Twitter is trying to cancel Clint Eastwood for a joke he told in 1973
Cancel culture is relentless in its goal to eradicate all those habits, thoughts, and attitudes that have been spreading in the public sphere for decades. We sometimes support it, and sometimes we don't. Now, this movement has gone maybe a little bit too far.
Clint Eastwood is a legend of American film. He became famous for his spaghetti westerns, after which he became Dirty Harry, but also an American soldier in a bunch of war movies. He has always been highlighted as a symbol of the American patriotic story. After 1991 when he won the Oscar for the film Unforgiven, he released a film every year or two, many of which were nominated for Oscars, and some even won them. In those films, he always kept a strict, republican, right-wing, and patriotic attitude, even though he collaborated with actors who were the proponents of left and liberal thought. With such cooperation, he was quite at odds with all the established norms that society expects from him.
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At 91, he still makes films, and his latest, Cry Matcho, may not be exactly for a recommendation, but we certainly appreciate that someone his age is still interested in the art of filmmaking.
Because of right-wing views, which are not forbidden, even if you don't agree with them, he is often the target of criticism from younger intellectuals, who often get caught up in trolls and fake news, so they swallow and share a lie in which he said something he didn't. They have now dug up a joke from 1973 that he told at the Oscars.
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That year, Marlon Brando won the Oscar for Best Actor for his role in The Godfather, but instead, the award was received by Sacheen Littlefeather, an Indian woman, who then gave a speech on the position of Indians in America. This event is one of the most controversial in the entire history of this award. Now, after her speech, Clint went out to present one of the awards and joked: I don't know if I should present the award now on behalf of all the killed cowboys in western movies. Almost 40 years later, Twitter would like us to cancel Clint because of this statement.
1973: Native American actor Sacheen Littlefeather boo'd (and cheered) by Hollywood at the Oscars before being mocked by Clint Eastwood and almost physically assaulted by John Wayne simply for asking that Indigenous people not to be dehumanized in film.pic.twitter.com/BgOiuBq4hR — raf (@rafaelshimunov) October 11, 2021
Is this a distasteful joke in today's climate and mood? Certainly. Was it at the time? No way. Was it important at the time? It didn't matter at all, because it wasn't even remembered until the moment when it got into the sight of someone wandering on the Internet. Littlefeather is important and will be, as a symbol of courage and protest, and Clint Eastwood's stupid joke should stay in the graveyard of all stupid jokes, and not be talked about, and not belittled.
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For some time now, Hollywood and cancel culture has been trying to read with today's eyes things from 50 and more years ago. No matter how wrong those things were, life, society, opportunities, and the context in which they arose were still different. However, a joke, stupid or distasteful, said at the awards ceremony, is not the same as a call for violence, or just violence, which some might like. It is unlikely that this whole case will harm Eastwood, and he will get the opportunity, like any cowboy, to ride calmly into the sunset.
By: Helen B.
