{"id":3723,"date":"2006-03-08T12:33:23","date_gmt":"2006-03-08T20:33:23","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/michaelhans.com\/eclecticism\/2006\/03\/08\/vidal-on-oscars-and-politics\/"},"modified":"2019-12-20T09:17:54","modified_gmt":"2019-12-20T17:17:54","slug":"vidal-on-oscars-and-politics","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/michaelhans.com\/eclecticism\/2006\/03\/08\/vidal-on-oscars-and-politics\/","title":{"rendered":"Vidal on Oscars and Politics"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class='__iawmlf-post-loop-links' style='display:none;' data-iawmlf-post-links='[{&quot;id&quot;:6856,&quot;href&quot;:&quot;http:\\\/\\\/www.amazon.com\\\/exec\\\/obidos\\\/redirect?tag=djwudicom-20%26link_code=xm2%26camp=2025%26creative=165953%26path=http:\\\/\\\/www.amazon.com\\\/gp\\\/redirect.html%253fASIN=B00005OOQ2%2526tag=djwudicom-20%2526lcode=xm2%2526cID=2025%2526ccmID=165953%2526location=\\\/o\\\/ASIN\\\/B00005OOQ2%25253FSubscriptionId=02ZH6J1W0649DTNS6002&quot;,&quot;archived_href&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;redirect_href&quot;:&quot;https:\\\/\\\/www.amazon.com\\\/exec\\\/obidos\\\/redirect?tag=djwudicom-20&amp;link_code=xm2&amp;camp=2025&amp;creative=165953&amp;path=http:\\\/\\\/www.amazon.com\\\/gp\\\/redirect.html%3fASIN=B00005OOQ2%26tag=djwudicom-20%26lcode=xm2%26cID=2025%26ccmID=165953%26location=\\\/o\\\/ASIN\\\/B00005OOQ2%253FSubscriptionId=02ZH6J1W0649DTNS6002&quot;,&quot;checks&quot;:[],&quot;broken&quot;:false,&quot;last_checked&quot;:null,&quot;process&quot;:&quot;done&quot;},{&quot;id&quot;:6857,&quot;href&quot;:&quot;http:\\\/\\\/www.truthdig.com\\\/report\\\/item\\\/20060303_gore_vidal_sex_oscars&quot;,&quot;archived_href&quot;:&quot;https:\\\/\\\/web-wp.archive.org\\\/web\\\/20150708110433\\\/http:\\\/\\\/www.truthdig.com:80\\\/report\\\/item\\\/20060303_gore_vidal_sex_oscars&quot;,&quot;redirect_href&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;checks&quot;:[{&quot;date&quot;:&quot;2026-03-09 09:41:22&quot;,&quot;http_code&quot;:404},{&quot;date&quot;:&quot;2026-04-18 22:40:37&quot;,&quot;http_code&quot;:404}],&quot;broken&quot;:false,&quot;last_checked&quot;:{&quot;date&quot;:&quot;2026-04-18 22:40:37&quot;,&quot;http_code&quot;:404},&quot;process&quot;:&quot;done&quot;},{&quot;id&quot;:6858,&quot;href&quot;:&quot;http:\\\/\\\/www.truthdig.com\\\/report\\\/item\\\/20060308_vidal_terrorism_propaganda_war&quot;,&quot;archived_href&quot;:&quot;https:\\\/\\\/web-wp.archive.org\\\/web\\\/20120807021815\\\/http:\\\/\\\/www.truthdig.com:80\\\/report\\\/item\\\/20060308_vidal_terrorism_propaganda_war\\\/&quot;,&quot;redirect_href&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;checks&quot;:[{&quot;date&quot;:&quot;2026-03-09 09:41:27&quot;,&quot;http_code&quot;:404},{&quot;date&quot;:&quot;2026-04-18 22:40:38&quot;,&quot;http_code&quot;:404}],&quot;broken&quot;:false,&quot;last_checked&quot;:{&quot;date&quot;:&quot;2026-04-18 22:40:38&quot;,&quot;http_code&quot;:404},&quot;process&quot;:&quot;done&quot;},{&quot;id&quot;:6859,&quot;href&quot;:&quot;http:\\\/\\\/www.truthdig.com&quot;,&quot;archived_href&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;redirect_href&quot;:&quot;https:\\\/\\\/www.truthdig.com\\\/&quot;,&quot;checks&quot;:[],&quot;broken&quot;:false,&quot;last_checked&quot;:null,&quot;process&quot;:&quot;done&quot;},{&quot;id&quot;:6860,&quot;href&quot;:&quot;http:\\\/\\\/www.thestranger.com\\\/blog\\\/archives\\\/2006\\\/03\\\/05-11.php#a004702&quot;,&quot;archived_href&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;redirect_href&quot;:&quot;https:\\\/\\\/www.thestranger.com\\\/slog\\\/archives\\\/2006\\\/03\\\/05-11.php&quot;,&quot;checks&quot;:[],&quot;broken&quot;:false,&quot;last_checked&quot;:null,&quot;process&quot;:&quot;done&quot;},{&quot;id&quot;:6221,&quot;href&quot;:&quot;http:\\\/\\\/click.linksynergy.com\\\/fs-bin\\\/click?id=xLsJkztrnNY&amp;offerid=78941.10000170&amp;type=4&amp;subid=0&quot;,&quot;archived_href&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;redirect_href&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;checks&quot;:[],&quot;broken&quot;:false,&quot;last_checked&quot;:null,&quot;process&quot;:&quot;done&quot;},{&quot;id&quot;:6861,&quot;href&quot;:&quot;http:\\\/\\\/click.linksynergy.com\\\/fs-bin\\\/stat?id=xLsJkztrnNY&amp;offerid=78941&amp;type=3&amp;subid=0&amp;tmpid=1826&amp;RD_PARM1=itms%253A%252F%252Fphobos.apple.com%252FWebObjects%252FMZSearch.woa%252Fwa%252Fcom.apple.jingle.search.DirectAction%252FadvancedSearchResults%253FartistTerm%253DKraftwerk%26partnerId%3D30&quot;,&quot;archived_href&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;redirect_href&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;checks&quot;:[],&quot;broken&quot;:false,&quot;last_checked&quot;:null,&quot;process&quot;:&quot;done&quot;}]'><\/div>\n<p>One of these days I&#8217;m actually going to start reading more of Gore Vidal&#8217;s work, as each time I&#8217;ve run across him (beginning with his role as the Democratic incumbent facing down up and coming right-winger <a href=\"http:\/\/www.amazon.com\/exec\/obidos\/redirect?tag=djwudicom-20%26link_code=xm2%26camp=2025%26creative=165953%26path=http:\/\/www.amazon.com\/gp\/redirect.html%253fASIN=B00005OOQ2%2526tag=djwudicom-20%2526lcode=xm2%2526cID=2025%2526ccmID=165953%2526location=\/o\/ASIN\/B00005OOQ2%25253FSubscriptionId=02ZH6J1W0649DTNS6002\" title=\"Live \/ Artisan: Bob Roberts\">Bob Roberts<\/a> in Tim Robbins&#8217; excellent political satire), I&#8217;ve found him fascinating and <em>incredibly<\/em> intelligent.<\/p>\n<p>There&#8217;s a <a href=\"http:\/\/www.truthdig.com\/report\/item\/20060303_gore_vidal_sex_oscars\/\" title=\"TruthDig: Gore Vidal on 'Capote,' 'Brokeback Mountain' --and Why 'Match Point' Is the Best Picture of 2005\">two<\/a> <a href=\"http:\/\/www.truthdig.com\/report\/item\/20060308_vidal_terrorism_propaganda_war\/\" title=\"TruthDig: 'This Place Is Broken'\">part<\/a> interview with Vidal in <a href=\"http:\/\/www.truthdig.com\/\" title=\"TruthDig\">TruthDig<\/a> conducted just before the Oscars that has some wonderful quips in it. <a href=\"http:\/\/www.truthdig.com\/report\/item\/20060303_gore_vidal_sex_oscars\/\" title=\"TruthDig: Gore Vidal on 'Capote,' 'Brokeback Mountain' --and Why 'Match Point' Is the Best Picture of 2005\">Part one<\/a> looks primarily at the then-upcoming Oscars:<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>\n  <strong>If [Brokeback Mountain] were to win an Oscar, would it be a step forward in tolerance? How important is Hollywood in this equation?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>  Well, it never has been, and I don\u2019t see why it should be suddenly now. That it was made at all and that it was made so honestly and so well is a good thing, better than to make a mess out of it, or not try at all&#8230;.<\/p>\n<p>  Look, homophobia is fed into every child in the United States at birth. It is unrelenting, it never lets up. They asked a whole raft of high school boys across the country a couple years ago, one of those polls about what they would most like to be in life, and what \u2026 they would hate to be, and so forth, and what they would most hate to be was homosexual.<\/p>\n<p>  There wasn\u2019t anyone, not one, who just skipped the question. They all said \u201coh no, that\u2019s the worst thing you could be.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>  To get over that training, that\u2019s generation after generation. And it has not done the character of our nation much good. And that\u2019s why we are a joke to the rest of the world, because we carry on about sexual matters everyone else has forgotten about.\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.truthdig.com\/report\/item\/20060308_vidal_terrorism_propaganda_war\/\" title=\"TruthDig: 'This Place Is Broken'\">Part two<\/a> concentrates on more political matters:<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>\n  <strong>This is old news now, but in terms of terrorism, there was a lot of protest against the Palestinian Oscar nominee, \u201cParadise Now,\u201d with a 36,000-person petition to get the film dropped from the roster because it sympathized with \u201cterrorists.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>  Never forget there are 1 billion Muslims on Earth. The United States is far too small a country to play big boss \u2013 and now far too insolvent a country; we have no revenues, we can\u2019t repair our own infrastructure, much less rebuild the cities that we\u2019ve just knocked down in the Middle East. I think we should learn a little modesty, we\u2019re not number one! At invoking terrorism, yes, we\u2019re pretty good at provoking people to hate us. In fact we\u2019ve been quite successful at that. But we live in a small country, a vulnerable country, a country with no defenses, only \u201chomeland security.\u201d But there\u2019s no true security here \u2013 anyone can do anything he wants and will!<\/p>\n<p>  <strong>Right, so now we have these proposals to build a wall on the Texas\/Mexico border, to fill in the tunnels&#8230;.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>  Oh it\u2019s just Looney Time, but you see, we have no educational system for the general public. If you come from a well-to-do family, you get a fairly good education, but you get a lot of propaganda along with it. And we have a media that is quite poisonous and only echoes what the administration\u2014and corporate America, which owns the administration\u2014wants us to hear. So the average person has no information, or what he has is so distorted. How can he make up his mind intelligently on any subject?\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>(via <a href=\"http:\/\/www.thestranger.com\/blog\/archives\/2006\/03\/05-11.php#a004702\" title=\"Slog: Just When You Thought You Never Wanted To Hear Another Word About The Oscars...\">Slog<\/a>)<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/click.linksynergy.com\/fs-bin\/click?id=xLsJkztrnNY&amp;offerid=78941.10000170&amp;type=4&amp;subid=0\" title=\"Get iTunes\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"iTunes\" border=\"0\" width=\"61\" height=\"15\" src=\"http:\/\/images.apple.com\/itunesaffiliates\/logos\/iTunes_sm_bdg61x15.png\" \/><\/a><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" border=\"0\" width=\"1\" height=\"1\" src=\"http:\/\/ad.linksynergy.com\/fs-bin\/show?id=xLsJkztrnNY&amp;bids=78941.10000170&amp;type=4&amp;subid=0\" alt=\"\" \/> &#8220;<a href=\"http:\/\/click.linksynergy.com\/fs-bin\/stat?id=xLsJkztrnNY&amp;offerid=78941&amp;type=3&amp;subid=0&amp;tmpid=1826&amp;RD_PARM1=itms%253A%252F%252Fphobos.apple.com%252FWebObjects%252FMZSearch.woa%252Fwa%252Fcom.apple.jingle.search.DirectAction%252FadvancedSearchResults%253FartistTerm%253DKraftwerk%2526songTerm=Metal on Metal%26partnerId%3D30\" title=\"Search for 'Metal on Metal' on the iTMS\">Metal on Metal<\/a>&#8221; by <a href=\"http:\/\/click.linksynergy.com\/fs-bin\/stat?id=xLsJkztrnNY&amp;offerid=78941&amp;type=3&amp;subid=0&amp;tmpid=1826&amp;RD_PARM1=itms%253A%252F%252Fphobos.apple.com%252FWebObjects%252FMZSearch.woa%252Fwa%252Fcom.apple.jingle.search.DirectAction%252FadvancedSearchResults%253FartistTerm%253DKraftwerk%26partnerId%3D30\" title=\"Search for 'Kraftwerk' on the iTMS\">Kraftwerk<\/a> from the album <em><a href=\"http:\/\/click.linksynergy.com\/fs-bin\/stat?id=xLsJkztrnNY&amp;offerid=78941&amp;type=3&amp;subid=0&amp;tmpid=1826&amp;RD_PARM1=itms%253A%252F%252Fphobos.apple.com%252FWebObjects%252FMZSearch.woa%252Fwa%252Fcom.apple.jingle.search.DirectAction%252FadvancedSearchResults%253FartistTerm%253DKraftwerk%2526albumTerm=Industrial Revolution, 2nd Edition%26partnerId%3D30\" title=\"Search for 'Industrial Revolution, 2nd Edition' on the iTMS\">Industrial Revolution, 2nd Edition<\/a><\/em> (1977, 3:18).<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>One of these days I&#8217;m actually going to start reading more of Gore Vidal&#8217;s work, as each time I&#8217;ve run across him, I&#8217;ve found him fascinating and _incredibly_ intelligent.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2042,2037],"tags":[23,3260,39,14],"class_list":["post-3723","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-politics","category-tv-and-films","tag-film","tag-gore-vidal","tag-links","tag-politics"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/michaelhans.com\/eclecticism\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3723","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/michaelhans.com\/eclecticism\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/michaelhans.com\/eclecticism\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/michaelhans.com\/eclecticism\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/michaelhans.com\/eclecticism\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3723"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/michaelhans.com\/eclecticism\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3723\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/michaelhans.com\/eclecticism\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3723"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/michaelhans.com\/eclecticism\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3723"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/michaelhans.com\/eclecticism\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3723"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}