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On Quentin Tarantino, the Police, and Boycotts
If a conservative limits his filmed entertainment to works produced by people with similar political leanings, he will find himself with few options. Conservative film buffs are long accustomed to overlooking the political views of those who write, direct, and act in the movies. Be a liberal, we say, but please try not to rub our noses in it.
And so when a new movie is released we perform the calculus in our heads as we consider: is there a political message in the film and, if so, is it such that we will find it objectionable? Has the producer or director or any of the actors made public pronouncements on matters that are, in addition to being far outside their field of expertise, condescending or even insulting to anyone who might disagree? If the answer to these questions is “yes,” then is the film of such quality, are the reviews and word-of-mouth are so favorable, that we can put aside differences with our sophisticated betters involved in the production and enjoy it anyway? For example, Jane Fonda occupies the very pinnacle of loathsomeness among celebrities in my view, and yet On Golden Pond was and remains one my favorite movies.
These calculations are not always easy. How stupid were the comments made by the Hollywood personality? If only mildly so, then the film in question need not be all that great to earn our attendance. Indeed, hearing mildly stupid things come from the mouths of Hollywood types scarcely causes us to raise an eyebrow. But it’s when they venture into the realm of the profoundly stupid that we say to ourselves, “Maybe I’ll give his next movie a miss.”
Which brings us to Quentin Tarantino, who recently crossed the line into profound stupidity with his participation in an anti-police rally in New York City last month, a rally held just days after the murder of NYPD officer Randolph Holder. “When I see murders, I do not stand by … I have to call a murder a murder and I have to call the murderers the murderers,” Tarantino told the crowd.
Which is fine, as far as it goes. Murderers should indeed be condemned. But Tarantino, like the morally bankrupt members of the Black Lives Matter movement, is willing to overlook the thousands of killings that occur every year in which the police are not involved, only to focus on the relatively few killings in which they are. And of those, the vast majority are clearly justified, a fact the Washington Post has recently made clear to anyone not blinded to the truth.
In joining the blinkered anti-cop mob, Tarantino has alienated many people who might otherwise be disposed to laying down ten or twelve dollars to see his next movie, The Hateful Eight, which is scheduled for release this Christmas. Police organizations across the country are calling for a boycott of the film. I’ve never been one to participate in organized boycotts, but I’ll be doing the calculus in my head when the movie comes out. I expect I’ll be giving this one a miss.
Image Credit: “Quentin Tarantino” by Gage Skidmore. Licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 via Commons.
Published in Culture, Entertainment, Policing
Tarantino’s comments are especially hypocritical when one considers how he glorifies murder in his films.
Ironically, they’re running the Kill Bill series on TV which we just watched – but I think I’ll pass on his newest too…..
That’s a perfect summation of how I look at what movies I’ll watch (a good example is how I tend to avoid Matt Damon movies but have heard nothing but good about The Martian so I’ll probably watch it). I’ve never been a huge Tarantino fan anyway but this kind of blatant stupidity shouldn’t be supported with what I get to keep out of my paycheck.
Though one of the stars of the film, Kurt Russell has expressed support for the police. I’ve really enjoyed some of QT’s films (hated the first Kill Bill), and am not a fan of boycotts so I’ll just wait to read the reviewers I trust.
Has Quentin stopped using the N word yet? I believe Django set a record for use of the N word.
N word lives matter, he might put it.
If the movie turns out to be really good, you could wait until it comes out on cable.
There are lots of loathsome celebrities, past and present, for reasons political and otherwise. I confess it is easier to enjoy their art after they are deceased and no longer profiting by it. For example, it was easier to buy a Michael Jackson CD when I no longer felt like I was contributing to his legal defense fund.
With Hollywood and rock music being so full of lefties, I tend to give the misguided individuals a big leash before I start thinking about avoiding their work based on politics. I tend to draw the line at actors or filmmakers who directly provide aid to or produce propaganda for brutal dictators and/or enemies of America. Examples include Sean Penn and Oliver Stone. Of course, it’s easy to avoid filmmakers whose work you don’t care much for in the first place.
I liked movie ‘stars’ better when I did not have access to their personal lives. That being said, I am no longer much of a film/TV watcher (apart from hockey games) so casting off a worthless lump of protoplasm like QT is not a difficult decision. His movies don’t amuse me anyway. ( Did I just classify my self as a philistine by saying movie instead of film?)
“I don’t eat swine. Swine is a filthy animal”.
“Yeah, but bacon tastes GOOD. Sausage tastes GOOD!”
Tarantino’s views may make him a swine, but his movies are the bacon.
Yes they are. His ability to write conversations that seem real is very unique.
man, he’s one ugly bastard.
I like some of the moments in some of his movies. It would be a stretch to say I like his movies, though. I certainly don’t go out and watch them by virtue of his name.
Is there a term for when a person begins to take on the physical attributes of their inner thoughts?
If there isn’t, I suggest we call it the “Palpatine Effect”
I was annoyed when I saw a headline about Tarantino’s comments (it didn’t interest me enough to read the story, but I got the gist). I’ll still be seeing The Hateful Eight. Tarantino always delivers entertainment and I appreciate that he makes great movies without an agenda.
His buddy Eli Roth was a lefty in the past, and he still may be, but his latest film is supposed to be an attack on SJWs. Perhaps QT will have a similar awakening. After all, I’ve seen just as many progressives attack his films. The think-pieces on Django Unchained were unbearable.
Jack,
I think going back to his “Reservoir Dogs” Quentin Tarantino is a very sick puppy. These movies aren’t just violent they lionize violence and cruelty. Tarantino is obsessed with it. There is something very wrong with him.
Any adult with an IQ past 98.6 and no pure ideological axe to grind finds the Black Lives Matter people crazy. How you can find the statement All Lives Matter racist is a mystery. Tarantino obviously can’t claim ignorance. He has never been that ideological either. Then what is it with him?
It is as if he has some deep personal problem that he is acting out. I really don’t find him close to being rational about any of this.
Regards,
Jim
That seems like a reasonable metric. I ran into a similar problem with the death metal band Dissection. The lead guitarist/vocalist was a murderer, and to my knowledge unrepentant. Being Swedish, he didn’t get life in prison. Fortunately he killed himself before I discovered their music or I would’ve been conflicted about supporting the band with my money.
His movies make considerable amounts of money. Perhaps, there is something very wrong with consumers.
I won’t watch any of his work again. I can tell you that.
This whole anti police and soft on crime kick the country has recently turned to (and Libertarians beware, you’re coming awfully close too) is on path to bringing us back to the crime waves of the 70’s and 80’s.
Sorry Jack but for me she peak at Barbarella:
Clearly this was the peak of her intellectual gravitas for public commentary.
Never saw it. How many Oscars did that one win?
Tarantino has an incredible gift for writing dialogue, and creating set pieces – but I do think there endeth the lesson. Django was a mess. Kill Bill was fun but overblown, to the point where I’m watching a woman roll down the side of a highway at night as part of one scene, and its interminable – because it’s so obviously a stuntwoman doing the roll so consistently and athletically the East German judges gave her a 9.2 on it.
Which means, I think, that Q’s been living a Tarantino lifestyle for too long, and he’s happily disconnected from the reality the rest of us live in. So he’ll say stupid things, and do stupid things. And his movies are likely to get worse, not better.
Ignore him, as you should for all things you don’t need to live and flourish in life, and you’ll be happier.
If you thought it glorified violence, you must have watched a different Reservoir Dogs than I did.
Perhaps consumers know good entertainment when they see it.