Who Made Hollywood Icons Moral Authorities?

Townhall.com ^ | January 7, 2020 | Michael Brown

[Kaslin]

Did you ever stop to wonder who granted moral authority to famous actors and actresses? Did you ever ask yourself why their opinions should carry extra weight? After all, it’s one thing to be a certain person, such as a political leader or an athlete or a cancer survivor and to speak from your experience. It’s another thing to make believe you were that person. How does making believe qualify you to speak?

At the moment, Ricky Gervais’ scathing takedown of woke Hollywood at the Golden Globes Sunday night is getting all the attention it deserves. And, according to the Daily Wire’s Ryan Saavedra, “The reaction to Gervais’ speech appeared to be overwhelmingly positive among people who do not work in the news, media, or entertainment industries.”

But Gervais’ frontal assault on Hollywood hypocrisy begs a deeper question: why should we even care what Hollywood icons have to say?

We can admire their giftings. Some of them are incredibly gifted.

We can appreciate their hard work and, at times, even sacrificial efforts to present memorable moments in film. Some of them go to extreme lengths to play a particular part, immersing themselves in the characters they portray, and viewers benefit from their efforts.

Directors and screenwriters and animators and others also use their skills to produce some amazing movies and shows. And it’s fine to appreciate and respect what they do.

At the same time, none of this qualifies them to be moral authorities, and we should pay no more attention to their opinions than to the opinions of our neighbor next door.

In fact, to some degree, we should pay less attention to their opinions.

That’s because some of them are quite immoral personally, not to mention living an elite, ultra-wealthy bubble.

Some have deep personal issues, from emotional struggles to family breakdowns and more.

Why should we say to them, “Please share your views with me on marriage and relationships and the meaning of life”?

Some Hollywood performers are seductresses, baring their bodies for millions to see, becoming objects of lust and sexual fantasy. Should I question my pro-life values because they are pro-abortion? Should this matter to me?

Others glorify violence in the most extreme forms imaginable (or should I say unimaginable)?

People are sliced up or shot up or chopped up. Eyes are ripped out or poked out or pulled out. Human beings, created in the image of God, are torn to pieces or blown to pieces or tortured or maimed or slaughtered. Blood gushes on the screen as heads are torn off and limbs are detached – all for our entertainment.

And to keep our interest, the violence has to become more intense, more graphic, more repulsive.

Yet the very actors who play these murderous roles and the producers who fund these bloody pictures now want to lecture us about gun control or foreign policy. Seriously? To repeat: why on earth should we care?

Do these icons have the right to express their opinions? Of course they do.

Do they have the right to use their fame as a platform to disseminate their message? Without a doubt.

But that doesn’t mean that we have to listen. And it certainly doesn’t mean that they have some kind of moral, high horse on which to stand. Really, now. Since when does Hollywood get to preach morality?

While listening to an audio course on the French Revolution, I found it interesting that, at one point in 18th Century France, the moral credibility of professional actors was deeply questioned. After all, they made their living by pretending to be who they were not. Maybe they are acting now? Who are they, really?

As noted by the author of an article posted on the Ordinary Times (this quote is from the author’s interaction with readers in the comments section): “Society has always been hypocritical with performing artists and this leads to continued disrespect for this day. Actors at various points have been considered no better and often closely linked to prostitutes. Actors were not able to get proper burial in France until the French Revolution abolished the power of the Church to control burials.”

But when it comes to actors today, they are often exalted beyond all measure, as if they could really fly through the air or really had supernatural powers or really were equal to everyone they ever portrayed.

The fact is, they are as human as the rest of us and certainly, just as flawed. And while we can appreciate the fine people who are in Hollywood and be thrilled to see a powerful, godly, moral witness that is emerging, let’s stay real.

Hollywood has made billions of dollars on immorality and violence, on mocking God and demeaning people of faith, on sending mixed and even perverted messages.

It’s time that Hollywood preach to itself.

Perhaps Ricky Gervais will start a trend? And perhaps we could pick up where he left off: Yes, you’re a bunch of compromised hypocrites. But there’s good news. Jesus died for people just like you!

[frank ballenger]

Just think long before the Kardashians and Alyssa Milano people got guidance from the Bible,religious leaders, grandparents and perhaps Ralph Waldo Emerson or the Founding Fathers.

None of them could even tweet or be liked on Facebook.

[bk1000]

When moderately intelligent people are surrounded by sycophants constantly telling them how wonderful they are, and that they are “stars”, it eventually goes to their head.

[dforest]

Well, who made petty little high school dropouts, sluts, male whores that pretend all the time for a living “ICONS”?

[Grampa Dave]

Gervais’ frontal assault on Hollywood hypocrisy begs a deeper question: why should we even care what Hollywood icons have to say?

“There seems to have been an actual decline in rational thinking. The United States had become a place where entertainers and former athletes like are mistaken for people of importance.

They were idolized and treated as leaders; their opinions were sought on everything and they took themselves just as seriously — after all, if an entertainer is paid a million or more a year, he knows he is important … so his opinions of foreign affairs and domestic policies must be important, too, even though he proves himself to be both ignorant and subliterate every time he opens his mouth. (Most of his fans were just as ignorant and unlettered; the disease was spreading.)”

Robert A. Heinlein, To Sail Beyond the Sunset!

[susannah59]

I’ve never understood it. Why would I be interested in the opinions of people who play dress-up and make-believe for a living?

Unfortunately a lot of people are not of the same mindset.

[Grampa Dave]

Anthony Hopkins on Why He Doesn’t Talk About Politics: ‘Actors Are Pretty Stupid’

In a conversation with fellow actor Brad Pitt for a lengthy chat for Interview magazine, Anthony Hopkins explained why he seldom — actually: never — talks about politics... and why he’s not a big fan of other actors talking about politics either. In short: “Actors are pretty stupid.”

“People ask me questions about present situations in life, and I say, ‘I don’t know, I’m just an actor,’” Hopkins told Pitt. “ I don’t have any opinions. Actors are pretty stupid. My opinion is not worth anything. There’s no controversy for me, so don’t engage me in it, because I’m not going to participate.”

https://docs.google.com/document/d/17ji7tA4swAkqBooxinjnLwGsSMT9qe1gcmuDihDoCjM/edit

[Right Wing Assault]

Who Made Hollywood Icons Moral Authorities?

Remember, they are actors/actresses who are paid to read and act out what is in scripts they are handed.

When questioned what they do, the honest ones would say, "I play a Moral Authority and a Climate Scientist on TV and in the movies."

[frank ballenger]

Actor Dan Blocker who played Hoss on Bonanza said he was often confronted by sincere fans who questioned him about his apparent home life with Adam and Ben Cartwright on the ranch.

He told them “I play a role using a script and we do the filming then I go to my own home.” Some would insist “No, I mean when you’re at home after work with Adam and Ben on the Ponderosa.”

Many fans asked Leonard Nimoy searching philosophical questions to get his tremendous Spock intelligence to solve them. Never could convince some that he only read a script on TV shows.

[Grampa Dave]

Thanks for posting the reality you posted.

If you don’t like Follywood, don’t support them with your $’s and giving hits to their sites which become money they didn’t earn.

Douglas KC:

“I’ve been thinking about that a lot as well. We pay these idiots to entertain us. They are like court jesters. We are the court and they are the fools. They are there at our pleasure. They serve until we think they’re not entertaining anymore. I think there are some in the court who are “entertained” by these idiots spouting off about social issues. This entertainment has become monetized in the form of becoming “politically correct” and getting access to jobs that the fools might not otherwise get. However the fools fail to see that their first job is to entertain the court and not cater to the few who only care about their political and social stance.”

[qam1]

Liberals

Liberalism is a mental disorder, and one symptom of that mental disorder is stunted growth.

One way (among many) that manifest itself is Liberals will continue to worship celebrities throughout adulthood, where as most people with normal functioning brains outgrow that phase after their teens.

Liberals are also miserable people who lead miserable lives, so they following celebrities and try and live their lives through them in order to dull the pain of their miserable existence. Conservatives meanwhile live their lives through their spouse, children, work, church, ect. and have no need to follow celebrities or anyone else to validate themselves.

[Jim Noble]

Who Made Hollywood Icons Moral Authorities?

The morons who consume their product.

Never forget, Hillary Clinton got 65 million votes for President only three years ago. It's later than you think.

[Sicon]

Who Made Hollywood Icons Moral Authorities?

Morons, and the media. Yes, that's redundant.

[heavy metal]

harveywood...

[Da Coyote]

The comment that the majority of these loons have less eddikashun than Greta nobrain says it all.

[workerbee]

You win Post of the Day!

[neverevergiveup]

Same question about pseudo-journalist news readers.

[caww]

I’ve found many actors ‘promoted’ today lack true acting ability and are way over-rated as being so. Additionaly it appears their own industry is as corrupt as Washington. So they should clean up their own backyards before they tell anyone else what to think or do.

[polymuser]

Rich and famous for being good at pretending to be someone else.

Not much true self-esteem in that, is there?

So, they jump onto a hot SJW issue to create “their own voice”, knowing it will go “out there” widely. Not because of its logic, but only because of their fame.

Pure ego.

[hinckley buzzard]

The first one I can recall was years ago when Marlon Brando used the Oscars as a platform to criticize our treatment of native Americans. It was newsworthy at the time. Now it would be mild and banal in comparison to the feverish rants we see routinely.

[familyop]

"Who Made Hollywood Icons Moral Authorities?"

Another question might be, "Who pays them to issue propaganda against the U.S.A.?"