Friday, May 08, 2009
Is Samuel L. Jackson going to glorify piracy?
As with many things Hollywood, this could be great or an epic fail:
If the media hype was not enough for you, this is definitely a sign that Somali pirates have gotten a little bit too sexy:Samuel L. Jackson and his Uppity Films have joined forces with Andras Hamori's H20 Motion Pictures to secure life rights of Andrew Mwangura, a negotiator between pirates and the owners of vessels hijacked off the coast of Africa.
The interesting question is whether this movie will ask the audience to empathize with the pirates. Much as I like Samuel L. Jackson on the screen, I'm fairly sure I would not be up for that.
6 Comments:
By 
Christopher Chambers, at
Fri May 08, 02:23:00 PM:
I think here again is where blogging and punditry, with it's emphasis on self-expression, self-promo, political agendas, how you say stuff vs. what's being said, researched, fails both journalism and storytelling.
He HAS to empathize with the pirates, with Somali fisherman etc. just as you empathize with victims/ship's crews, ship owners/insurers, people in the UN aid agencies, NGOs, US and other nation's interests, etc. Otherwise you can't write a decent news story, or a decent movie script. It all becomes melodrama and propaganda otherwise.
You all have twisted what the term empathy means, especially as a creative tool. It doesn't mean sympathy or siding with someone, or being a p*ssy or a dupe. It's merely intellectual and emotional awareness and understanding of another person's or group's thoughts, feelings and behavior, EVEN those that are distressing.
If you dont have that on many levels, you don't have a compelling story. Indeed, it's likely an account Mwangura himself would want told.
If you misunderstand empathy and replace it with mawkishness and conceit, then you get something like "A Mighty Heart." lol
Now, if you don't care about that stuff, then fine. Sam's a pretty liberal dude, but he can make a straightahead wingnut John Wayne-Chuck Norris type flick with the evil comic book pirates if you want.
By 
, at
Fri May 08, 02:57:00 PM:
Mr. Chambers, while I understand and even "empathize" with your viewpoint, I still believe that Hollywood and the Left do tend to attach a moral equivalency where none actually exists. To make a film, or story that does not portray the basic simple truth that there ARE bad guys and good guys amongst us, only serves to delay true progress for us all. Legitimizing Pirates in any way shape or form is counterproductive to economic and social progress.
By Automatic_Wing , at
Fri May 08, 03:30:00 PM:
Gotta say I might prefer a movie that empathizes with the pirates over one that empathizes with a negotiator.
Sounds pretty lame, kinda like that wimpy Joe Spano character in Hill Street Blues.
By Christopher Chambers, at
Fri May 08, 03:55:00 PM:
Joe Spano! That's a name from the past! hahaha
There are many 'in-between two camps'/negotiator characters who are pretty compelling, fictonal or real. Some of the ones in HBO's The Wire for example.
Empathy doesn't have to beat one over the head, and if done right, it can overcome pretty ingrained fears. Some of best reviews of the 2005 Oscar-nominated German flick about Hitler's last weeks in Berlin april-may 1945 "Downfall" have been from Jewish critics, directors. Indeed, Steven Spielberg castigated some folks who refused to even screen the film or give props to performances by Bruno Ganz (Hitler) and the rest of the cast, the director, etc. Likewise some vets, despite Clint Eastwood's bona fides, didn't want to watch "Letters from Iwo Jima," and some even took issue with the more introspective parts of "Flags of our Fathers!" It all depends on your internal coping mechanisms and fears, I suppose.
So it can be done. The problem is that Hollywood is NOT "Left" (only cocktail parties and fundraisers). It most certainly isn't "Right" (depending on your definition). It's about cash, and least common denominator plotlines and themes. Empathy on any level or to any group gets trashed for expediency's sake.
By Christopher Chambers, at
Fri May 08, 04:03:00 PM:
Forgot to add that one insidious reason we don't like empathy is simple: is might cause some people to question motives, stereotypes, icons, myths. Again, most intelligent adults are not going to sympathize, but they might start to say "Wait, there but for the grace of God I/we might have gone." Or, this isn't about good and evil, it's about power, and just got lucky. That's too dangerous or revolutionary for some people.
By , at
Fri May 08, 08:43:00 PM:
There's food for thought. Why, if that other interviewer had overslept that day, I might be out there in a dinghy with my AK-47 this very minute!
