Showing posts with label George Clooney. Show all posts
Showing posts with label George Clooney. Show all posts

Friday, November 16, 2007

Dear Cloon, I'm Sorry.

I know I'm heightist. I know. I dated a guy who was an inch shorter than me but in the end I just couldn't do it. I dumped him.

It might have had more to do with the fact that he disappeared on me for a month while trying to get back together with his ex-girlfriend who had just come back from Namibia than it did with him being an elf.

You might recall that earlier I semi-ranted on George Clooney being short. I stand by my word - he is a shorty. But that does not make him any less attractive or intelligent. Notice, for example, this fact I so blithely left out: the father of all my crushes, Jon Stewart, is a fucking munchkin. And I loooooooves it.

[Side note: I'm slightly disturbed by the fact that the three men I've mentioned having a crush on in my blog are all grey-haired and twenty years my senior, hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm]

In a Rolling Stone interview- perfect bathroom reading, I might add- The Clooney had this to say:

"The Information Age? It's great, it's readily available, and it's also dangerous. The bloggers think they're the Murrows of the future, and that anchormen and news organizations are archaic. Here's the problem: If you're a blogger, who's your ombudsman? Who do I go to when you're wrong? Who can I hold responsible?"


Okay, first: some people who read this quote, and the interview as a whole, are going to think The Clooney is drunk with self-importance. He's just an actor; what the hell does he know about improving the world?

Second: given that our politicians are the most corrupt this country has ever seen, I'm pretty sure anyone could do a better job, even actors.


Clooney
Look what a He-Man he is.


Third: he's right. Blogging is not subject to the same accuracy standards that broadcast news is. This is not to say broadcast news is better; in fact, I don't think you can even call it news today. But blogging can be irresponsible and dangerous. There are a bunch of nutjobs out there who believe in genocide or just live in their Mommy's basement with their erectile dysfunction and their middle age and spend their days trolling around the internet leaving incoherent ideologies and insulting everyone. Just ask Tyler - we both have experience with the crazies.

[Side note again, more of a rhetorical question, really: why does insurance cover medication for erectile dysfunction but not birth control? Why is it more important for a man to achieve an erection than to provide women with control over their own bodies? If it's a matter of money, wouldn't it be cheaper not to have the cost of a child? Why is this country so ass-backward when it comes to sex? Oh yes, it's because men like this, who repeatedly anally rape their wives while preaching to evangelicals about the sanctity of marriage, are part of the FDA.]

If people are to take blogging more seriously, there needs to be an avenue to ensure accuracy and fairness, as The Clooney laments. But the expense of that would be astronomical, and near impossible on a strategic level. Perhaps the future is collective action - that is, policing each other on social norms. It already works for Wikipedia, why not for blogs?

Monday, October 29, 2007

Media Misrepresentation Breeds Ignorance

Nothing is more dangerous than fostering misconceptions of important issues- it leads to prejudice, ignorance, even violence.

That being said, George Clooney is short. Fucking short. I saw him today running up the street, filming an obviously important scene where he has to look at a speeding black car and sweat. Oscar-worthy, I'm telling you. But after the scene was shot, he was escorted to a small SUV where the top of his head barely hit the top of the window. His escort couldn't have been much taller than me, and he dwarfed Clooney.


That microphone is actually only 18 inches off the ground.


The media has lied to us about just how big these Hollywood "heartthrobs" are.

Did you know Mark Wahlberg is a midget? Tom Cruise is actually some sort of insect.

What are the consequences of this misrepresentation? Dire. For example, say I was going to meet the Clooney for dinner and I wore heels. I would tower over him, and that upsets the entire gender balance. Who would pay for dinner? Should I open the door for him? Should he put out?

I mean, sheesh, these are important questions that need answers. The media should just tell us the truth, show us what these stars really are (they're making headway with the realistic portrayal of Britney Spears as redneck meth addict). If we start with truthful depictions of stars' height, just think what we can do about realistic portrayals of this little war we're fighting in Iraq.

It blows the mind.