Victor Davis Hanson: Elegant nonsense [from the Hollywood's losers]

jewishworldreview.com ^ | Victor Davis Hanson

[Tolik]

Nearly 24 centuries ago, Plato warned not to confuse innate artistic skill with either education or intelligence.

The philosopher worried that the emotional bond we can forge with good actors might also allow these manipulative mimics too much influence in matters in which they were often ignorant.

So he would cringe that the high-school graduate Sean Penn is now capitalizing on his worldly fame from "Fast Times at Ridgemont High" to pose as an informed commentator on the Iranian elections.

...<snip>...

Fourth, Hollywood's megaphones don't have a very good track record of political persuasion. While Stalin and later Mao slaughtered millions, many actors still preached that communism offered a socialist utopia. Jane Fonda went to enemy Hanoi to offer marquee appeal to the communist Vietnamese but was ignorant of their documented record of murder and autocracy.

If retired actors and entertainers wish to become politicians — an old tradition, from the empress Theodora to Ronald Reagan, Jesse Ventura and Arnold Schwarzenegger — let them run for office and endure during a campaign sustained cross-examination from voters. Otherwise their celebrity is used only as a gimmick to give credence to silly rants that if voiced by anyone else would never reach the light of day.

In this regard, we could learn again from the Greeks. They thought the playwrights Sophocles and Euripides were brilliant but not the mere mimics who performed their plays.

[Tolik]

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[Dark Skies]

Now that was a fun article.

My favorite was this nugget...

...celebs have lost touch with the tragic world that outside of Malibu and Beverly Hills cannot so easily be manipulated to follow a script or have a happy ending.

[Mr. Jeeves]

So he would cringe that the high-school graduate Sean Penn is now capitalizing on his worldly fame from "Fast Times at Ridgemont High" to pose as an informed commentator on the Iranian elections.

Ha ha! Well, Penn has done a few other things since then, but Hanson's point holds. ;)

[txroadhawg]

To summarize

STFU and act, sing, dance, what ever

[F-117A]

If retired actors and entertainers pink flamingos wish to become politicians ... let them run for office and endure during a campaign sustained cross-examination from voters. Otherwise their celebrity is used only as a gimmick to give credence to silly rants that if voiced by anyone else would never reach the light of day.

[leoncaruthers]

[from the Hollywood's loosers] Loose: not tight. Lose: not win. Loser: didn't win. Loosers: not a word. Nitpicking, I know, but it's not hard to get this right, and it makes us look as dumb as DU when it's on the front page.

[hispanarepublicana]

Admin: Can you please correct the spelling in the title so we FReepers won't look like "loosers"?

[wildbill]

This error (loose for lose) is so common that I fear the proper spelling will be lost over time. I've even found it once in an editorial of the Houston Chronicle.

A product of the "phonics generation" I'm afraid. Phonics may be a fast way to learn to read, but it has a downside in accurate spelling.

[Tolik]

Thanks. I never paid attention to that. :^)

[Homer_J_Simpson]

They actually ran this column in the San Francisco Chronicle today. Tune in tomorrow to hear from the legion of Sean Penn and Jane Fonda fans.

[mainepatsfan]

"Nearly 24 centuries ago, Plato warned not to confuse innate artistic skill with either education or intelligence."

That could be the smartest thing Plato ever came up with.