MDM4AU 336 Posted November 5, 2003 Share Posted November 5, 2003 A Sad Day for Artistic Freedom ...Barbra Streisand Posted on November 4, 2003 I am deeply disappointed that CBS, the network that in 1964 gave me complete artistic control in creating television specials, now caved in to right wing Republican pressure to cancel the network broadcast of the movie The Reagans. (And I say MOVIE - because this is NOT a documentary - it's a television drama.) The movie will now be aired on Showtime, where the difference in viewership is in the millions. One can only imagine the kind of pressure that would compel CBS to take such an extraordinary action. This was an organized Republican spin machine at work. Remember the Dixie Chicks controversy? It wasn't the larger general public that called in to radio stations and burned CDs, it was a small group of right wing activists. In fact, now the band is more popular than ever, with a sold out summer tour. I don't believe Democrats often, if ever, try to muscle the First Amendment like this. For example, in 1983, no one stopped NBC from airing Kennedy, a biopic that portrayed President Kennedy and other members of his family and administration as deeply flawed, even though the movie could have potentially been hurtful to Jackie Kennedy, who was still alive to see it, as well as to her children. This is censorship, pure and simple. Well, maybe not all that pure. Censorship never is. Due to their experience with the restrictive English government, the framers of our constitution specifically included a ban on prior restraint in the First Amendment, which is an attempt to stop information from getting out there before the public has a chance to see it at all - exactly what is going on in this case. Of course, CBS as a company has the legal right to make decisions about what they do and do not air. However, these important decisions should be based on artistic integrity rather than an attempt to appease a small group of vocal dissidents. Indeed, today marks a sad day for artistic freedom - one of the most important elements of an open and democratic society. Link :huh: -_- :headshake: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tigermike 3,052 Posted November 5, 2003 Share Posted November 5, 2003 Is she the best looking female democrat? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TitanTiger 20,510 Posted November 5, 2003 Share Posted November 5, 2003 Correction, Babs: It is not censorship. At least not any kind that has to do with the First Amendment. No one is being arrested. No one had a gun held to their heads. In fact, the stupid hatchet job is still being aired, albeit on a network people pay to have in their homes. See, the First Amendment has to do with government, not people telling a network they'll stop watching their shows in protest or stop buying the sponsor's products for the same reason. What has happened here is a lesson in free markets. That's another thing our Founding Fathers were fond of. People who watch CBS let their displeasure be known and they threatened to boycott companies that advertised on "The Reagans". This is not unlike the furor that was raised by homosexual activist groups that ended up getting Dr. Laura's TV show canned...they threatened to boycott and essentially label advertisers and stations that carried it as being complicit with a "homophobic" show. Funny, I don't seem to remember you being all that up at arms when that boycott effort proved successful. Babs, do us all a favor. Take your hypocritical nonsense and shove where the sun doesn't shine. We aren't buying it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tiger Al 0 Posted November 5, 2003 Share Posted November 5, 2003 She brings up an interesting point about the Kennedy movie. I'd forgotten about that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Weagle98 119 Posted November 5, 2003 Share Posted November 5, 2003 I doubt the Kennedy movie had JFK stating "I am the Anti-Christ"! http://www.drudgereport.com/rr5.htm Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MDM4AU 336 Posted November 5, 2003 Author Share Posted November 5, 2003 She brings up an interesting point about the Kennedy movie. I'd forgotten about that. Nothing in the Kennedy movie was without sources and/or witnesses, Damaging as they may appear. Again, for the terminally slow, if there is proof and/or a source it changes the whole arguement by those opposed. Yet, no one has any idea if the aforementioned aspects of the Reagan movie actually happened, therefore it simply appears to be false and misleading! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TitanTiger 20,510 Posted November 5, 2003 Share Posted November 5, 2003 It's one thing to portray Reagan as reluctant to address the AIDS issue for some reason or another. It's a whole other thing to have him say something so callous without a scintilla of proof. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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