Apparently, some modern actress was fired from her role as a Strong Female Warrior on a show about space wizards. She seems to have said some things on social media that goes against the modern social justice zeitgeist. She's not the first.
It occurred to me this morning that the witch trials of the 21st Century are nothing more than people being caught in the social media trap. They have boundless opportunities to speak their minds even if there is very little in their heads to share. The nation is full of zealous witch-hunters, desperate to find and burn a witch. It's a combustible combination.
Back in the old days, there were a handful of Hollywood gossip tabloids. The only time we discovered what a Clairol-brained actress thought was when they were deliberately interviewed by a slavering fame-addict of a reportress. The reportress had a vested interest in protecting the actress from stupidity because she needed to maintain her access to the stars. Nowadays, we know what almost all of them think, much to everyone's detriment. They're not Thomas Sowell, after all.
Right after I retired and before I went back to work, I looked into taking culinary lessons at the local JC. The initial, mandatory classes were all about food and kitchen safety. They had titles like, "How not to be tried for manslaughter for accidentally stabbing your sous chef" and "Why biological poisoning of the guests isn't good for business." Or something like that. It made sense. Safety first!
With the introduction of social media sans instructions for celebrities on how to use it without torching their careers, we've opened up a whole new avenue of stabbings and poisonings in our analogical entertainment restaurant.
Carrying that tortured analogy a bit farther, you'd have to think you'd eventually run out of chefs, maître d's and wait staff. As much as we like to bash our entertainers, many of them really are uniquely gifted. I'd hate to have seen Clark Gable replaced by Gary Cooper in Gone With The Wind because Clark tweeted out that he really liked bimetalism and was subsequently tried as a witch.
As I watch the witches burn, I keep wondering how this will all end. Will we run out of star players? Will we question the witch trials because they don't yield the social justice results we seek? Or will we continue purging because no matter how many witches we burn, there's always another community theater actress to take their place?
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| I'm beyond grateful that Olivia de Havilland didn't have access to social media. |
" there's always another community theater actress to take their place"
ReplyDeleteI think that is a key point. For every actor who won the "Become a Hollywood Star" lottery, there are hundreds if not thousands of others who didn't make it, want in badly, and are more than happy to jump in and take the place of the fallen. So, the supply of celebrities really is pretty much inexhaustible. And, they probably don't even view the number of celebrities being torn down as a problem, because that is the only way the wannabe celebrities are ever going to have a chance at a slot. A lot of them may even be participating in the tearing-down themselves just to get what they want.
Plus, rookies get paid less than established stars.
ReplyDeleteAll snarking aside, the actress, Gina Carano, has just signed with Ben Shapiro's Daily Wire to produce and direct a film for them. That's absolute genius and how the whole woke tyranny will die. Cancel someone with talent and banish them from the left and the right will pick them up and give them opportunities.
ReplyDeleteNote: Tom Brady is a supporter of Donald Trump. There's some serious talent out there, waiting to be picked up by someone who will let them work without constantly having to watch every word and every move.
Excellent.
K T Cat,
ReplyDeleteAll snarking aside, the actress, Gina Carano, has just signed with Ben Shapiro's Daily Wire to produce and direct a film for them. That's absolute genius and how the whole woke tyranny will die. Cancel someone with talent and banish them from the left and the right will pick them up and give them opportunities.
This is a great example of why canceling, when done by the left or the right, is not really the disaster some portray it as.
One Brow
ReplyDeleteThis is a great example of why canceling ... is not really the disaster some portray it as.
Are you so sure? Perhaps it is not when a celebrity gets cancelled, but would you want to get cancelled and lose your job? I know I wouldn't. Such an event could be catastrophic to someone like me (and I suspect likewise for you). I’m afraid that “cancelling” is the modern version of burning at the stake. I also believe that anyone who tries to cancel anyone, for any reason, from the left or the right, should be ignored. I personally would rather allow everyone to speak their mind, even if as KT says there is very little in their heads to share.
Agreed.
ReplyDeleteBut look what you have to say here:
ReplyDeletehttps://ktcatspost.blogspot.com/2017/09/somewhere-nfl-marketing-exec-is-beating.html
Compare and contrast.
Ohioan@Heart,
ReplyDeleteAre you so sure? Perhaps it is not when a celebrity gets cancelled, but would you want to get cancelled and lose your job? I know I wouldn't. Such an event could be catastrophic to someone like me (and I suspect likewise for you). I’m afraid that “cancelling” is the modern version of burning at the stake. I also believe that anyone who tries to cancel anyone, for any reason, from the left or the right, should be ignored. I personally would rather allow everyone to speak their mind, even if as KT says there is very little in their heads to share.
I have lost many jobs over the years. There's always another job for someone who is talented. There will always be a boss who doesn't care that you called the cops on the guy who asked you to put your dog on a leash like the law says, or assaulted a teenager because you think they stole your phone, etc. Some bosses will hire you because you did it.
For celebrities, professional athletes, etc., I agree that because there are fewer opportunities, you might find yourself unable to work. That's part of the risk involved in joining that visible of a profession in the first place. Even then, you'll still find work with people who support whatever you said.