{"id":1547946,"date":"2022-07-11T06:30:10","date_gmt":"2022-07-11T10:30:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1547946"},"modified":"2022-07-11T07:04:50","modified_gmt":"2022-07-11T11:04:50","slug":"flashback-when-hollywood-celebrated-free-speech","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/flashback-when-hollywood-celebrated-free-speech\/","title":{"rendered":"Flashback: When Hollywood Celebrated Free Speech"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">12<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fflashback-when-hollywood-celebrated-free-speech%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1547946&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><div><\/div>\n<p><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.imdb.com\/name\/nm0815070\/awards\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Aaron Sorkin<\/a> is one of Hollywood\u2019s most gifted scribes.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The mind behind \u201cThe West Wing,\u201d \u201cA Few Good Men\u201d and, more recently, \u201cBeing the Ricardos\u201d writes smart, snappy banter that makes even mediocre moments pop.<\/p>\n<p>And he\u2019s got an Oscar and four Emmys to show for it.<\/p>\n<p>He\u2019s also one of the industry\u2019s most partisan figures, penning <a href=\"https:\/\/www.huffpost.com\/author\/aaron-sorkin\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">liberal op-eds<\/a> and screenplays brimming with progressive points of view.<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s instructive to look back at one of his \u201990s-era scripts to see just how far Hollywood has fallen when it comes to free speech.<\/p>\n<p>Sorkin teamed with director <a href=\"https:\/\/www.hollywoodintoto.com\/ghosts-of-mississippi-review\/\">Rob Reiner<\/a>, another stalwart Leftist, on 1995\u2019s \u201cThe American President.\u201d Michael Douglas stars as a single Commander in Chief falling in love with a lobbyist (Annette Bening).<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s a traditional rom-com set inside the Beltway. \u201cThe American President\u201d lets Reiner and Sorkin celebrate progressive points of view and classic movie tropes. Rotten Tomatoes gives the film a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.rottentomatoes.com\/m\/american_president\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">91 percent \u201cfresh\u201d score from critics.<\/a><\/p>\n<p>The film\u2019s third act features a memorable speech by President Shepherd (Douglas), one meant to capture the Democratic zeitgeist while wrapping up key plot points. The president stands up for his new flame, savages his political opponent and pushes a bill meant to address global warming.<\/p>\n<p><strong>NOTE<\/strong>: It\u2019s what environmental activists once called Climate Change.<\/p>\n<p>The speech is pure Sorkin, full of soaring rhetoric and passion. Except it plays differently when heard today.<\/p>\n<p>Yes, Democrats still stand by the environment, witness their fitful embrace of the Green New Deal. What\u2019s different? <a href=\"https:\/\/www.americanrhetoric.com\/MovieSpeeches\/moviespeechtheamericanpresident.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Consider this passage<\/a> and it should be obvious.<\/p>\n<p>America isn\u2019t easy. America is advanced citizenship. You\u2019ve gotta want it bad, \u2019cause it\u2019s gonna put up a fight. It\u2019s gonna say, \u201cYou want free speech? Let\u2019s see you acknowledge a man whose words make your blood boil, who\u2019s standing center stage and advocating at the top of his lungs that which you would spend a lifetime opposing at the top of yours.\u201d You want to claim this land as the land of the free? Then the symbol of your country cannot just be a flag. The symbol also has to be one of its citizens exercising his right to burn that flag in protest. Now show me that, defend that, celebrate that in your classrooms.\u00a0Then you can stand up and sing about the land of the free.<\/p>\n<p>Free speech is now problematic for much of the Left. Today\u2019s progressives <a href=\"https:\/\/www.independent.co.uk\/arts-entertainment\/films\/news\/trump-twitter-ban-celebrity-reactions-b1784809.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">cheer on GOP officials getting chased off social media<\/a>. They punish conservatives for sharing their points of view on political campuses.<\/p>\n<p>The ACLU, name checked in President Shepherd\u2019s speech, <a href=\"https:\/\/fee.org\/articles\/the-aclu-is-no-longer-free-speechs-champion-but-other-groups-are-filling-the-gap\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">no longer fights for free speech<\/a> as it once did.<\/p>\n<p>And, worst of all from Hollywood\u2019s perspective, liberal stars rarely speak up for free expression \u2013 their stock in trade. Some suggest only <a href=\"https:\/\/variety.com\/2022\/film\/news\/tom-hanks-straight-actor-gay-philadelphia-role-1235295598\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">certain actors can play certain parts<\/a>. Others are willing to dismiss fellow stars if they <a href=\"https:\/\/www.hollywoodintoto.com\/antonio-sabato-jr-trump-blacklist\/\">hold the \u201cwrong\u201d political views.<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Oh, there are exceptions.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Dave Chappelle<\/li>\n<li>Ricky Gervais<\/li>\n<li>Adam Carolla<\/li>\n<li>Nick Searcy<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>The vast majority of Hollywood players stay mum on the subject. Some actively cheer on woke speech restrictions, like comedians <a href=\"https:\/\/www.hollywoodintoto.com\/dan-aykroyd-cancel-culture\/\">Dan Aykroyd,<\/a>\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.hollywoodintoto.com\/marc-maron-cancel-culture-right-wing-fascists\/\">Marc Maron<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.hollywoodintoto.com\/colbert-meyers-dr-seuss-muppetsof-art\/\">Stephen Colbert<\/a>. The biggest names \u2013 think Meryl Streep, George Clooney, Will Smith, Tom Hanks and more \u2013 can\u2019t be bothered to defend creative expression.<\/p>\n<p>Would Sorkin write that same speech today? Would Reiner feel comfortable directing it?<\/p>\n<p>Would film critics cheer that free speech defense? They overwhelmingly approved of \u201cThe American President\u201d in general during the 1990s. Modern film critics are openly liberal. Many bash projects that celebrate free expression.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.hollywoodintoto.com\/no-safe-spaces-box-office-critics\/\">They savaged \u201cNo Safe Spaces,\u201d<\/a> for example. And most critics now steer clear of projects which don\u2019t align with their world view, fearing they\u2019ll grant them undue publicity. Think the reaction to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.hollywoodintoto.com\/what-is-a-woman-documentary-press-critics\/\">\u201cWhat Is a Woman?\u201d<\/a> a Daily Wire documentary that critics actively avoided.<\/p>\n<p>Sorkin\u2019s \u201cAmerican President\u201d speech has aged beautifully. The film\u2019s creative duo, as well as today\u2019s Hollywood stars, may disagree.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Aaron Sorkin is one of Hollywood\u2019s most gifted scribes. The mind behind \u201cThe West Wing,\u201d \u201cA Few Good Men\u201d and, more recently, \u201cBeing the Ricardos\u201d writes smart, snappy banter that<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1548140,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1547946","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1547946","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1547946"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1547946\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1548140"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1547946"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1547946"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1547946"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}