Sunday, March 13, 2011
PHOTOS |
COMING SOON|
EXAMINER.COM FILM ARTICLES
||HOME
Sunday, March 13, 2011
EDITORIAL
The Lion
The Witch and The Warlock
Conan O'Brien, Mel Gibson and Charlie Sheen.
Ann Nathanson/NYTimes, Getty, UStream
by
Omar P.L. Moore/PopcornReel.com
FOLLOW
Sunday,
March 13, 2011
Conceded: it's grossly unfair to even put Conan O'Brien in this conversation.
He has been guilty only of seeking what's right and equitable for himself in the
rigorous, back-biting world of television. Mr. O'Brien has, for all the
humiliations of the last 12-plus months, come out smelling like a thousand
roses, his brand and name intact. His documentary, "Conan O'Brien Can't
Stop", is debuting this week at the South By Southwest Film Festival.
End of story.
*
*
*
This, however, is where the story begins in the tale of The Witch and The
Warlock.
"Witch" is probably -- not probably, it is -- the wrong term to describe
Mel Gibson
and his criminal exploits. Many would use far more choice language for the
actor-filmmaker, who appeared in a Los Angeles court last Friday to enter a plea
in a misdemeanor spousal battery case: no contest, which has the same legal
effect as a guilty plea in California.
A somber, low-key film star sat in the courtroom, grayed, weary, defeated.
In a deep, yet barely audible voice he uttered a few words. He understood
his punishment -- some would call it a wrist-slap -- for his mendacity.
No hand puppets could save him from the adjudication he faced. Hand
puppets were spared harm. Not a trace of an edge of darkness anywhere to
be seen on that Friday.
This is not a laughing sport. Hand puppets aren't funny. Nor is
domestic violence. Just ask the millions of women on Super Bowl
Sundays (or any other days) about that. Those past few words stink of
self-righteousness, I know -- but are not meant that way.
The survivor was not present in the same courtroom on Friday. The
spectacle did not warrant her presence. After all, it would have been
another case of torment. She had suffered more seriously last year.
The tapes, the racist and sexist language.
The violence.
Instead of sixty-hours of community service, would a better punishment see Mr.
Gibson having all the abused women of L.A. County take one free swing at him?
What if the Internet users of the world (or specifically Los Angeles) could vote
on Mr. Gibson's (or any other accused person's) fate, instead of the procedurals
of the criminal justice system taking hold?
Would ye say "aye" to that?
Meanwhile, The Warlock had wined, dined and snorted his way to infamy. He
had abused. He was accused: a wife-beater. He was "guilty".
He's been "contrite" (see the "Piers Morgan Tonight" show.)
Now the Warlock is a man without children, who were recently removed from his
custody. He does, however, live with somebody's children -- I mean,
goddesses -- sorry.
"Winning!" was the cry.
Two million plus
followed this winning Warlock in record time
online, enabling and emboldening the madness of his ways. Like the Pied
Piper, like Jim Jones, they were led to the edge and over it but all were
thankfully left alive to tell the tale. They drank the Tigerblood, and
smartly left the Kool-Aid alone.
What I just wrote in that last paragraph shouldn't be
erased wasn't fair. The comparisons aren't warranted, and I
sincerely apologize for them.
What follows however, is warranted.
The women who left the Warlock, the women who say they were beaten by him --
none of that mattered to the followers of ye Tigerblood drinker-in-chief.
(Not Tiger Woods's blood, in case you were wondering.)
Winning!
One troll online (not me) declared: "Losing! Bad dad!" And there
were these peculiar-looking things -- # -- in front of the exclaimed words.
What is t##t about????????
Some of those who followed
Mr. Sheen on that indispensible seven-letter
electronic sounding board were quick to assail Mr. Simpson as this, that and a
lot worse than a wife-beater, but somehow lost the syllables of the English
language to care to utter that their fearless Warlock leader had reportedly
beaten women too.
Winning!
Only a troll would say that word. And only one of the
trolls of the world would write the words you
are reading.
The Warlock's show was gone, and his Korner went on online before he finally
pulled the plug on it. Never mind that the Warlock had made anti-Jewish
references to CBS television's "Two And A Half Men" executive producer Chuck
Lorre, derisively uttering Mr. Lorre's given first name last month. And
like everything these days it was recorded for eternal posterity.
That bit of grievous offense to Mr. Lorre was quickly forgotten by the Warlock's
electronic war council of millions, even though in the same month of February
2011 a number of those very followers registered their outrage about John
Galliano, the British fashion designer whose hatred and anti-Jewish rhetoric --
drunk or not drunk, the behavior is always inexcusable -- got him fired
(as it should have) from Christian Dior.
Of these I write and speak of are private affairs, yes, marked by public
vitriol, hate and stupidity.
We indulge, we follow, we judge instantly -- we all do -- obviously myself
included.
The public expected celebrities to behave as robots. The Witch defied
them.
The Warlock made everyone forget about robots. The electronic
swoon-throngs and some mainstream media outlets rejoiced in winning, even on an
international day when some women (and men) declared the un-following of the
Warlock on his instant message headquarters.
Too late for that.
The show-less Warlock, with his "raven-wise, Gibson-shredding napalm poet(ry)",
will tour next month in two U.S. cities. Mr. Gibson isn't doing any
last-laughing these days, but alas, the Warlock's bellows have just begun.
COPYRIGHT 2011. POPCORNREEL.COM. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
FOLLOW
SUBSCRIBE TO THE POPCORN REEL MOVIE
REVIEWS RSS FEED
