It's a competitive bout of conservative-bashing out of the Michael Richards N-word rant at the Laugh Factory. Newsweek had two columns from black staffers, both mentioning George Allen and "Macaca." Time just had one, by the white TV critic James Poniewozik, but in referring to Richards, Mel Gibson, and the canceled O.J. Simpson special, he works in Allen, the RNC Harold-Ford-mocking ad, and Rush Limbaugh's alleged hate for Michael J. Fox:
All this followed an election whose lowlights were the macaca incident, an ad playing off miscegenation fears and a radio host mocking a disabled man. It's as if the U.S. were experiencing collective Tourette's, regurgitating decades of dutifully sublimated hate--Borat, with real people. As disturbing as the bigotry was the role of the people expressing it. Politicians and entertainers, after all, succeed by knowing our hearts and minds. We are, in a real way, implicated in their achievement and their disgrace. So you'd think this explosion of public ugliness might spur some kind of national soul searching. Did we somehow encourage their bigotry, by ignoring softer forms of it in our pop culture? Did they think on some level, conscious or not, that they spoke for us? Were they right?
Poniewozik actually tries to blame the Richards meltdown on American society in general. The headline is "The Kramer In All of Us: As Hollywood goes nuts, maybe the audience needs to examine itself too".
There is the risk, of course, that we let the racist off the hook by asking what his words say about ourselves. Richards seemed to be going for that onstage: "It shocks you, to see what's buried beneath you!" Yet he was not entirely wrong--there is ugliness buried in people--and it's our responsibility as culture consumers to ask where he might be right. Some people swore off Seinfeld reruns after Richards' explosion. I say watch them again, and think about how the comically ugly characters reflect him, and you. You might find that looking at Seinfeld this way--learning, if not hugging--makes the humor deeper and maybe even funnier. Look to the cookie, indeed. But look to yourself too.
The other "risk, of course," is that Poniewozik wants to examine all of America, but he doesn't specifically explore the hecklers who started the fight, and are now trying to squeeze money out of their rudeness. It's also fascinating that Poniewozik would suddenly find that we have "responsibility as culture consumers" when earlier this year, he was decrying our Parents Television Council as "useless." So I guess he doesn't have a column inside his head ready to declare that when we see sexual or violent "ugliness" on TV, perhaps we should ask if it's all buried within us, and we should confess it and reject it. Brent Bozell touched on that here.
—Tim Graham is Director of Media Analysis at the Media Research Center.
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doublethink
November 30, 2006 - 15:21 ET by iveseenitallLiberal doublethink in action. Relativism at is liberal best (or worst). It's a little late, but 1984 here we come.
NEVER,NEVER trust a liberal
Liberal doublethink, hmmmmmm,
November 30, 2006 - 16:00 ET by Clear thinkerLiberal doublethink, hmmmmmm, is that even possible? I always thought that libs use feelings instead of brains to make decisions.
Poniewozik and his ilk are
November 30, 2006 - 15:39 ET by bigtimerPoniewozik and his ilk are the real problem..... period.
People fold like an accordion afraid to speak out or up for their own beliefs without being labeled racists...that is unless you are a defeatocrat in the defeatocrat party and you have the msm in your corner aiming for the same agenda...you can say anything, anytime, anywhere that could be taken as racist, it will be mentioned very little, or not at all, or just have lots and lots of explanations for what it must of really meant in the leftist views and the protection goes on if you have a 'D' behind your name.....
Hypocrites all.
Right
November 30, 2006 - 15:54 ET by iveseenitallRight on , Bigtimer. As long as you have a "D" behind your name, you're excused. Colmes was on BOR defending DeVito when O'Reilly correctly slammed him as a "hater". Even when caught red handed, the libs deny the obvious.
NEVER,NEVER trust a liberal
Totally misses the point
November 30, 2006 - 16:17 ET by exLibHere's a guy, like all liberals, that won't acknowledge his own sin.
So what does he do but tries everyone else in the court of "public" opinion.
As A Christian I am of the belief that ALL have sinned and fall short. This means NOONE can come along and point to someone else and say I am better than you. Yet here is a guy who wants to start pointing fingers at Conservatives in the Media.
I agree with the above that Brent has done an admirable job trying to combat the relentless onslaught of immoral grabage that THE MEDIA is foisting upon it's public and that it does reflect society that allot of that garbage is being "eaten" by the consumer. However I also believe that if people are pandered to their baser instincts that they will eventually give in to it.
I think the author above needs to look at Media in general and then look at himself and see what inside of them is moving them to produce material that is not 1/2 as successful as stuff that was put out years ago that at least had some positive and redeeming social value.
Today it seems like the majority of movies and music and TV all have SOME ax to grind with conservatives, republicans and especially the Bush Admin as we saw with Devito and the audience giggling like school girls at his antics.
TIME v. Kramer
November 30, 2006 - 17:08 ET by chinesearithmeticHis side won, and we're still bad people.
Yes, let's all look to ours
November 30, 2006 - 17:28 ET by PSOSYes, let's all look to ourselves and acknowledge our collective racism. If we could all just sit naked and join hands and sing Kumbaya together, we would realize that we all come from the same stardust and we're all one in harmony with Mother Earth. So if one of us is a racist, we're all racists and we're all guilty. And we here on NewsBusters are the guiltiest of all for failing to accept our racism and burden ourselves with white guilt. To make amends, every one of us should join Mr. Richards in sending a check to his victims, whom we have all psychologically tortured with Richards' words. Tim Graham especially should chip in for his intolerant use of logic in preparing this article.
-Patrick
"The conscience of the Conservative is pricked by anyone who would debase the dignity of the individual human being." - Barry Goldwater
PSOS....Ummm....er....can I p
November 30, 2006 - 17:42 ET by bigtimerPSOS....Ummm....er....can I please be excused? Pretty please?
Well, since excuses are the
November 30, 2006 - 17:58 ET by PSOSWell, since excuses are the basis of liberalism ... sure! ;)
PSOS...Okay okay...you shamed
November 30, 2006 - 18:14 ET by bigtimerPSOS...
Okay okay...you shamed me into it! I will not be put in any way, shape, or form into a liberal class of people for any reason....I'll make the check out!
Kumbaya
November 30, 2006 - 18:04 ET by misterbillKumbaya?? Sit naked?? When you get as old as I am you know why God invented clothes. Mother Earth has more wrinkles than a prune. However, you should have all the checks sent to me and I will see that they are fairly distributed.
NOT!!!!