I am fascinated by your comments, Jneil. I read your review of Witless Protection. Are you seriously equating Larry-bashing to some sort of pre-Nazism or totalitarianism? I, frankly, am not offended by Larry the Cable Guys humor. And, as a peruser of these boards, I find that most of the negative comments about Larry are very much tongue-in-cheek. I would think that as a self-proclaimed fan of high and low-brow comedy, you would have noticed this. You seem intelligent and well-spoken, from your comments, and I am very much disappointed that you would make such silly and catastrophized sentiments.
I find Larry to be almost painfully unamusing. And I am confused by his popularity. So I protest bad comedy with (hopefully) good comedy. I am very much amused by the extreme sensitivity of Larry fans, which I think you may have demonstrated wonderfully with your post and review. I think you've fallen victim to the age-old internet cliche "If people agree with me, its the wonders of freedom of speech and, if they don't, they're Nazis." Freedom of speech, is a two-edged sword, my friend. We are so very lucky to live in a country where people like you and I can voice our contrary opinions. The bad part is that sooner or later someone will say something you or I don't like. It does NOT mean, however, that we're moving towards some sort of ritualistic cleansing of Larry fans.....although that might not be a bad thing :)
Strike first. Strike hard. No mercy.
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Jneil
16 years ago
Well thought out.
Here's what I said at http://www.libertyfilmfestival.com/libertas/?p=9018
As author of the original Filmstew.com article (at http://www.filmstew.com/showArticle.aspx?ContentID=16989) that instigated this discussion, let me make clear that while I don’t regard bad reviews as the equivalent of censorship, when critics make clear that it’s the political content of the film that’s at issue — as did John Anderson’s LA Times review of Witless Protection which lists “misogyny, racism, sexism” as audience cautions — we’re well into the (pick one) Puritan/Stalinist/McCarthyist/Taliban/Singapore/ mindset that is the death of artistic freedom. Witless Protection is no cruder or more brain-numbing than what you’ll find in Scary Movie 4, Eddie Murphy’s The Nutty Professor, or Dumb and Dumberer, yet Larry the Cable Guy is singled out by critics who perceive this character as appealing to the right-wing. As I pointed out in a section of my article not quoted, the comedy targets of Witless Protection are largely the same as Michael Moore’s — overzealous Homeland Security agents, corruption in the federal government, and corruption in big business — yet the major media critics’ bias against anything they perceive as right wing is so herd-like that unless a studio can bypass them with an ample enough promotional budget they can trample the career of anyone of whom they disapprove. If anyone doubts the power of mass media to damage a career, William Randolph Hearst’s vendetta against Orson Welles should be instructive.
It’s not necessary to ban or censor movies to get them to portray the politics you want. It’s just necessary to make them commercially submarginal. Do this to filmmakers and actors you disagree with enough to take them off the white list of those who can be relied on to move product, and nothing Joseph Goebbels thought up would be more effective.
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dukeofcool
16 years ago
I suspect (and keep in mind that I don't have any references for support) that the lively and hateful postings on Larry are not unlike the backlash against any other popular media that is of, ahem, questionable quality. I'm thinking of boy bands and other pop stars (Britney Spears, Michael Jackson) in particular. The problem is that most of the Larry haters (along with 75% of the people posting on the internet) are unimaginative in their writing and result to schoolyard discussion tactics. I find Larry to be annoying and tiresome and find myself puzzled by his popularity. But, then again, I also find most of the anti-Larry comments to be annoying and tiresome. I wouldn't be concerned about the Larry-haters. It's just another instance of backlash against popularity. It isn't the first time and certainly not the last.
Strike first. Strike hard. No mercy.
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