Continuing with a theme from the previous post, because all things are connected in some way, let us speak of Mel Gibson and Hollywood. Gibson was dropped from WME last week. Media outlets touted the move as a moral decision based on the star's recording threats against his way and racist statements. cynics knew it was about money instead. Here is a bemusing take on the money rationale.The gist of the linked article is Gibson has become a pariah in Hollywood not because of threatening to kill his wife, but because of the racist statements. I find both violence against women and racism vile, but someone who uses the ’n” word is a an unpleasant man to be avoided socially. A man who threatens to murder his wife is a guy you lock up. So why is Hollywood willing to forgive the latter (witness Charlie Sheen and Roman Polaski) while considering the former the former the unpardonable sin?
Do not get me wrong. Either one of those ought to negatively affect your opinion of Gibson and anyone else who indulges in such behavior. What I am baffled by is the next step beyond. A wife beater is can still be box office gold if rehabilitated, but a racist cannot.
Talk about the skewed progressive values of Hollywood. If you think the worse attitude women face in Hollywood is a short career because of age discrimination, you are not looking at the whole picture.
But let us be honest about Gibson in particular. What was the last Gibson film you really liked?
I am not counting The Passion of the Christ because it is one of those films I felt obligated to see once to find out what all the fuss was about and will probably never watch again. It is not a film I would decide to pop in the DVD player on some idle night--assuming I would ever buy it in the first place. Consider, too, Gibson’s anti-Semitism and obvious propensity for violence whe recalling the film’s theme.
I think I would have to go all the way back to 1992’s Lethal Weapon 3 to find the last Gibson film worthy of repeat viewing. I am not a particular fan of Braeheart. It is another one of those films in which one viewing goes a long way. Gibson’s talent is dwindling further as time goes on.
Look at him while you are at it. He is an alcoholic who has chain smoked for forty years. He does not look like he will even live another decade, much less be able to rehabilitate his career. He has one movie called The Beaver already in post production which is very likely to fly as low under the radar as possible and still allow the studio to recoup production costs.
So while it all still down to money, I find it odd that wife beating, alcoholism, anti-Semitism, and child rape (In Polanski’s case) are forgivable, but racism is the final straw. We you really think about it, that means women, Jews, children, and blacks ought to steer as clear of Hollywood as possible. There is a lot o vile stuff going on there.
