Ok, Ebert. I enjoy a lot of Roger Ebert’s writing. I don’t always agree with his take on film, and don’t much care for his politics, but I think he’s a pretty good writer. And far be it from me to take a “stick to movies, you erstwhile ball of lard” line; the dude has every right to write about whatever strikes his fancy. Nevertheless, if he’s going to write about politics, I think he needs to start giving his political opponents a bit more respect if he doesn’t want to look like a complete jerk.
Consider this bit, from his “St. John of Las Vegas” review:
The script, we learn, was written by the director Hue Rhodes, based on the epic poem by Dante Alighieri. That name might not ring a bell with a lot of moviegoers and had better not be a question on the Tea Baggers’ literacy test. We all recall that Dante’s Inferno told the story of a journey into hell, with the poet Virgil as the tour guide.
This passage says absolutely nothing good about Roger Ebert.
Analysis of a Cheap Shot
Please consider these points:
- The Divine Comedy is not an obscure work. They make (apparently pretty lousy) video games based on it.
- To assume that something so deeply embedded in the popular culture would “not ring a bell” with a group of people is to insult them.
- To attempt to flatter your readers because they are aware of such common knowledge (and, surely, the subtext of Ebert’s quote is: “those other dullards haven’t heard of this, but you, clever folk that you are, obviously have”) is to condescend to them.
- To assume that your political opponents are colossally stupid and/or ignorant simply because they disagree with you on prudential questions (and care enough about their positions to organize and demonstrate) is to display remarkable close-mindedness.
- This quote suggests that Ebert does not know any reasonably intelligent people sympathetic to the tea party movement. Since they’re not hard to find, this suggests that he has a rather blinkered perspective. Maybe he should get out more, or at least expand his reading list a bit.
