Film director and former Monty Python crew member Terry Gilliam has made it clear in no uncertain terms that he doesn’t subscribe to the far-left’s views on political correctness, masculinity, alleged sexual abuse/harassment, identity politics, political correctness, etc.
In a wide-ranging interview with The Independent published Saturday, the American-born British legend systematically atomized all of the left’s sacred cows, starting with political correctness.
“People work so hard to be offended now. I don’t know why I’m doing it. It’s not fun anymore,” he said early in the interview reportedly with a grin, referring to the outrage culture that’s completely overtaken the left and affected the right as well.
Moving on to masculinity, he then added, “There’s no room for modern masculinity, I’m told. The male gaze is over.”
The same may not be said of his latest film, “The Man Who Killed Don Quixote,” which was released last year and tells the story of a man whose “view of the world is a noble one.”
“It’s about chivalry,” Gilliam said. “It’s about rescuing maidens. All these wonderful ideas.”
Ideas, he seemed to suggest, that differ starkly from those of the #MeToo movement, which began as a sincere effort to expose powerful men who exploit their privilege and wealth to abuse women, but has since spiraled into what some allege is a man-hating campaign to malign even the most genteel of men.
In his film, he explained, there’s a character named Angelica who was cast at the age of 15 by a character named Toby to appear in a film.
“[Toby] told her she could be a star, but hasn’t spoken to her in the years since, and her attempts to make good on his prediction have failed. Now, she works as a model and an escort,” The Independent notes.
To Gilliam, Angelica represents responsible women — whereas the real-life women who’ve exploited the #MeToo platform represent irresponsible ones.
“In the age of #MeToo, here’s a girl who takes responsibility for her state,” he said. “Whatever happened in this character’s life, she’s not accusing anybody.”
“We’re living in a time where there’s always somebody responsible for your failures, and I don’t like this. I want people to take responsibility and not just constantly point a finger at somebody else, saying, ‘You’ve ruined my life.’”
The remarks appeared to be in reference to Harvey Weinstein, a real-life film producer who faces a spate of sexual abuse/harassment charges over his alleged mistreatment of real-life women just like Angelica.
Except that Angelica, the film character, apparently never accused Toby of sexual abuse or harassment, either because it never occurred or because she chose to keep quiet.
“When you have power, you don’t take responsibility for abusing others. You enjoy the power. That’s the way it works in reality,” Gilliam bluntly said of how power tends to function.
“#MeToo is a witch hunt. I really feel there were a lot of people, decent people, or mildly irritating people, who were getting hammered. That’s wrong. I don’t like mob mentality. These were ambitious adults.”
And in their ambition, sometimes women “make choices,” he added. And while those choices may lead to some people genuinely being abused — as was the case with Weinstein’s victims — that’s certainly not always the case.
Another #MeToo mess: Pilot accused of drugged-rape by co-pilot, sues airline and accuser for ‘false claims’ https://t.co/eT6E2fAqwi
— DILLIGAF (@tammyn2DILLIGAF) November 5, 2018
“There are many victims in Harvey’s life, and I feel sympathy for them, but then, Hollywood is full of very ambitious people who are adults and they make choices,” Gilliam explained. “We all make choices, and I could tell you who did make the choice and who didn’t.”
“I hate Harvey. I had to work with him and I know the abuse, but I don’t want people saying that all men. … Because on [the 1991 film] ‘Fisher King,’ two producers were women. One was a really good producer, and the other was a neurotic b—h. It wasn’t about their sex. It was about the position of power and how people use it.”
And in some cases, the victims willingly and knowingly place themselves in situations that put them in vulnerable positions.
“The point is, you make choices,” he said. “I can tell you about a very well-known actress coming up to me and saying, ‘What do I have to do to get in your film, Terry?’ I don’t understand why people behave as if this hasn’t been going on as long as there’ve been powerful people. I understand that men have had more power longer, but I’m tired, as a white male, of being blamed for everything that is wrong with the world. I didn’t do it!”
And the fact that some men have exploited their power doesn’t make all men — or all white men, in particular — guilty of some crime.
It’s a sentiment that Hollywood actress and comedian Roseanne Barr echoed in an interview last spring with conservative activist Candace Owens.
“What the hell were you doing in his hotel room. What happens at 3 am in the morning in a man’s hotel room? Business meetings?” she sarcastically said of women who purposefully place themselves in sketchy situations. “They’re pretending that they didn’t go to trade sexual favors for money.”
Listen to that interview below:
Below are some other notable remarks made by Gilliam.
On so-called diversity: “I’m into diversity more than anybody, but diversity in the way you think about the world, which means you can hate what I just said.”
I.e., he believes in the diversity of thought.
On the hypocrisy of the transgender movement: “When I announce that I’m a black lesbian in transition, people take offence at that. Why? Why am I not? How are you saying that I’m not?”
Yet left-wing actress Alyssa Milano is allowed to be a trans, disabled, lesbian, black, immigrant gay man …
On the left’s obsession with race: “I don’t like the term black or white. I’m now referring to myself as a melanin-light male. I can’t stand the simplistic, tribalistic behaviour that we’re going through at the moment.”
And on uptight people who can’t appreciate humor (and nuance): “I’m just trying to make you start thinking. You see, this is the world I grew up in, and with Python, we could do this stuff, and we weren’t offending people. We were giving people a lot of laughter.”
Read the full interview here.
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Vivek@bizpacreview.com
V. Saxena is a staff writer for BizPac Review with a decade of experience as a professional writer, and a lifetime of experience as an avid news junkie. He holds a degree in computer technology from Purdue University.
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