Charlton Heston’s passing reminded me of one of my all-time favorite Youtube videos, the above Ten Things I Hate About Commandments. Considering that the original star of Ten Things I Hate About You, Heath Ledger, also passed this year, it’s a bit like watching old SNL skits with Chris Farley, Phil Hartman, or John Belushi, funny, but also quite sad.
Ronald Bergan has a nice piece on the Guardian Unlimited Film Blog exploring the idea of boycotting Heston’s films due to his affiliation with the NRA and his other staunch right-wing beliefs. While Bergan doesn’t exactly encourage a boycott, his point that actor’s political lives color our perception of their work is spot on.
I for one think that boycotting Heston or Jane Fonda or anyone else for their political views is silly. For one thing, the work that any artist makes is automatically open for interpretation. Even propaganda can be misread. And if the fickle nature of the viewer weren’t enough, we now have mash-ups on Youtube like the one above, where one of Hollywood’s most serious leading men is transformed into a pitch-perfect comedian. The political views of celebrities are what we make them, literally.
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