Over the weekend I finally made peace with the fact that the Left is always right. They must be. They’re so persistent and sure of themselves regardless of the facts or what you and I would call common sense and decency, that there’s really no other explanation.
An excellent example is a recent column written by Owen Gleiberman, a film critic for Entertainment Weekly. In it, Gleiberman lashes out at those of us best described as “small people” (i.e. not film critics) for having the gall to disagree with an actual critic’s opinion — in this case, of just how incredibly awesome Jaden Smith (Will Smith’s 11 year-old son and star of the new “Karate Kid”) is.
Starting with this sharply written rejoinder, Excuse me, but what the heck is going on?, Gleiberman goes on to lay out a damning case that explains why racism is the only explanation for those who find young Jaden arrogant and resent the nepotism that made him a movie star. Gleiberman must be right, because his fervent illogical confidence says so. So…
…if you have the courage to look deep within your unwashed self, please read on. You’re about to discover that you might just be a racist:
Yet [Jaden] Smith’s rise has been greeted, in far too many quarters (including a number of comment boards on ew.com, like the one on my review), with bitter, gnashing resentment. This 11-year-old really has the haters foaming.
And he’s right. Obviously, what we have here is a classic case of “small people” getting uppity and disagreeing with A Mighty Critic. So let us all pause and take a moment to salute and appreciate Gleiberman for having the stones to label his own readers — those who keep EW running — racist.
And so we — the newly enlightened — continue:
He’s been excoriated as a bad actor (even though, just a few years ago, most viewers had nothing but praise for the appealingly feisty and precocious performance he gave right next to his dad in The Pursuit of Happyness).
I’m forced to interrupt this critic-ry insightfulness in order to salute Gleiberman for doing the incredible detective work needed to uncover the stunning fact that the very same people who once praised Jaden Smith’s performance in “The Pursuit of Happyness” are now lashing out at him due to the color of his skin.
Owen Gleiberman
Imagine the amount of journalism that went into discovering this red-hot smoking gun of hypocrisy. Imagine the comment boards our intrepid critic must’ve scoured throughout Al Gore’s brainchild to compare and connect various IP addresses to years-old opinions of Jaden’s performance in “Happyness” until, UNTIL, UNTIL!… Aha! Look! The very same people who once loved Young Smith now don’t…because he’s black!
He’s been called a brat, a spoiled no-talent, an ungrateful beneficiary of his lineage of stardom. He’s been ripped up and down as “insufferable” for his appearance last week on The Late Show with David Letterman. …
Bottom line, for me: Smith was cocky as hell on Letterman, but he was also interesting. For eight minutes, he displayed the confidence to be non-ingratiating and, in the process, he seized your attention. He was brash; he acted like a Hollywood kid who truly had a mind of his own. Perish the thought!
Owen, let me assure you that the thought is now perished.
Admittedly, this was the most confusing part of Gleiberman’s criticism. On one hand he praises Jaden Smith for having a mind of his own, while on the other, brands as racist those with a mind of their own who disagree. Hmm…?
Anyway:
Yet in the online universe of Jaden Hatred, that Letterman appearance played as one thing and one thing only: privilege. And that, on the surface, is what the whole ragging-on-Jaden-Smith phenomenon is really all about — the desire to tear down a child who enjoys the perks of celebrity royalty, even though he didn’t earn them. And now he’s getting a movie career handed to him! You can almost taste the class resentment, the jealousy of folks who only wish, deep down, that they’d gotten such an opportunity themselves[.]
Are you confused? After all, who are the Obi Wans of class resentment if not the Left? But if you’re confused it’s only because you don’t understand the Left’s oh-so important rules. Yes, they teach, breed, and foment class resentment like no other. And yes, they want us to resent the wealthy — you know, those making over $250,000 a year — who work hard and got somewhere in life but in the cruel act of doing so dared to embarrass the lazy and entitled. But what you have to understand is that those rules don’t apply to movie stars.
Duh.
For movie stahs represent all that is good and holy in the universe. They are our kings. Our monarchs. And therefore nepotism doesn’t count and this class resentment from the hoi polloi over a child of privilege — the heir apparent — is downright bourgeois.
And then Owen brings it home:
It’s hard to shake the feeling, though, that too many people are trying to turn Jaden Smith from what he is, which is an insolently charismatic and hard-working young actor, into a focal point of ill will over issues of class, fame, money, and — yes, I’m going to say it — race.
From high atop Mt. EW the powerful Critic Gleiberman has scrawled “race” across his mighty lightning bolt and hurled it across the Intenets. In other words:
You disagree with me, you Small People and refuse to bow down before the Son of Kings! You have the gall to summon criticism without a pedigree (like a degree in English from the University of Michigan)?!? For your sin of pride I now and forever shame you as RACISTS (and if any of you are black, uhm… SELL OUTS!)! So let it be written, so let it be done…
There’s just one problem. According to his own set of rules our mighty critic appears to have some racial issues of his own.
There’s simply no getting around the fact that Gleiberman is guilty of harshly reviewing a number of films that star and/or co-star people who are not of the Caucasian persuasion. Keep in mind, according to Gleiberman’s own rules, “hating” on a single non-white subject — in this case Prince Jaden — confirms your racism.
So how does Gleiberman explain this, this, this, this, and this? And that’s just the tip of what I like to call The Racially-Insensitive Iceberg. And so we are left with the question….
Does Own Gleiberman have a problem with films starring people who are — yes, I’m going to say it — not white?
UPDATE: I’ve just been informed that Leftists are above the rules. Especially, their own rules. If you’d be good enough to file this article under NEVERMIND, I promise to be more careful in the future.
On a serious note: While I wasn’t a big fan of the overlong “Karate Kid” reboot, I did find Jaden every bit as charismatic and worthy of the starring role as Gleiberman obviously did. I also found his Letterman appearance charming. For an 11 year-old, Jaden has an extraordinary magnetism and poise.
Some might credit nepotism for the young man’s rise; I credit genetics.
The difference between Geliberman and I, however, is that I won’t label as racist those who strongly disagree.
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