that anyone should have to hide anything. Really, quit attributing your made-up arguments to me. And quit obsessing about the gay thing. What has it got to do with this topic?
"What has it got to do with this topic?"
Because you address the issue of personal freedom all the time. YOu obviously are not going to agree there's a correlation, so let's just agree to disagree.
No, Pat, I'm not disagreeing about correlation. Read more carefully. I've never, ever, not once said that it's okay for conservatives to not get hired in entertainment, or that they should have to be in the closet. You are wrongly attributing that to me. I won't argue your own strawman for you. There's nothing to agree to disagree on.
For the record, my beliefs in personal freedom include more than freedom of sexual preference.
I'd bet that there are as many "out" conservative actors in Hollywood as there are "out" gay actors. The public seems to like its actors to keep up the images we see onscreen. Tom Cruise gets too overtly excited about Scientology, and there's backlash. Who isn't sick to death of Alec Baldwin? I love Tim Robbins on screen, but he's certainly not my political adviser. Gay actors can be out as long as they're "character" actors, like Ian McKellan. But overall, Hollywood is about illusions. Liberal politics definately have an easier time within the industry, but even too much of that turns off the public. I've sat at dinnner with actors and behind-the-scenes workers, in Hollywood, where 3 of the 12 people attending were conservative and vigorously defended their support of the Iraq war to their friends--that's right, friends. Two were onscreen talent and one was production. They're all working, and all attending are still friends, just like in real life Middle America.
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