Fantasy is in vogue on the right coast, too. The Washington Post, once one of the president's most cheerful enablers, observes in an editorial that, "President Obama's foreign policy is based on fantasy." He seeks the happy endings of Hollywood's movies, where wishes come true not because they make practical sense, but because believing in them makes them so. Unfortunately, as he's learning now, we live in Kansas, not Oz. If Russia's invasion of neighboring Ukraine is "a 19th century act in the 21st century," as Secretary of State John Kerry describes it," it's not a costume drama or historical romance.
The president imagines he's a Hollywood star. He dresses, talks and acts like one, taking his dramatic persona and fashion styles from the actors. He, no doubt, thinks the popular television series "West Wing" is reality, and he prefers that to real life, where life is tough and 3 out of 3 people die. Mr. Obama's fondness for heroic rhetoric -- in crises in Egypt, Iran, Syria and now Ukraine and Crimea -- is backed by nothing more than more rhetoric. Alas, Vladimir Putin knows very well that he's not a player in a Tinsel Town melodrama. He's the villain, and those are real soldiers he's moving into Ukraine and Crimea.
Jared Leto, who won the Oscar for Best Supporting Actor, picked up the president's theme of fantasy, appealing to "all the dreamers out there around the world watching this tonight in places like Ukraine and Venezuela." He seemed to think that those about to be invaded and have their freedoms taken away were thinking only of the Academy Awards -- and of whose dress showed the most bosom. It was a charming appeal to pleasant dreams in the midst of a nightmare. Whimsy, maybe, but not reality.
The emphasis this year was on "niceness," in sharp contrast to the familiar attack mode in Washington. Snarkiness was out (for everyone but Liza Minnelli, accused of being a drag-queen imitation of herself). Hollywood didn't want to imitate the push-pull polarities that plague the relationship between Congress and the president. But the audience could appreciate Kevin Spacey, who in the character of Frank Underwood, the evil politician he plays on the television show "House of Cards," expressing his sinister delight in being out of Washington for the weekend. Touche.
Conservatives don't much like Hollywood because they're not welcome there. Hollywood mocks the old values dear to conservatives, whether political or social. If the president lives in Fantasy Land and stays out of touch, sometimes critics who imagine themselves sophisticated are, too. Matthew Brody of The New Yorker simply couldn't bear Matthew McConaughey's "weirdly confessional speech" with a "taste of old-time religion," thanking God for his success and spontaneously enjoying his dead father's imagined celebratory romp in heaven. One reader asked whether the critic had ever known even one person of faith, and whether believers should "silence their expressions of gratefulness to their Creator." That's hardly necessary, since thanking God, once commonplace, is now unique at the Oscars.
The Academy Awards rewards good actors, whose acceptance speeches, while usually narcissistic, sometimes address cultural realities. This year, the awards confirmed that we're not only a nation of diversity, but also one that can reward hard work and talent. Lupita Nyong'o, best supporting actress, grew up in Mexico and Kenya, and eloquently acknowledged that dreams may not necessarily come true, as in a fairy tale, but dreams are valid and worth striving for in an imperfect world. Her dream was built on the story of the pain of the slave woman whose life she depicted. Like many Americans before her, she built success on the tragic endurance and sustained courage of those who came before.
Sometimes life really does imitate art. The Barry Goldwater Institute, a think tank devoted to free market and libertarian values, is pushing bipartisan legislation in the states to solve a problem highlighted in the movie "Dallas Buyers Club." Legislation called "The Right to Try" would enable the terminally ill to bypass the bureaucratic red tape of the Federal Drug Administration to gain access to promising drugs that have passed the first phase of human trials, but are unavailable to the dying. This would be deemed "compassionate use." Hollywood can sometimes inspire serious ideas. The Lord works in mysterious way, and that's no fantasy.
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