Yes, I think it was a courageous speech in some ways, and yes — but it was also an attempt to change the subject. Because the truth is that people responded indignantly to Reverend Wright not because he’s black. It’s not about race, it’s not because of the racial outlook of the church, which very specifically defines itself as an afrocentric church and emphasizes blackness, blackness, blackness.
They didn’t respond to it that way. If a white pastor had made the comments that Jeremiah Wright had made, people would have been equally indignant.
To put that in context, C&L links to an article Medved wrote last year about how awesome slavery was for black people.
I think C&L picked the wrong article though. To me, the name "Michael Medved" is a synonym for stupid. Someday, I think people say things like, "That retarded guy is such a Michael Medved." The main reason for this is because, when he was a film critic, his opinions of movies were almost always the exact opposite of how good the movies actually were. I used to read his reviews because he was the perfect reverse barometer. If he loved something, it would be unwatchable. If he hated it, it would be Oscar material. I don't mean he occasionally bucked the consensus of opinion of his fellow critics, which most of them do from time to time. I mean this guy was wrong almost every single time. As evidence, I offer two examples.
First is Pulp Fiction. This is generally considered one of the greatest and most influential films of the 20th century. It is considered by many to be a crime that it didn't win the Best Picture Oscar. Here's what Medved said about it:
I hated it! I hated every frame of it! Well, I won’t say that I hated every frame of it. I mean, Bruce Willis and John Travolta have never been so mediocre, but I found it just rampagingly mediocre. But that’s enough about Pulp Fiction, let’s get to one of the films on my ten best list The Swan Princess.
Please not that I did not alter that quote in any way. He hated Pulp Fiction and loved The Swan Princess. If you've never heard of The Swan Princess, it's because it's a trite and forgettable feature length cartoon ripoff of just about every fairy tale you can think of. And Medved loved it. That's not the only stupid movie he ever loved by the way, which brings me to example #2, It Takes Two:
"Absolutely delightful! The Olsen twins are natural charmers with irresistible appeal. Well acted and crisply directed. It will please parents and children with its winning blend of humor and romance."
Yes, he loved a movie with the Olsen Twins which was mainly a ripoff of both The Parent Trap and The Prince and the Pauper. Not only did it have someone who would someday be mysteriously connected to the death of Heath Ledger but it also starred Steve Guttenberg and if I have to tell you why that automatically raises the movie's suck rating by 10 then you don't know a lot about movies made in the 80s. In his New York Post review, he gave it 4 stars. This is the same number of stars you would give to The Godfather, On The Waterfront or (for most people) Pulp Fiction.
And that's why you don't listen to anything Michael Medved says. He lacks judgment and taste in all things and, someday, society will come together as a whole, shove him onto a spaceship and send him to the Moon where he will never harm anyone again. Until that glorious day, though, we must all keep a constant vigil lest his idiocy spread and mutate until, someday, we all have to watch as Steve Guttenberg receives a Lifetime Achievement Award at the Oscars.
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