An Insult to A Mighty Heart
I could not (and still cannot) believe that Daniel Pearl is being treated to such an abuse as to be associated with tabloid Queen (as well as queen of delayed reaction, aka queen of the obvious) Angelina Jolie.
The man stood for everything that is good and noble not only for journalism, but for storytelling. To be paired with a failing actress desperately trying to rekindle the dying flames of her career is an insult. If the movie does well in the box-office, it means people think of her as a hero, and whomever plays Pearl (I've heard rumors of Brad Pitt... to be honest, I'm too depressed to research the validity of these rumors) as a martyr... instead of Pearl himself.
I am not saying this is the first time Hollywood attempted to become its own hero in the place of a real one. You could probably have said the same of Robin Williams for Patch Adams, but the difference between Jolie and Williams is profound: Williams has worked hard to overcome a tarnished reputation. Jolie embraces it. Williams picked the role because of an obvious passion. Jolie is a hack-actress who has rarely, if ever, expressed any emotion on screen.
Harsh words? Certainly. But the story of Daniel Pearl is one of love, storytelling, narrative bravery, and the ability to see the importance of perspectivism. Pearl is an advocate for simple straightforward thinking: tell someone's story, and you can begin to understand even seemingly incomprehensible actions.
I can only hope that, at the very least, they preserve this message... though looking at Jolie's past, there is no sign of respect for storytelling. Her movie "Taking Lives" was an insult to the original story: her character was not even a PART of the original story! She was written in, added, tagged on... and all for the sake of marketting. This was a dark mark against hollywood, that they would sacrifice a story for the sake of marketting so bluntly. It was a dark mark on Jolie's character for even accepting a role in which the storyteller was bypassed so frustratingly.
Case in point: Johnny Depp refused to continue to do the Pirates of the Caribbean sequels unless they had the original writer onboard. This was a sign of severe and serious respect for the storyteller and the integrity of the storytelling world created by the storyteller. It showed deep respect for the art of storytelling, and his obvious passion for the movie was, I believe, not a small part to the movie's success.
Hollywood has, if you will forgive the expression, pissed on many precious stories. The story of Alexander was given a poor movie; Homer's epic The Oddysey was given the trite and dull 'Troy' (with a very lacking Odysseus, and gross historical inaccuracy).
If Hollywood continues to abuse the storyteller in this way, they will be sorry, and will see it in their sales. The sales from Hollywood have already reached an all-time slump only overcome by the likes of Peter Jackson and Johnny Depp, two people who have displayed publicly a strong appreciation for the storytelling arts, as well as a firm and immovable desire to be a part of said art.
This is a call to all serious storytellers... Hollywood is a sinking ship. This I foresee. But this also means that the masses will be starving for its replacement. If you want to be a part of the replacement force, you might want to contact me about being a part of monster intern, a creative company devoted and passionate about the storytelling arts, or visit the forum, and help foster a developing community of practice.
The tired and crooked beast of Hollywood is dying. Long live its new child, the true storytellers!
The man stood for everything that is good and noble not only for journalism, but for storytelling. To be paired with a failing actress desperately trying to rekindle the dying flames of her career is an insult. If the movie does well in the box-office, it means people think of her as a hero, and whomever plays Pearl (I've heard rumors of Brad Pitt... to be honest, I'm too depressed to research the validity of these rumors) as a martyr... instead of Pearl himself.
I am not saying this is the first time Hollywood attempted to become its own hero in the place of a real one. You could probably have said the same of Robin Williams for Patch Adams, but the difference between Jolie and Williams is profound: Williams has worked hard to overcome a tarnished reputation. Jolie embraces it. Williams picked the role because of an obvious passion. Jolie is a hack-actress who has rarely, if ever, expressed any emotion on screen.
Harsh words? Certainly. But the story of Daniel Pearl is one of love, storytelling, narrative bravery, and the ability to see the importance of perspectivism. Pearl is an advocate for simple straightforward thinking: tell someone's story, and you can begin to understand even seemingly incomprehensible actions.
I can only hope that, at the very least, they preserve this message... though looking at Jolie's past, there is no sign of respect for storytelling. Her movie "Taking Lives" was an insult to the original story: her character was not even a PART of the original story! She was written in, added, tagged on... and all for the sake of marketting. This was a dark mark against hollywood, that they would sacrifice a story for the sake of marketting so bluntly. It was a dark mark on Jolie's character for even accepting a role in which the storyteller was bypassed so frustratingly.
Case in point: Johnny Depp refused to continue to do the Pirates of the Caribbean sequels unless they had the original writer onboard. This was a sign of severe and serious respect for the storyteller and the integrity of the storytelling world created by the storyteller. It showed deep respect for the art of storytelling, and his obvious passion for the movie was, I believe, not a small part to the movie's success.
Hollywood has, if you will forgive the expression, pissed on many precious stories. The story of Alexander was given a poor movie; Homer's epic The Oddysey was given the trite and dull 'Troy' (with a very lacking Odysseus, and gross historical inaccuracy).
If Hollywood continues to abuse the storyteller in this way, they will be sorry, and will see it in their sales. The sales from Hollywood have already reached an all-time slump only overcome by the likes of Peter Jackson and Johnny Depp, two people who have displayed publicly a strong appreciation for the storytelling arts, as well as a firm and immovable desire to be a part of said art.
This is a call to all serious storytellers... Hollywood is a sinking ship. This I foresee. But this also means that the masses will be starving for its replacement. If you want to be a part of the replacement force, you might want to contact me about being a part of monster intern, a creative company devoted and passionate about the storytelling arts, or visit the forum, and help foster a developing community of practice.
The tired and crooked beast of Hollywood is dying. Long live its new child, the true storytellers!
posted by Shannon | 8:35 AM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home