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Eerie Silence in Hollywood as Anti-War Stars Vanish
...and Thank God for that.Where has the Hollywood anti-war lobby gone? In the weeks leading up to war in Iraq actors Martin Sheen, Mike Farrell, Sean Penn and Janeane Garofalo joined a cast of thousands in a fierce Hollywood resistance played out in protest marches and from the sofas of television talk shows. But with the war in its waning hours, all is quiet on the western coast â leading conservatives to suggest that Garofalo and her fellow travelers are in full retreat from a public backlash and feeling chastened by a swift American victory. Are we sure the black helicopters haven't rounded them up and put them in the re-education camps? Liberals fear Hollywood's left-wing stars are being muzzled and their careers placed in jeopardy from what actor Tim Robbins, called in a recent speech a "climate of fear." Climate of fear! Blacklist! McCarthyism! How about "Sick of a**holes and their bulls**t"?
Jeez, Mike. Don't get all pissy on us. You lost. Take it like a man. Garofalo, working hard on her upcoming ABC sitcom, did not respond to interview requests for this story. But she told the Washington Post last week that her anti-war stance had been a "positive" experience that had helped her career. "Before this I was a moderately well-known character actress," she told the paper. "Now, I'm almost famous." Like Tokyo Rose! Anybody want to lay odds on how long her sitcom lasts? A spokeswoman for Penn, who infuriated many Americans by visiting Iraq in December on his own fact-finding mission, said the actor was not granting interviews. Sheen's publicist said the man who plays president on "The West Wing" was "not talking to anybody right now." Penn's probably busy shopping for new guns, and make believe President is probably too busy making believe all this never happened. Farrell lamented the backlash to celebrities who spoke out â notably in the case of the Dixie Chicks. Farrell said the backlash came from a small number of Americans galvanized by the Bush administration and conservative radio talk show hosts. "There was a well-orchestrated campaign to do that through hate radio and Web sites and voices that sprang from the (Bush) administration and said 'take your choice, you're with us or with the terrorists,"' he said. That damn hate radio! How dare they think they've got the same rights that a star like me does! "But the Dixie Chicks are back on the air and their record is number one again," he said. "Tim Robbins and Susan Sarandon are not going to stop making movies for a long time. Janeane Garofalo has a (TV) pilot going forward. These ugly-mouthed people like to think they are more powerful than they are." The last poll I saw was something like 70% in favor of the war. That's a lot of "ugly mouth people". I think some of them buy CD's, watch TV, and go to movies.If they vote with their wallets, they may be more powerful then you think, Mikey. Farrell said that the ability of U.S. troops to topple Saddam Hussein regime in relatively short order has not softened his opposition to the war. "An illegal war is an illegal war no matter what the result. We'll never know now what could have been achieved through peaceful means." Yes, we do. Nothing. Status quo. Now? One less a**hole in the world that we don't have to deal with. Prof. Howard Suber, founding director of UCLA's film and television producer's program, said the eerie silence from Hollywood was to be expected once American troops were on the ground in Iraq. "It's one thing to oppose the war and it's another thing entirely to appear that you are supporting the enemy," Suber said. "That's the trap Jane Fonda fell into when she went to North Vietnam (during the Vietnam War) and was a labeled traitor. I know of no public figure who supported Saddam, so once the troops are in the field you've got to shut up." But, he added: "To suggest they've been muzzled I think is bull. They've just got nothing to say. Once the deed is done there's nothing to say until the next time." A professor with common sense. How often do you see that? Allan Mayer, a top Hollywood crisis public relations manager, said a few performers not used to dabbling in politics had been given a wake-up call by the blistering public response to their remarks. "Clearly Natalie Maines didn't have an inkling of the kind of reaction she was going to provoke," Mayer said, adding, "There's a level of vitriol in the air that I haven't seen since the Vietnam War."
Posted by: tu3031 2003-04-28 |
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