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The Courage of Their Convictions
This year, however, I decided to watch again. I wanted to see who made
the choice to display an emblem of peace on their multi-hundred dollar
attire, and who had the courage to donate some of their time at the
podium to the peace movement.
Overall what I saw was very encouraging. I saw a total of thirty people
with silver dove pins or peace symbols on their lapels and gowns shown
on camera while in their seats or at the podium. Eight people
used their time at the podium to speak for peace, against war or at
least to acknowledge that people are suffering because of war. No
statements were made in specific support of the invasion of Iraq, though
caring and respect was shown for the welfare of the men and women
ordered into the hell of combat.
It may seem a small thing to wear a pin or speak your mind, but in a
town where "it's not what you know, it's who you know" taking such a
simple action can also be putting your livelihood the line. Perhaps
more treacherous is the possibility that one may no longer be 'allowed'
to practice one's art. Any artist can tell you that risking the loss of
the ability to practice your craft is risking utter heartbreak. For
many artists, losing the ability to make art takes with it the will to
live. Any artist with even a cursory knowledge of American history
knows about the Hollywood 'blacklist' of McCarthyism and knows that a
recurrence of such a witch hunt is more likely now than at any time
since.
Neoconservative McCarthyism has raised it's vile head a few times in
Hollywood recently. Sean Penn is suing a producer who Penn says dropped
him from a project after Penn visited Iraq and wrote an open letter to
Bush criticizing the rush to war. Martin Sheen was asked to tone down
his activism and responded with an essay about the democratic right of
artists to express their opinions publicly, just as any citizen has that
right, without being accused of being 'un-american' or 'unpatriotic.'
Newscasters, pundits, talk show hosts, radio 'personalities' and members
of the Bush administration have criticized artists and celebrities who
have spoken out against this war. In some cases it's been mild teasing,
in other cases it's been vindictive and cruel, sometimes even
threatening.
Those artists who made a statement for peace at the Academy Awards
tonight have both conviction and the courage to back it up. Their
belief that the war against Iraq is an unjust and unnecessary war is
strong enough that they are willing to risk their ability to practice
their art, their ability to work at their chosen craft in order to make a
statement against the war. I'm not making an attempt to equate such risks
with laying your life on the line for what you believe in as the peace
activists and soldiers who are in Iraq tonight are doing. However the
courage to take such risks is no less deserved of respect and praise.
Here are the words of those spoke out for peace, against war and it's
effects, or against the current political climate, while on stage:
Chris Cooper broke the ice with:
Gael Garcia Bernal:
Michael Moore:
Adrian Brody:
Barbra Streisand:
Nicole Kidman:
Frank Pierson (academy president):
Pedro Almodovar:
Of these statements, Adrian Brody's was by far the most eloquent, the
most moving and the most powerful. It was made even more so by the fact
that the orchestra had begun to play to signal that his time was up, but
he admonished them to stop playing so he could speak his peace
(literally and figuratively.) The enthusiastic appreciation of the
standing ovation which followed made his words yet more powerful as the
vast majority of his peers in attendance added their support of his
sentiments by their ovation.
Michael Moore's acceptance speech will get far more media attention than
Brody's however. In perfect Michael Moore style, he expressed raw
indignation and ire with no holds barred. Those who booed seemed to
do so with premeditation, as if they had already decided to boo him
before he opened his mouth. This caused Moore to have to yell to be
heard above them, adding a harshness to the moment. Though I'm quite
fond of Michael Moore's movies, books and politics, my first reaction
was that he had gone too far and that others who followed him later in
the evening would be less inclined to speak out because of it. The
tension in the air was quite palpable for several minutes after Moore
left the stage. Then again there are times and situations which perhaps
require that we go a bit 'too far' and this is surely one of those
times.
Showing their awareness of these times, the following artists (and a few
producers) were seen on camera at the 75th Academy Awards wearing either
a silver dove or a peace symbol and/or flashed a peace sign while on
camera: (in relative order of appearance) Amy Madigan, Josh Brolin,
Harvey Weinstein, Chris Cooper, Rob Marshall, Don Carmody, Sir Ben
Kingsley, Adrian Brody, Sylvia Plachy, Richard Gere, Brendan Fraser,
Salma Hayek, Beatrice De Alba, Michael Douglas, Daniel Day Lewis, Julie
Taymor, Martin Scorsese, David Lee, Michael Moore, Michael Donovan,
Colin Farrell, Bono, Gina Davis, Susan Sarandon, Pedro Aldomovar, Scott
Rudin, Stephen Daldry, Joel Grey, Angelica Huston and Meryl Streep.
Two lapels had small pins the shape or form of which I could not
identify, those of Peter O.Toole and Kirk Douglas. Douglas had a strip
of blue ribbon visible under his lapel pin as well. Frank Pierson was
wearing either a button with the Oscar statue on it, or a yellow ribbon
on a black background, it was difficult to see which.
The evening saw only three lapel items which could be construed as
pro-war. The wearers may not have intended those symbols to be a
statement of support for the war, but the neoconservatives have done a
thorough enough job of co-opting those symbols that most of us tend to
read them as pro-war. Specifically I'm referring to Texan Matthew
McConaughey's red, white and blue boutonniere, Jon Voight's American
flag lapel pin, and Chad Lowe's yellow ribbon. Of these, Jon Voight's
is likely the only one which could be interpreted as something other
than a pro-war sentiment, unless Chad Lowe is a big Tony Orlando & Dawn
fan or too young to remember "Desert Storm." Any doubt about the
meaning of McConaughey's red, white and blue boutonniere was forcefully
removed after Adrian Brody's eloquent and moving words about the
dehumanization of people in times of war and the resultant standing
ovation. As Brody was leaving the stage and Dustin Hoffman was doing
the intro to his presentation, we were shown a close-up of McConaughey as
he sat fuming and clenching his jaws with the tension of trying to
restrain a very visible anger.
Begrudgingly I must admit to having more respect for those who chose to
express their pro-war views with their lapel-wear than I have for those
who are against this war but chose to make no statement at all.
Earlier this week Artists United to Win Without War circulated a press
release which announced Dustin Hoffman, Julianne Moore and Ben Affleck,
among others, had agreed to wear pins showing a blue peace sign on a
green background specially designed for the event. Kathy Bates was
named with others reported to have agreed to wear one of the Dove of Peace pins
provided by Global Vision for Peace. But these artists chose not to
follow through. Apparently these four lacked the courage of their
convictions. Perhaps the fear of Neoconservative yellow-ribbon
McCarthyism backlash was too much for them. Or perhaps they simply
forgot that silence equals complicity.
###
Steven Shults is a stage actor, director, activist and co-editor of http://inlet.org
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