comment #1

T.H. Ung says ...

New Republic, is that righty or lefty? I don't care. Leon Wieseltier, you are my new hero.

comment #2

Anonymous says ...

I'm already sick of this story.

Big deal, Mel hates Jews. Tell me something I don't know.

comment #3

Thung says ...

Hey you above, I doubt you could spot something you didn't know if it hit you on the head.

comment #4

Anonymous says ...

Well I know you're a jackass.

OWNED, SUCKAH, OWNED!

comment #5

nemo says ...

"Take that cop who arrested Gibson. Do you think it was a coincidence that he was a Jew?"

Do you know that to be true? I haven't heard or read anything about the arresting officer's religion or ethnicity. His name in the tmz.com story sure wasn't a common Jewish name. In fact, his name didn't indicate anything about his ethnicity.

I figured Gibson just asked the officer whether he was a Jew because Gibson felt persecuted at the moment, and hey, of course, if a Christian like Mel feels persecuted, it must be a Jew doing the persecuting.

In fact, it mostly sounded as if Mel thought it was an easy way to throw out an offensive jab at the officer, just like his "sugar tits" crack.

comment #6

Thung says ...

Nemo, you sound like a very sweet person, but Leon Wieseltier is doing humor. Read it again, and again, until it makes you laugh.

comment #7

Anonymous says ...

The arresting officer, Mee, is in fact Jewish. It's in today's Washington Post story about Mel's multiple apologies.

comment #8

nemo says ...

Oh, I see, I missed the fact that this was not Wells speaking, but Wells quoting Wieseltier from MoDo's story.

That whole are-you-a-Jew jab from Gibson struck a chord with me. I'm not Jewish, but more than once I've had the experience being called a Jew by some asshole who's decided he doesn't like me.

The are-you-a-Jew jab is not an honest question (at least not in that context). The guy throwing it out doesn't care whether or not you're Jewish. He just intends it as a slap in the face. Just like calling someone a pussy, or faggot, or a n****r, or a n****r-lover.

(I don't usually avoid spelling out offensive words, but the N word is still too explosive.)

comment #9

Thung says ...

You're a lot smarter than I gave you credit for, Nemo, thanks for not being intimidated, honestly. RE Washington Post, it adds another level, and it's still really humorous writing.

comment #10

allen says ...

yeah, this story is now old, valid for about 3 days and then, let's move on.

Besides, there have been some rather wierd, offensive, and mean people that were artists of different medium. There is a difference between making personal judgements against Gibson and making negative assesments of his work. (or negative wishes upon his work) The work and the person are different things.

DW Griffith was a racist - his historical impact and his talent are undeniable.

I think his "feelings" about Jews are irrational fears and awful. But his torturedness might enable his artistry.

comment #11

Mike Gebert says ...

"I think his "feelings" about Jews are irrational fears and awful. But his torturedness might enable his artistry."

It's at least enabled his art to give a prominent place to torture...

Incidentally, it's interesting to compare Gibson with another Hollywood star. Especially around the time he made The Great Dictator, Charlie Chaplin was occasionally accused of being Jewish. He didn't consider himself such (his biographers seem to think there might have been a little Jewish ancestry in there) but he refused to deny it, on the grounds that doing so gave moral support to the idea that it was something to be ashamed of.

comment #12

R. Hunt says ...

Can we really distinguish Gibson's recent activities from his work (and especially his defensiveness about "The Passion")? Are we really surprised that a guy who made a movie where the Romans get a shot at redemption snd retaliation is reserved for the Jews (who are, after all, responisble for fang-toothed demon babies) - comes across looking just a wee bit anti-Semitic?

comment #13

Larry says ...

Chaplin was a great film artist, maybe the greatest, but not much of a thinker. He favored vague leftist politics (except in his personal life, of course, where he was in charge, forget the collective) and, even if he had the capacity, apparently never had the time to study politics seriously.

Thus, his film-killing big speech at the end of The Great Dictator, where you hear a man spouting mindless nostrums. We were fighting Nazis and all Chaplin can imagine are what sound like vague attacks on modernism and capitalism, not fascism.

comment #14

c fontana says ...

Yawn.

comment #15

Dixon Steele says ...

Larry,

You don't know much about film history, my friend.

Even though the studio moguls were Jewish themselves, they were firmly against "stirring the pot" and "making trouble" in the early 30s as Nazism was rising in Germany.

The only way Chaplin was able to get THE GREAT DICTATOR relesed was by making it a comedy and being a bit "vague", as you put it.

comment #16

Paul8148 says ...

I think the people that really want for Gibson to go down needs to back off some. Some all starting to come off so overly smug they making it look like they paying him back for Passion of The Christ and make swing sympthy back towards Mel (Which I belive should not happen at this time).

comment #17

Anonymous says ...

Interesting, Paul. So what you're saying is it's pretty much like the Lebanon/Israel conflict right now. If Jews show too much enthusiasm at striking Gibson down (even if they're in the right) there may be a backlash against them from gentiles for overdoing it on their boy -- that the "poor guy" might end up being the victim here.

This keeps getting weirder.

comment #18

Mark G. says ...

Sorry Larry,
but when Chaplin started production on THE GREAT DICTATOR in 1937 the USA was four years away of joining the war against the Nazis (and two years before World War II started).
When THE GREAT DICTATOR was released in October 1940, the USA was still 14 months away of joining the war...
Just to show you how far ahead of time Chaplin really was...

comment #19

Nicol D says ...

I dunno...I think this Leon guy has it all wrong.

I mean, when I was in university, all I was taught was that Catholics and Christians caused all of the wars, oppression, patriarchy, homophobia, sexism, racism and evil in the world.

One of the only studio chiefs who spoke up against Gibson, Amy Pascal, even made a film about it this year with Tom Hanks. You might have seen it...

comment #20

NYCBusybody says ...

Everybody hates somebody, sometimes. Everybody hates someone, somehow.

Me, I hope this starts a whole spate of celebrities getting drunk and spouting off about who they hate.

Sean Penn already does it all the time. Zing!

comment #21

NYCBusybody says ...

And the one thing I've found so strange is some people saying "well, Jews own Hollywood, so that's why you hear such an uproar...if this was the N-word, you wouldn't hear so much".

You've got to be kidding. Absolutely got to be kidding. Can you IMAGINE what would happen if a major celebrity used the N-word? Even the fact that we say "N-word" is testament to how monumental the rage and action would be against that person. Boycotts, hate crime charges, protests in the street by the good Reverends Sharpton and Jackson, what have you.

comment #22

Nicol D says ...

But even then there are exceptions...

Do you not think guys like Tarantino or Eminem use the N-word?

And they are universally loved in Hollywood. Even the way Gibson gets called on 'homophobia' but Elton John has a love in with Eminem...

The hypocrisy is crushing.

It makes me wish William Shatner would just roar a bellowous roar from his cavernous depths and put Hollywood in its place.

I do not know where that last sentence came from.

comment #23

NYCBusybody says ...

I think the point should be, though, do I believe Tarantino or Eminem are racist? Absolutely not, especially not Eminem. And I think Quentin may be a bit misguided when he uses that term, but does he believe black people are biologically inferior or violent? I don't think so, or at least don't have evidence to support that. That's the difference between cultural prejudice (disliking a culture) and racism (disliking purely on race).

No matter what one may think of white performers being popular in black music, I don't think there's any way one can think Eminem is motivated by racism. I have evidence for Mel, so I point a finger at him.

comment #24

flaky says ...

Anyone who likes The Three Stooges
cannot be all bad

comment #25

flaky says ...

Anyone who likes The Three Stooges
cannot be all bad

comment #26

allen says ...

to mike.

if his art tortures you then do not watch it, i don't

comment #27

a1 says ...

"Anyone who likes The Three Stooges cannot be all bad"

Very true, and they were Jewish to boot. That should be in Mel's next apology (and the apology after that).

comment #28

Anonymous says ...

Anybody ever heard the story of Quentin Tarantino visiting the set of Crimson Tide? Denzel Washington lit into Tarantino for using the "N word" in his movies, and in front of a lot of people no less. Apparently not everyone thinks that it's OK for Tarantino to use that word.

comment #29

flaky says ...

"Denzil Washington lit into Tarantino for using the "N
word" in his movies and in front of a lot of people no
less"

The version I heard was that Tarantino was hired by
Tony Scott to do some re-writes on Crimson Tide to
make the movie more hip to younger audiences.
When Tarantino visited the set Denzil asked him to
step aside as he had something to discuss with him.
Tarantino replied that what he had to say should be
said in front of everyone. When Denzil lit into him
Tarantino went red-faced. Actually later Denzil
himself used the N word quite a bit in Training Day.