Shuriken
07-20-2002, 02:16 PM
The subject of so-called "political correctness" has been brought up in other forums. What do I think of "political correctness"? Not that anyone really cares about my opinion, but to me, the issue was best summed-up in an article about [i:79a4c1f6a1]Rising Sun[/i:79a4c1f6a1] by the writer David Ehrenstein (who is black & Jewish & gay!) that appeared in the British film magazine [i:79a4c1f6a1]Sight and Sound[/i:79a4c1f6a1] in 1993. At one point in his article, "War Business," Ehrenstein quotes a passage from Michael Crichton's novel, where a white prostitute talks about the Japanese:
"'And to them,' she said, 'their wishes, their desires, it's as natural as leaving the tip... I mean, I don't mind a little golden shower or whatever, handcuffs, you know. Maybe a little spanking if I like the guy. But I won't let anybody cut me. I don't care how much money. None of those things with knives or swords. A lot of them, they are so polite, so correct, but then they get turned on, they have this...this [i:79a4c1f6a1]way[/i:79a4c1f6a1]...' She broke of, shaking her head. 'They're strange people.'"
Ehrenstein's article picks up from there:
"Is it so difficult to see what's going on here? The Japanese 'way' is plainly at one with the sexual prowess supposedly possessed by blacks and the purported desire of Jews for the blood of Gentile children, the better to perform the ritual sacrifices believed to be the key to their vast economic power. There's a simple word for such sweeping cultural characterizations: racism. But as anyone who has been paying attention to the mass media over the last decade knows, racism is an increasingly dangerous thing to bring up in public. To do so is to leave oneself open to the countercharge of 'political correctness' — that brand of so-called liberal oversensitivity that media pundits and political commentators of the right to middle of the [political] spectrum never tire of decrying as worse than racism itself.
"Though it began life in the late '70s as a term of left-wing self-mockery, political correctness was taken up by the [political] right in the '80s when multiculturalism — that movement designed to teach the histories and contributions of non-white peoples — emerged on U.S. college campuses. In his book [i:79a4c1f6a1]An Illiberal Education[/i:79a4c1f6a1], right-wing foundation-funded propagandist Dinesh D'Souza [an Indian American] denounced multiculturalism as political correctness and its proponents as thought police intent on eradicating the matchless contributions of white heterosexual European males. Though his 15 minutes of fame soon passed, the term D'Souza promulgated has persisted to this day as a means of silencing any opposition to the status quo, in particular with regard to race. Consequently, when Asian-American [[i:79a4c1f6a1]sic[/i:79a4c1f6a1]] activist groups began to make enquiries about how [i:79a4c1f6a1]Rising Sun[/i:79a4c1f6a1] would be adapted to the screen, it was no surprise to find the familiar catch-phrase being wielded once more.
"'It's unrealistic to expect a "politically correct" view of Japan,' announced Rebecca Mundy, public affairs director of the Japan America Friendship foundation, the international trade promotion organisation that 20th Century Fox hired to handle protests against the film. 'That's not what art is about.' 'Watchdog groups are necessary,' noted [i:79a4c1f6a1]Rising Sun[/i:79a4c1f6a1] producer Peter Kaufman...in the same [i:79a4c1f6a1]Los Angeles Times[/i:79a4c1f6a1] article, 'but there's always the danger that they'll turn into "thought police".'"
Ehrenstein's article goes on to criticize the movie.
On the subject of [i:79a4c1f6a1]Rising Sun[/i:79a4c1f6a1], Michael Crichton himself invoked "political correctness" in defending his dubious novel. He addressed the Los Angeles World Affairs Council in a speech called "America Bound and Gagged: 'Political Correctness' and Censorship of the U.S.-Japan Relationship." In his speech, Crichton claimed that he only wanted to start a "discussion" of the U.S.-Japan trade relationship with his book. He went on to portray criticism of his novel as "political correctness" and himself as its victim. If I were talking to Crichton, I would ask him: Must a "discussion" of the U.S.-Japan trade relationship be premised on the idea that Japanese companies get ahead in the U.S. by murdering white women? And if "political correctness" is as oppressive as you say, how did [i:79a4c1f6a1]Rising Sun[/i:79a4c1f6a1] get published in the first place? How did it get turned into a $40-million movie starring Sean Connery? If "political correctness" is so stultifying, wouldn't all the publishers and movie studios have shied away from this material? Of course, I'll never get to ask him those questions. With all his millions, he's certainly able to keep away riff-raff like me.
Another good read is [i:79a4c1f6a1]The Myth of Political Correctness: The Conservative Attack on Higher Education[/i:79a4c1f6a1] by John K. Wilson. In his book, Wilson argues that stories of oppressive "political correctness" in the universities were used to mask the rise of an even more oppressive conservative orthodoxy on campus.
"'And to them,' she said, 'their wishes, their desires, it's as natural as leaving the tip... I mean, I don't mind a little golden shower or whatever, handcuffs, you know. Maybe a little spanking if I like the guy. But I won't let anybody cut me. I don't care how much money. None of those things with knives or swords. A lot of them, they are so polite, so correct, but then they get turned on, they have this...this [i:79a4c1f6a1]way[/i:79a4c1f6a1]...' She broke of, shaking her head. 'They're strange people.'"
Ehrenstein's article picks up from there:
"Is it so difficult to see what's going on here? The Japanese 'way' is plainly at one with the sexual prowess supposedly possessed by blacks and the purported desire of Jews for the blood of Gentile children, the better to perform the ritual sacrifices believed to be the key to their vast economic power. There's a simple word for such sweeping cultural characterizations: racism. But as anyone who has been paying attention to the mass media over the last decade knows, racism is an increasingly dangerous thing to bring up in public. To do so is to leave oneself open to the countercharge of 'political correctness' — that brand of so-called liberal oversensitivity that media pundits and political commentators of the right to middle of the [political] spectrum never tire of decrying as worse than racism itself.
"Though it began life in the late '70s as a term of left-wing self-mockery, political correctness was taken up by the [political] right in the '80s when multiculturalism — that movement designed to teach the histories and contributions of non-white peoples — emerged on U.S. college campuses. In his book [i:79a4c1f6a1]An Illiberal Education[/i:79a4c1f6a1], right-wing foundation-funded propagandist Dinesh D'Souza [an Indian American] denounced multiculturalism as political correctness and its proponents as thought police intent on eradicating the matchless contributions of white heterosexual European males. Though his 15 minutes of fame soon passed, the term D'Souza promulgated has persisted to this day as a means of silencing any opposition to the status quo, in particular with regard to race. Consequently, when Asian-American [[i:79a4c1f6a1]sic[/i:79a4c1f6a1]] activist groups began to make enquiries about how [i:79a4c1f6a1]Rising Sun[/i:79a4c1f6a1] would be adapted to the screen, it was no surprise to find the familiar catch-phrase being wielded once more.
"'It's unrealistic to expect a "politically correct" view of Japan,' announced Rebecca Mundy, public affairs director of the Japan America Friendship foundation, the international trade promotion organisation that 20th Century Fox hired to handle protests against the film. 'That's not what art is about.' 'Watchdog groups are necessary,' noted [i:79a4c1f6a1]Rising Sun[/i:79a4c1f6a1] producer Peter Kaufman...in the same [i:79a4c1f6a1]Los Angeles Times[/i:79a4c1f6a1] article, 'but there's always the danger that they'll turn into "thought police".'"
Ehrenstein's article goes on to criticize the movie.
On the subject of [i:79a4c1f6a1]Rising Sun[/i:79a4c1f6a1], Michael Crichton himself invoked "political correctness" in defending his dubious novel. He addressed the Los Angeles World Affairs Council in a speech called "America Bound and Gagged: 'Political Correctness' and Censorship of the U.S.-Japan Relationship." In his speech, Crichton claimed that he only wanted to start a "discussion" of the U.S.-Japan trade relationship with his book. He went on to portray criticism of his novel as "political correctness" and himself as its victim. If I were talking to Crichton, I would ask him: Must a "discussion" of the U.S.-Japan trade relationship be premised on the idea that Japanese companies get ahead in the U.S. by murdering white women? And if "political correctness" is as oppressive as you say, how did [i:79a4c1f6a1]Rising Sun[/i:79a4c1f6a1] get published in the first place? How did it get turned into a $40-million movie starring Sean Connery? If "political correctness" is so stultifying, wouldn't all the publishers and movie studios have shied away from this material? Of course, I'll never get to ask him those questions. With all his millions, he's certainly able to keep away riff-raff like me.
Another good read is [i:79a4c1f6a1]The Myth of Political Correctness: The Conservative Attack on Higher Education[/i:79a4c1f6a1] by John K. Wilson. In his book, Wilson argues that stories of oppressive "political correctness" in the universities were used to mask the rise of an even more oppressive conservative orthodoxy on campus.