Public Relations

Very Important Questions about Monday night’s Golden Globe Awards from the New York Post:
“Who’ll get drunk and make a total fool of himself?”
“Who will be Justin Timberlake’s date?”

Or how about:
“Who will speak out against the Iraq war?”
It’s cause season in Hollywood; and while the war isn’t as safe a bet as AIDS or blood diamonds or adoption (all worthy, noble causes), it’s pretty safe—considering the American people are against it; the newly elected Congress is against it; military families and generals are against it— And oh, yeah, it’s wrong!

So who in Hollywood will use this global platform to speak out against it?

I’m hearing crickets.

Anyone?

Since Justin Timberlake wouldn't even get behind Janet Jackson's "wardrobe malfunction," I won't be counting on him to be the first to take the plunge. I'd say Clooney except Clooney at the last Oscars responded to criticisms of political apathy in Hollywood by declaring that Hollywood had given an Oscar to Hattie McDaniel! (who now has a U.S. stamp, by the way. A great actress, who probably looked at that Oscar every day and wondered, now then why the hell can't I get paid the same as those other bastards? At the ceremony at Hollywood's Coconut Grove where McDaniel received her award, she was made to sit at the back of the theater alone). Let's see. Angelina Jolie works for the United Nations, so she should have something to say about how this whole thing—the war—would never have got started if the U.S. had worked within the international community and not broken international law. But Angelina hasn't even criticized the repressive governments of the countries she adopts children from, let alone this one. And Brad, well...can't really get a read on that one.

Oh, I'm sure they're all good and well-meaning people who are just as concerned as we are about what's going on. Thing is, we don't have a billion people watching us on Monday night—and they do. Think about what they could tell the world about how we really feel about how Dr. StrangeBush has trampled on our freedom and hijacked our will. It might be pretty riveting, coming from someone who knows how to work a public relations problem like Angelina Jolie. And it would make for some good TV. (See V for Vendetta.)

Washington is big on public relations and they like to be in control. It used to be called "propaganda" until the Nazis and Soviets gave it a bad name. The Reagan administration actually established an "Office of Public Diplomacy" to spin webs of deception over its bloody policies in Latin America in the 80s. Its "Operation Truth" managed to cover up the (U.S.-backed) murder and torture of priests and scholars and other defenders of human rights.

Or all the pretty actors and actresses could just accept their awards for entertaining and uplifting us and go home.