For gods' sakes, people
Monday, November 17th, 2003 06:50 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
seraiCan we all just lighten up??
RANT FOLLOWS
Sean Astin never said a word in that Premiere Magazine about fat people. Not One Word. He was talking about himself, his own body and how he felt about it, which he has a perfect right to do. He can think what he likes about his physique, and is free to feel whatever he feels about it.
Just because he's an actor doesn't mean he has any resposibility for anyone else's feelings. (The idea of an actor being in any way a role model, or obligated to watch his mouth more than anyone else, is ludicrous to me.) Sean went through a hell of a lot to bring us Sam Gamgee, and the carping I'm seeing here on LJ over some honest comments about the difficulties he went through is really pissing me off. He's a great guy, and he's got a right to feel unhappy about what he was made to do to himself, and what has happened to his body because of it, despite the fact that it's not the original image of Sam.
Besides, getting all twisted up over something a movie star says seems to me to be self-defeating. Who the hell cares what some actor says? Yes, it's Sean, he's lovely, I like him an awful lot. But when it comes down to it, he's just some guy. Why get upset over it?
Now, I realize that those who already resent him are using this as an excuse to dislike him even more. I've noted their outlook in the past - using his portrayal of Sam as material for their writings, yet badmouthing him for every little comment he makes that isn't within their narrow definitions of "nice" (meaning "what I want to hear"). There's a word for that kind of outlook and behavior, folks, and it starts with a great big H. But there's nothing we can do about that kind of person - they're going to be hopping up and down no matter what he does.
I guess what I'm saying is simply that it's not that big a deal. And just so you know - not only am I what is currently considered "overweight" (fat, for those of us unafraid of honest English), I live in L.A., which is arguably the most image-conscious city in the world. I myself have auditioned and been rejected, and it may have been because of my body (though that's not an assumption I'm prepared to make conclusively - see, it's possible not to take such things personally!) Yet it didn't even occur to me to feel any offense over what Sean said. It wasn't until I came to LJ last night and started seeing comments that a different interpretation even seemed possible. I expected the bochinche to be all about the great pissing the guys were doing about Elijah being or not being gay, and the great tinhat silliness that would start up (get the popcorn!) Sean's comments didn't even make me pause.
So could we let this one go? I mean this sincerely. Life's too short to drink bad wine. Why make yourselves unhappy over something that has nothing to do with anyone but Sean? He's an actor. His life and career depend partly on what he has to do physically and how the people in his business react to it. Yes, it's a shallow and silly situation for an adult to find himself in career-wise, but that's not his fault, is it? He's simply discussing LOTR and his work with a journalist who, after all, asked.
OK, RANT OVER. Feel free to start yelling at me, now. I'll be over here with a bottle of Chablis Ranchot 1991. Mmmm...
ADDENDUM: Karadin mentioned something in comments that is yet another mistaken interpretation that some are putting on Sean's words: That "fat fuck" referred to the character of Sam. ARGH! The fat fuck Sean is talking about is a character type. The Sidekick, the Best Friend Who Never Gets a Girl, the Sad Sack, the Comic Relief. The guy whose main purpose is to make the Hero look good by comparison. Sean's conception was clearly that Frodo and Sam would be more or less equivalent in their bodies. Had the film stayed with Tolkien's conception of Sam, they would have been. But it didn't. I give Sean kudos for understanding the language of cinema enough to realize what the change would do to Sam in the audience's eyes, and for fighting against anything that would diminish him. Let's face it - the majority of people have been brainwashed about weight, and making Sam look like that did have an effect. I for one am glad to hear that Sean went to bat for him.
RANT FOLLOWS
Sean Astin never said a word in that Premiere Magazine about fat people. Not One Word. He was talking about himself, his own body and how he felt about it, which he has a perfect right to do. He can think what he likes about his physique, and is free to feel whatever he feels about it.
Just because he's an actor doesn't mean he has any resposibility for anyone else's feelings. (The idea of an actor being in any way a role model, or obligated to watch his mouth more than anyone else, is ludicrous to me.) Sean went through a hell of a lot to bring us Sam Gamgee, and the carping I'm seeing here on LJ over some honest comments about the difficulties he went through is really pissing me off. He's a great guy, and he's got a right to feel unhappy about what he was made to do to himself, and what has happened to his body because of it, despite the fact that it's not the original image of Sam.
Besides, getting all twisted up over something a movie star says seems to me to be self-defeating. Who the hell cares what some actor says? Yes, it's Sean, he's lovely, I like him an awful lot. But when it comes down to it, he's just some guy. Why get upset over it?
Now, I realize that those who already resent him are using this as an excuse to dislike him even more. I've noted their outlook in the past - using his portrayal of Sam as material for their writings, yet badmouthing him for every little comment he makes that isn't within their narrow definitions of "nice" (meaning "what I want to hear"). There's a word for that kind of outlook and behavior, folks, and it starts with a great big H. But there's nothing we can do about that kind of person - they're going to be hopping up and down no matter what he does.
I guess what I'm saying is simply that it's not that big a deal. And just so you know - not only am I what is currently considered "overweight" (fat, for those of us unafraid of honest English), I live in L.A., which is arguably the most image-conscious city in the world. I myself have auditioned and been rejected, and it may have been because of my body (though that's not an assumption I'm prepared to make conclusively - see, it's possible not to take such things personally!) Yet it didn't even occur to me to feel any offense over what Sean said. It wasn't until I came to LJ last night and started seeing comments that a different interpretation even seemed possible. I expected the bochinche to be all about the great pissing the guys were doing about Elijah being or not being gay, and the great tinhat silliness that would start up (get the popcorn!) Sean's comments didn't even make me pause.
So could we let this one go? I mean this sincerely. Life's too short to drink bad wine. Why make yourselves unhappy over something that has nothing to do with anyone but Sean? He's an actor. His life and career depend partly on what he has to do physically and how the people in his business react to it. Yes, it's a shallow and silly situation for an adult to find himself in career-wise, but that's not his fault, is it? He's simply discussing LOTR and his work with a journalist who, after all, asked.
OK, RANT OVER. Feel free to start yelling at me, now. I'll be over here with a bottle of Chablis Ranchot 1991. Mmmm...
ADDENDUM: Karadin mentioned something in comments that is yet another mistaken interpretation that some are putting on Sean's words: That "fat fuck" referred to the character of Sam. ARGH! The fat fuck Sean is talking about is a character type. The Sidekick, the Best Friend Who Never Gets a Girl, the Sad Sack, the Comic Relief. The guy whose main purpose is to make the Hero look good by comparison. Sean's conception was clearly that Frodo and Sam would be more or less equivalent in their bodies. Had the film stayed with Tolkien's conception of Sam, they would have been. But it didn't. I give Sean kudos for understanding the language of cinema enough to realize what the change would do to Sam in the audience's eyes, and for fighting against anything that would diminish him. Let's face it - the majority of people have been brainwashed about weight, and making Sam look like that did have an effect. I for one am glad to hear that Sean went to bat for him.
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
Re: Sigh
Date: Monday, November 17th, 2003 07:25 pm (UTC)Re: Sigh
Date: Tuesday, November 18th, 2003 06:43 pm (UTC)I wholeheartedly agree with you, it was said, nothing was meant by it, let's move on...
I also hope that Sean doesn't get to hear about the commotion, because invariably he would worry, he seems to be that kind of person (imo, not that I know for real).