There are few joys in life quite as fun as watching liberals attacking other liberals; when the head of the snake that is the progressive culture whips around and bites one of its own. It happens more often than you think – there’s always an activist professor who missed a memo and used an out of date term or said something recently declared unacceptable who is not fighting for their jobs, but every once in a while it gets higher profile, and therefore even more fun. Such is this case out of Hollywood.
Helen Mirren is a great actress, with a pile of awards to attest to it. She’s also a movie star with a name that will attract and audience, so it’s a no-brainer to put her in your movie, if you can. When Hollywood decided to make a movie about the 1973 Yom Kippur War, getting Mirren was a big boost, largely because there likely isn’t all that much interest in that story with the general public but her performance, which is always excellent, will bring in people.
But there’s a problem – Mirren, who is playing Israeli Prime Minister Golda Meir, isn’t Jewish.
Ok, it’s not so much a “problem,” at least for normal people, but it is for people so marinated in political correctness and the professional grievance industry of the political left.
An actress named Maureen Lipman, who is Jewish, is upset Mirren is playing a Jew while not being Jewish. That used to be called “acting,” now it’s just this side of a hate crime.
The same thing happened a couple of years ago when it was announced that Scarlett Johannsen would play a trans man or woman (I honestly don’t remember which, nor do I care or does it matter) and the “trans community” was upset because Johannsen is not a mentally confused attention-seeker. She dropped out of the project and the movie was scrapped, because the only reason it was going to be made was that she’d signed on to star in it. Otherwise, who would want to go see a movie starring someone no one has ever heard of on a subject most people couldn’t give a damn about?
The same is true for this Helen Mirren movie. She has fans, she is a great actress and will put butts in seats. Not a lot, probably, and certainly not as many as Scarlett Johannsen, but some, and some is more than none. And way more than Maureen Lipman would, whoever that is.
In an interview, Lipman said, “The Jewishness of the character is so integral. I'm sure she will be marvelous, but it would never be allowed for Ben Kingsley to play Nelson Mandela. You just couldn't even go there.” If she doesn’t notice the difference, she needs help.
Moreover, why couldn’t Kingsley play Mandela? Get Denzel Washington to play F.W. de Klerk. That would be interesting.
But Hollywood isn’t allowed to be interesting anymore, no one on the left is. Not in any real sense, anyway. If you want to declare yourself to be some made up gender who must be addressed by some stupid pronouns you’ve made up on the spot, that’s allowed. But that’s not really interesting, it’s a temper-tantrum we’ve all seen from someone who was likely not loved by their parents because they’re selfish jerks. Sadly, on the left, that is what passes for interesting and brave.
The Daily Mail reported the story this way, “A publicity image of the film Golda, where Dame Helen portrayed Ms Meir during the Yom Kippur War in 1973, showed Dame Helen covered in prosthetic to look more like the politician.”
Are prosthetics not allowed anymore? Should Gary Oldman not have played Winston Churchill because he’s not bald and obese? Hell, name anyone who’s played a character in heavy make-up and think about that standard. Sorry, Gary Sinise, you have both your legs, so we’re going to have to digitally remove you from Forrest Gump and replace you with someone who is a literal double amputee.
The possibilities for stupidity are endless, which always seems to be the case when liberals are in charge. But for once, it’s nice to see them forming a circular firing squad and going after each other. Let liberals eat their own until they’re all riddled with bit marks, it couldn’t happen to a nicer group of people.
Derek Hunter is the host of a free daily podcast (subscribe!), host of a daily radio show on WCBM in Maryland, and author of the book, Outrage, INC., which exposes how liberals use fear and hatred to manipulate the masses. Follow him on Twitter at @DerekAHunter.