I was watching a news program that had Bill O’Reilly on as an interviewee rather than the interviewer. I can’t remember who was interviewing him partly because I wasn’t in the mood to watch news, and partly because I didn’t spend more than maybe thirty seconds on the channel as well.
What I remember about the interview though was a comment he made regarding the actor Sean Penn. He said he would not watch any of the actor’s movies even though he is an excellent actor simply because he did not agree with Penn’s political ideology. I found this to be intriguing, because I watch many movies with actors who have political beliefs that differ from mine and the same thing with some musicians whose music I enjoy.
Now I will grant you that the times we live in are very politically charged up. I will also agree that these celebrities have a public forum to say what ever they want on any subject and their celebrity status will almost guarantee that they will be heard. However I will tell you right now that being famous doesn’t make you intelligent or intellectual, it makes you popular and your that has nothing to do with how you apply your grey matter.
Here are a few celebrity personalities whom I enjoy seeing perform but don’t agree with on almost anything.
Eddie Vedder: This guy is an amazing singer song writer and I rock out with this guy all the time.
1- Bruce Springsteen aka (The Boss): Easily one of the most talented song writers and performers from my generation.
2- Billy Joel: Man he can tickle the ivories I love to hear him play.
3- Alec Baldwin: A very good actor. I loved him in “Hunt for Red October”.
4- Willie Nelson: Perhaps the greatest American troubadour of the last century.
5- Tom Hanks: The man with the Midas touch. I loved him in “The Polar Express”, and “The Da Vinci Code”.
6- Sean Penn: Perhaps the greatest character actor I have ever seen. I loved him in “Fast Times at Ridgemont High”.
These people are arguably some of the best and talented in their fields of endeavor, but that does not make them politically astute figures. I would have no problems what so ever sitting down to watch their films or go to their concerts, because they are good at what they do for a living. However I would not vote for a political figure or believe in something simple because they do.
They are here for me strictly for entertainment purposes and nothing more. I am an intelligent, educated, and motivated individual, who can do the research and come up with my own opinion, without having to come up with one based on someone else’s likability factor or celebrity status. I would hope that the same is true of those who read my blog’s. Apparently Bill O’Reilly needs to see things from a more enlightened perspective.
I hope you all have a terrific Tuesday and I will see you all again tomorrow CIAO4NOW!!!!!
I agree with you that these guys are great performers, but there is no way I will trust my vote to their opinions simply becaue they are famous. My vote is my say not theirs.
ReplyDeleteUndoubtedly there is a lot of talent out there that I don't agree with. Perhaps O'Reilly went a bit overboard with this declaration, although it's only one actor he's "boycotting" and I'm sure he disagrees with many. From the interview transcripts I saw, it seems that perhaps these two had talked in the past and O'Reilly ended up so upset he refuses to eve look at the man.
ReplyDeleteI suppose I can see both sides of the coin here. However, while I am extremely dedicated to my own political beliefs, I don't believe that I should deprive myself of the arts because an artist disagrees with me. That really only hurts you.