Hey, America, Would You Take Advice on How to Run Your Life From an Actor?

I logged onto Seesmic the other day and caught an interview of the British comedian John Cleese talking about the presidential election here in the United States. In case you’ve never heard of Seesmic, it is a website where you can comment on . . . oh, just about anything, but the commenting is all on video.

Anyway, John Cleese was sharing his views on Sarah Palin’s debating skills, as well as the wisdom, or lack thereof, of the American voting public, based, of course, on whether or not they shared his political views.

Now, I don’t mind John Cleese sharing his views, but I must say it was not a little amusing to listen to him get snobby about how wise or foolish American voters are and have been in past elections, as though we ought to take his advice to heart. It is nothing personal against Mr. Cleese, but I have a hard time keeping a straight face when actors are interviewed on politics as though their opinions on politics—or frankly, just about anything other than acting—should carry any weight with the rest of the world.

Now, I understand what is going on: when you like or admire someone, you want to be like them; consequently, actors often have a great deal of influence over their fans. But that is what makes their officiousness so bothersome. And the really funny thing is, when I pointed this out in a comment, a bunch of people seemed to take offense at my suggestion that we ought not to take Mr. Cleese too seriously.

It is perfectly all right to agree with his views, mind you; my whole point was that I was somewhat . . . skeptical, shall we say? . . . about Mr. Cleese’s credentials, such that anyone should form their opinions of who would make a better president based on his assessment. To be fair, I suppose I should give him his due in assessing who is a better performer on stage—Sarah Palin or Joe Biden—since that is relevant to his profession, but I am not sure that acting skill in politicians is something to be admired. I mean, if Sarah Palin sounds a bit stilted, and Joe Biden sounded as smooth as silk, maybe it’s simply because Joe is better at memorizing his lines, and thus a better actor. I mean, he sure sounded smooth a few years ago when recounting his family lore in a stump speech. But it turns out he plagiarized wholesale the bit about his family background from a speech by Neil Kinnock.

And before everyone gets all offended at that assessment: look, the plagiarizing charge is old news, is well-documented, and Mr. Biden conceded to it, so I am not raising it here as a “dig” against Sen. Biden. In fact, I am raising it here because it demonstrates my point that being a smooth-talker is not a particularly reliable indicator of sincerity or integrity. Neither is it an indicator of competence in any other area of life. After all, lots of terrific actors have made a complete hash of their personal lives.

But getting back to the point: doesn’t anyone else find this practice of garnering actors’ endorsements of presidential candidates laughable, and worthy of ridicule? And I sincerely mean that whether the actor is endorsing a Republican or a Democrat. What qualifies an actor to assess who would make a better president for the American people? Take a look at this election: for weeks, we had McCain and Obama arguing about who was more “out of touch” with real America. Oh, so we should ask . . . an actor? And even more, the more famous and popular an actor is, the more we should listen to them? HELLOOOOO! If anyone is out of touch with the rest of America, it is actors and actresses who get paid astronomical amounts for pretending they are other people a few months out of the year.

Now, having said this, let me make it clear that I don’t begrudge actors’ their hefty paychecks; after all, I’m contributing to their coffers every time I buy one of their DVDs. But what do they know about me and what my life is like, such that they are qualified to give me advice on anything? If they are not on the screen in a movie worth watching (which is rare enough, I might add), I really couldn’t give a you-know-what what they have to say. I mean, if John McCain or Barack Obama told you what movie ought to win the Academy Award for Best Picture, and then proceeded to tell you that you were a fool for not agreeing with him, wouldn’t you find that a bit bizarre, not to mention silly and arrogant?

And why stop at politics? Let’s ask Russell Crowe his views on child-rearing, and Julia Roberts her opinions on modern architecture, and the guy who does Scooby-Doo’s voice on how we should handle the nation’s credit and financial crisis. Sure, they have opinions, and sure, you might agree with them. But their opinions only tell us something about them, and it is utterly beyond me why I or anyone else (other than their friends and family members, I would say) should care about their opinions on these subjects. I, and the millions of people like me who are subjected to these actors’ “wisdom” by a fawning (and frankly sickening and sycophantic) media, personally don’t know these people, and it seems to me their opinions are no more persuasive or weighty than the opinion of my daily mail carrier on these same subjects.

If these actors want to talk about acting . . . well, that is a subject on which they are qualified to speak with some authority. And I would listen to them if that was a subject I developed an interest in. But American politics and my future? Sorry, guys, but I haven’t yet seen or heard any actor yet whose viewpoint was persuasive for any reasons that would convince me that I ought to listen to him.

Many actors seem to have an unnaturally strong desire and need for public attention and adoration. In that way, they are like a lot of politicians. But that need hardly justifies why we should be subjected to their viewpoints. Having to endure listening to American politicians is torture enough.

Use your head, America.

No related posts.