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Print I read recently that Linda Ronstadt was booed then booted from a casino because in the middle of a concert she praised Michael Moore and the movie Fahrenheit 911. According to MSN Entertainment, she “called Moore a ‘great American patriot’ and ‘someone who is spreading the truth.’” After she made these comments people started walking out, ripping up posters, booed her, and management wouldn’t allow her back into her luxury suite. This follows another article I’d read in which Elton John was attacking “censorship” in the U.S. According to BBC News, Elton John stated, “There was a moment about a year ago when you couldn’t say a word about anything in this country for fear of your career being shot down by people saying you are un-American”. Performers may be “frightened by the current administration’s bullying tactics”. He then likened what’s going on now to “McCarthyism in the 1950s”. According to him, things were different in the 1960s: “People like Bob Dylan, Nina Simone, The Beatles and Pete Seeger were constantly writing and talking about what was going on.” However, today, according to him, things are different. “On the one hand, you have someone like Toby Keith, who has come out and been very supportive of the Bush administration and the war in Iraq… But, on the other hand, the Dixie Chicks got shot down in flames last year for criticising the president. They were treated like they were being un-American, when in fact they have every right to say whatever they want about him because he’s freely elected, and therefore accountable.” I read both articles with amusement because I’ve felt for a while now that “celebrities” are entirely too serious about themselves. The incident referred to that happened with the Dixie Chicks helped kick-start that for me. Since then, I’ve become increasingly amused at the rate of celebrities who think that because of who they are they deserve a platform to say whatever they wish to say and are aghast that anyone would have a differing point of view. Part of what amuses me about the comment by Elton John is that he, the Dixie Chicks, and Toby Keith are performers. They are who they are because of a fan base that enjoyed their music, went to their concerts, bought their merchandise. They didn’t get to where they are because people heard them speak great political truths or their views. Perhaps they’ve attracted or lost fans based on interviews they’ve given in which they mentioned their political leanings, but I would say that when one thinks of Elton John, the Dixie Chicks, or even Toby Keith that they are not thought of as brilliant social or political commentators. What’s interesting to me is that while these celebrities express shock that people are attacking them for saying what they believe, they in turn are attacking other celebrities and the fan base that they feel are “toeing” a political line that differs from their own. An example of that can be seen in an article I read today from the San Diego Union-Tribune. In it, Linda Ronstadt said, “This is an election year, and I think we’re in desperate trouble and it’s time for people to speak up and not pipe down. It’s a real conflict for me when I go to a concert and find out somebody in the audience is a Republican or fundamental Christian. It can cloud my enjoyment. I’d rather not know.” (Emphasis mine) Her comments only prove my point. It reminds me of the childhood saying, “Do as I say, not as I do.” In essence, “let me say what I want to say, but you can’t say anything that I may not like. I feel entitled to express how I feel and be who I am, but don’t be who you are and express yourself. Don’t say anything that contradicts what I think or feel.” The examples that Elton John mentioned of singers who wrote and talked about what was going on in their world at that time (1960s), also did a lot of singing about what they saw. They expressed themselves in their music and had fans who felt and believed the way they did. When fans went to their concerts there was an expectation that political items would be in the program. It was the venue that the artist used and then built off of that. However, today singers want to perform but they also want to make the world their platform for their ideals. They create or promote certain music, fans get interested in the music, then the performers want to give their political opinion outside of the music and expect their fan base to support them. Instead of using the venue that they have, they take any platform and turn it into something political. Because of this, there are performers (actors and singers alike) that have lost some of their “adoring public.” Some (if not most) fans feel that performers should just perform and choose other venues outside of the performance to promote or express other agendas and ideals. When the fans express this however, the performers pout and whine about how censored they are. They feel that they are being attacked and aren’t able to “express” themselves. They want to be able to say what they want to without repercussions. They want to make the world their stage and when the stage is limited to their specific area of performing, they complain that the government is censoring them and their fans just don’t “understand” how important what they have to say is (or who they are for that matter). Instead of recognizing that their fan base also has opinions and ideals, these performers expect everyone to feel as they do and support them whole-heartedly. When that support doesn’t come, the performers feel threatened. Elton John said that performers are afraid of their career being shot down for what they say. What the performers are doing is using their career to make these statements. People have as much freedom to not support those statements and thus those careers, as the performers feel they have the right to speak. It’s not an issue of censorship. After all, censorship is the repression or removal of someone’s political thoughts or ideals. The government isn’t doing that. The people who supported these performers but are now being turned off aren’t doing it either. It’s freedom of choice. Just as the performers have the right to speak, we have the right to not go to their concerts, to walk out while they are speaking if we hear them say things we don’t like, or not buy their merchandise. Their right to speak is American. My not supporting their ideals or their chosen platform to do so is also. ninetyandnine.com © 2004, ninetyandnine.com and this anonymous blogger ---------- |
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