It's Always About Them

Conservative pundits are complaining about liberal bias in Avatar.  A corporation gets its butt kicked and the hero does marry a girl of color while enjoying the beauty of a land not marred by smokestacks and skyscrapers, is that what they mean?  They should have thought about that last month, before it earned a billion dollars at the box office.  It's a movie and a fluff one at that.  Heaven forbid that people can enjoy a movie as a chance to get away from life's trials and tribulations for a few hours.  Not everyone wants to see a movie where people get laid off to increase a company's bottom line.

The level of paranoia on the right must be rising because Jonah Goldberg goes so far as to bring up Star Wars as an example of movies taking potshots at Bush.

"There are dozens of movies that have taken shots at Bush, starting with 'Star Wars' movies," Goldberg told ABC News. "What's offensive about this is not that it's carrying an ideological agenda. It's that it's so lame. The guy is not even president anymore. ... It's bravery at the cheapest for Cameron to think, if he thinks that, this took courage on his part to make."

Four of those movies were made before Bush was on anyone's radar.  Plus, I don't recall any of the characters being that stupid, unless he thinks Jar Jar Binks was patterned after Bush.  Cheney has dibs on Darth Vader and Obi Wan is not an option.  Yoda liked to speak in short sentences also, but not to prop up his ego so why even bring up Star Wars unless simplistic movies about good triumphing over evil make conservatives think that they are being personally attacked?

The reason it took courage for Cameron to make Avatar is because he invested his own money, invented new equipment and held to true to his vision despite people telling him that it couldn't be done.  You would think that conservatives would be touting him as a successful example of their beliefs instead of getting all worked up because the message is one they don't like.  They can't all be The Birth of a Nation.

BBB