A VIEW FROM THE CHEAP SEATS
By Rich Trzupek
Brave Hollywood
I recently had the opportunity to see �Good Night and Good Luck� at the local multiplex. Thoroughly enjoyed it, I did.
After viewing it, a number of adjectives sprang to mind: �remarkable,� for the spot-on portrayal of legendary newsman Edward R. Murrrow, �intelligent,� for a script that featured intelligent, compelling dialogue, and �stylish� for cinematography that was simply fun to watch. The one word that did not come to mind, however, was: �courageous.�
Yet that somehow seems to be the word that the film maker�s most wish to attach to themselves. Director George Clooney, and a host of others seem to believe that this was an amazingly brave film. Sorry George, but I�m not seein� it.
It was a good film�fun film even. It was a loving portrait of a giant of American journalism. But �courageous?� Be serious.
The conflict in the film involves Joseph McCarthy versus Ed Murrow. As conflicts go, this is about as controversial as Sauron versus Gandalf, or�for you non-Lord of the Rings fans�as difficult to judge as Hitler versus Churchill.
Brave? For who? Are their legions of McCarthy supporters out there that have staged angry protests over the portrayal of Tail-Gunner Joe?
I must have missed it. Even Clooney should realize that us dirty, stinkin� Republicans hopped off of the McCarthy bandwagon a couple of generations ago. Even my dad, who never saw much distinction between a Democrat and a communist, didn�t think much of McCarthy�and that was in the 60s.
Clooney�s belief that he did something brave by making this film illustrates everything that�s wrong with liberal Hollywood. They�re fighting battles that haven�t existed for over 30 years. I suppose it makes them feel good to believe that they do and I�m not inclined to complain�too much�if they can entertain me as much as this picture did.
Hollywood would probably be equally surprised to learn that us right-wingers are just as entertained by good stories that recount the civil-rights wars of the 60s. From �In the Heat of the Night� to �Mississippi Burning� and beyond, there have been many fine films that recount that important part of our history. Do guys like Clooney think that guys like me shake our fist when we watch them? Most likely. Fact is, we�re applauding.
There�s nothing brave about making films that recount what everyone, of any political persuasion, overwhelmingly acknowledges as a wrong. There is something awfully stupid, and out of touch, when the entertainment industry doesn�t realize that�s the case.
�Brave� is a word that should be reserved to people like soldiers of the 1st Division who have to approach a suspicious car at a Baghdad checkpoint, not knowing if it contains a dad heading to work or a fanatic strapped to C-4. That�s brave.
In the world of film, �brave� would apply to a picture that exposed the way that fundamentalist Muslims treat women. Oh, but wait, that�s already been done, and Danish Director Theo van Gogh was killed by a Muslim fanatic for daring to do so. That�s kind of brave, don�t you think?
Hollywood hasn�t been brave since Orsen Wells wrapped up Citizen Kane. The entertainment elite have sure broken a lot of their arms patting themselves on the back for their courage since then though. It goes with the territory.
When one has is blessed with some level of artistic skill, there is a powerful temptation to believe that such skills can grant one wisdom. This is a mistake. While the two concepts sometimes go together, more often they are unrelated.
This is true of your humble correspondent. I recognize that I have a certain God-given skill at arranging words, the degree of which I will leave to you readers to judge. I also have opinions, which may or may not be worthwhile and which should not be judged by an ability to express them coherently.
Everyone deserves a voice. That is why, in my role as a reporter (as opposed to my role as a columnist) I have always tried to tell everyone�s story as powerfully as possible. This applies even when my personal beliefs conflict with the subject of the story, which happens more often then you may think. No one�s story should be diluted or ignored simply because they haven�t been granted the gift of expression.
If guys like Clooney were truly courageous, they�d tell a story or two which conflicted with their personal beliefs. They�d do so with all of the skill and power that they apply to their pet causes and self-indulgent affirmations. They�d be able to separate the concepts of skill from their supposed infallibility.
This isn�t likely to happen, not in our lifetime, nor in that of our children. Which is too bad. Imagine what we could learn if Hollywood was really brave.
