Posted on 02/08/2016 6:28:43 PM PST by SJackson
Asked about diversity in Hollywood last week, the Coen brothers defended to the Washington Post their history of making movies about Jews and Minnesotans.
The Oscars So White controversy, #OscarsSoWhite, may reflect a real problem, the film writing-directing-producing duo agreed: Money drives commercial movies, people who invest money want more of what has worked in the past and it's daunting for minorities to break into that cycle.
But the brothers balked at the notion that film creators bear personal responsibility for promoting diversity, arguing you write what you know.
"Take any particular actor or writer or filmmaker, and you go, 'Your movies should be more this or more that or more the other thing,'" Joel Coen said. "The only sane response is that you can only write what you can write. You can't sit down and say, 'I'm going to write something that follows the dictates of what the culture thinks should be happening, in terms of cultural diversity in storytelling.' To be honest with you, that's completely lunatic."
Ethan Coen added: "We actually write movies in which the characters are Jews or Minnesotans."
True enough. They've done Jews ("Barton Fink"), wannabe Jews ("The Big Lebowski"), Minnesotans ("Fargo") and Minnesotan Jews ("A Serious Man").
Even sticking to what they know has gotten them into trouble.
"You say, 'Look at the work.' And then they go, 'Well, this character is Jewish and is a bad guy.' Somehow in their minds, that's implying that in our minds the Jewish characters stand in for all Jews," Joel Coen said. "Like I say, you can only write what you can write. If the question is whether or not there should be more people involved in the process, with more diverse backgrounds, so that what they write reflects a greater amount of diversity -- that the business itself should be more open to people of different backgrounds, so that those stories come in -- that's a legitimate thing to talk about. The other thing is crazy."
"Hail, Caesar!" focuses on another community the Coen brothers have come to know -- the Hollywood film industry. The film focuses on the making of a film, also called "Hail, Caesar!" starring Kirk Douglas-like actor Baird Whitlock (George Clooney). Unsurprisingly, there are some Jews on set.
In an exquisite Jew-out-of-water scene, studio executive Eddie Mannix (Josh Brolin) convenes a group of clergy to review the "Hail, Caesar!" script and make sure it doesn't offend any religious sensibilities. There's a Roman Catholic priest, a Protestant minister, a Greek Orthodox priest -- and a rabbi.
The rabbi struggles at length to politely explain that however Jesus is portrayed in the film, Jews won't be offended because to Jews, the Christian messiah is simply the "Nazarene." The acutely funny five minutes encapsulate what it is to be a Jew in the Diaspora.
Take it easy out there.
bump
I am 75 so I have a couple of years on you. There is a reason why Wops were garbage men and Micks were cops. They were excluded from many industries. They lifted themselves up through perseverance and hard work. They vowed to make life better for their kids & grandkids. And they did. I firmly believe that in today’s America blacks could do the same thing. But they have been led down the welfare path by dogooders and have allowed themselves to be made into a permanent ubderclass.
It is not the “fault” of the actors or writers or directors.
Maybe the movies just sucked.
It's a great story. The only parts I didn't like were the scenes with the main character's kid--excruciatingly boring. But I've learned how to deal with such things: Fast Forward.
I use Fast Forward a lot now. For instance, the television show, Mad Men, is actually two shows. One show is an interesting story about an ad agency, and the other is a soap opera. When I watch Mad Men, I keep my hand on the remote, and any time the story focuses on the wife and kids, or a mistress, I hit FF.
Much more enjoyable viewing.
Jimmy wasn’t half bad when he played it straight.
Looking forward to next Monday. :)
I really liked Hail Caesar. I thought it was great.
Blood Simple.... Genius.
I haven’t got Italian ancestry but my first son does. His Nonno was a lawyer for the mafia, in Rome. He was also thrown in jail during the great temporary corruption purge in the 90s. I was kind of surprised how much the stereotypes from the media rang true in strange ways. But the food. Oh, the food.
I have spent little time there ....are there no black jews in Minnesota?
“I’ll be taking these Huggies and whatever cash you got”
It is the average to not so great 'political' artists such as Spike Lee that NEED to be TALKING politics as he rarely if ever says succinctly or successfully with his craft what he begs to communicate to the people. Then he DEMANDS to be noticed and rewarded in his craft DESPITE his lack of brilliance and lasting impact of his work as a filmmaker/writer.
The Cohens focus on their work and let the work speak for itself. And so it does and this is what they are noted for. Notice too how succinctly, honestly, and intelligently they make their political point and move on to what they love to do--make films.
And the Academy Award goes to . . .
I like much of the dryness of their movies and the steady nod to noir
But the texture is so cool
In their period pieces like Millers and O Brother and True Grit they move very deliberately and it’s feel accurate and genuine
The tragic or near tragic comedies like Blood and Raising and The Dude
They are really cool and not obnoxiously political
I never saw Fink....I don’t cotton to Turturro
God love em
“I never saw Fink....I don’t cotton to Turturro”
It was slow paced. I got bored and never saw the end.
My wife really loves them
And Wes Anderson films too
I find Anderson quirky
lol. They went after them with a vengeance at one tome.
I believe a judge and a few other high ranking officials were killed, perhaps in Sicily
“Why do blacks expect whites to write about their experience...?”
Because they are ignorant and racist butt-heads that have been brain-washed by dumbass liberals to believe that the world revolves around them.
Screw them all. I don’t give a shite about child-like, ignant, black celebraties. Piss on all of them. Then again, I wouldn’t piss in Spike Lee’s mouth if his teeth were on fire, so never mind.
Thanks ES. Posted on FB. Like Coen’s work. Distinctive
Very astute observation. Well done.
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