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Al Gore's Other Green James Hirsen
THE LEFT COAST
REPORT
Headlines (Scroll down for complete stories):
1. Benicio Del Toro's New 'Che' Film Not content with only one disingenuous biography of mass executioner Ernesto "Che" Guevara, Hollywood's now got plans for another Che-flattering flick. In Tinseltown, historical reality routinely loses out to radical chic. Story Continues Below
The real lowdown is that Guevara helped Castro come to power in Cuba and personally carried out executions for him. The same group that wanted California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger to stop the execution of multiple murderer Tookie Williams because of opposition to capital punishment have no problem walking around in Che T-shirts, despite the fact that on a routine basis Guevara carried out summary executions for Castro, assassinating hundreds of innocent people. The other recent fawning Che biopic was Robert Redford's 2004 film, "The Motorcycle Diaries," a twisted tribute to the thug's youthful days. Now Oscar winner Benicio del Toro will reportedly portray the ardent Argentine communist in a movie that will reunite the actor with director Steve Soderbergh. Del Toro picked up an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his work with Soderbergh in the critically acclaimed 2000 film, "Traffic." Del Toro's Web site refers to Che as "many things to many people: an exemplary human, a hero, a tyrant, a fanatic." Well, the actor got the last two descriptions right. The site also divulges the upcoming Che movie title, "Guerrilla," and lists Ryan Gosling and Benjamin Bratt as being among the cast. And Julia Ormond, who starred with Brad Pitt in "Legends of the Fall" will co-star, according to the Internet Movie Database. 2. Al Gore's Other Green It turns out that, when it comes to his speeches on global warming, Al Gore is interested in another kind of green. The environmental seer reportedly raked in around $100,000 for a 75-minute-long University of California, San Diego enviro-sermon, according to thesmokinggun.com. Taking a cue from Angelina Jolie, Gore insisted that he be able to pre-approve any banners, logos, and communications materials for the event and that there would be no reporters, video, or audio taping of his hot-air lecture. Gore's other demands included first-class air travel for two, a $1,000 per day expense account, his own security guards and, of course, a hybrid car. 3. Oprah, the New Obama Girl The real Obama girl turns out to be — Oprah Winfrey. TV's daytime queen is planning a fundraiser for Democrat presidential hopeful Barack Obama. The event will be held at Oprah's posh Santa Barbara pad. Winfrey has let the world know Obama is her "choice," calling him her "favorite guy." In Motown response, Obama called Oprah, "My Girl." Obama's staffers are particularly excited that Forbes magazine puts Oprah's worth at a billion and a half dollars. 4. Pagans Peeved at Homer Simpson Pagans are up in arms. It all has to do with a hillside chalk painting of famed cartoon idol Homer Simpson. With donut in hand and dressed only in his underwear, Homer gazes at a 17th century image of a giant who's holding a club. The painting is a promo for "The Simpsons" full-length feature film. U.K. Pagan Federation's Ann Bryn-Evans calls the picture "disrespectful." She says pagans will be doing some "rain magic" in hopes of washing the offending chalk drawing away. 5. Hollywood's 'Kid Nation' Labor Tactics In this educator and cultural commentator's opinion, CBS television has made a highly questionable programming decision. Following the TV success adage that reality shows receive a boost from controversy, the network has produced a series for the fall called "Kid Nation," where 40 children live in an abandoned New Mexico mining town ostensibly with no adult supervision. The show could be called "Student Council Meets 'Lord of the Flies,'" the basic premise being that when left to their own devices (i.e., no adults around) children who are attempting self-governing will provide reality TV entertainment pleasure to the viewing audience. However, in typical faux-reality fashion, the kids on the CBS show are actually surrounded by adult producers, adult camera crews, adult make-up artists, adult sound technicians, etc. It turns out that producers of the show skirted guidelines and laws meant to protect children, used youngsters in hopes of garnering ratings and ended up with a product that delivers a terrible message to parents, teachers and society-at-large. CBS apparently managed to slip under the wire just ahead of new legislation in New Mexico that closed loopholes in the state's child labor laws. Unlike California and New York, prior to July 1, 2007, New Mexico had exempted theatrical production from its child protection laws. The Land of Enchantment has now joined the Golden and Empire States in having strict rules that include the following: The number of hours children can work on the set is a maximum of 18 during a school week, with no filming taking place after 7 p.m. Children must be fed proper meals as well, and studio teachers and a parent or guardian must be present on the set. For the "Kid Nation" production, over the course of 40 days 8- to 15-year-olds spent up to 14 hours a day working on the set. Teachers were conspicuously absent, despite the fact that filming took place in April and May of 2007 while the school year was still underway. The notion of kids being objects of our entertainment affections has a long history in Hollywood that harkens back to the child stars of the Golden Age. Still, placing teens and pre-teens in a reality show pressure cooker looks a whole lot more like exploitation than anything Art Linkletter or Bill Cosby ever contemplated. Kids, by their nature, are still in the process of developing the physical, emotional and psychological wherewithal to deal with the dynamics of real life. To place them into a reality television show setting, where they must prematurely deal with adult-sized conflicts of the intellectual, social and moral kind (including jockeying for position in a mini "society," developing physical, mental, and emotional stamina and competing against other contestants for substantial monetary gain) is cruel, in my book. To compound the "entertainment" madness, the pint-sized drama plays out in front of millions of people via the TV broadcast airwaves. In preview footage, children are shown arguing, weeping, and collapsing from exhaustion. In addition to the questionable nature of the show and dubious tactics employed, a subtext appears to be at play as well. Promotional materials for "Kid Nation" state that the children "will try to fix their forefathers' mistakes and build a new town that works." The implication is that the founders' design was utterly flawed, and children have the answers for correcting the nation's ills. This echoes a familiar refrain that for years has resounded across the media land and continues to permeate our entertainment fare, marketing and advertising materials and print; the message — kids are smarter than adults. This is a contributing factor to the strange predicament that we find ourselves in here in America; that is, we have a generation of children who, despite poor academic performance when compared to other nations, possess a highly over-inflated opinion of themselves. "Kid Nation" doesn't sound like a place where anyone would want to live, much less visit on a weekly basis. Editor's Notes:
The Left Coast Report is put together by James L. Hirsen and the staff of NewsMax — The Left Coast Report Archives Get your FREE copy of James Hirsen's new book 'Hollywood Nation' — Click Here Now.
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