No mention at all in your review of this movie that the real life person that Ben Affleck plays is Latino even after this was brought to your attention multiple times??
Incredible.
On May 8th of this year I called Bob out for his complete and utter blindness to Hollywood's racism. When specific incident occur of Hollywood continually pushing nonwhites to the side Bob doesn't say anything. Just look at his reviews of movies like M. Night's live action movie based on Avatar The Last Airbender and Prince Of Persia where his comments on the whitewashing range from either bizarre indifference to contrived justification.
I called him out for not mentioning anything at all for Argo, which casts white privileged actor Ben Affleck as real life Latino Antonio Mendez. When the trailer first came out all Bob said was that the trailer looked “promising” according to his twitter. NO MENTION WHATSOEVER OF THE WHITEWASHING.
When he posted the trailer on this blog that same day he didn't mention the whitewashing as major news. Whitewashing that continues to DESTROY the dreams of many Latino Americans by NOT casting them as the LEADS of movies. What he mentioned was that white man Jack Kirby will be featured in the movie. Only when you actually click to enter the page did he have a line at the bottom mentioning the discrimination of the movie in a tone that was very insincere (quoting Bob himself, “So… yeah, now I've mentioned that”).
In fact, Bob spends more time in this review talking about Kirby and how it's some kind of injustice that the movie doesn't mention him by name but he never mentions whatsoever that the lead role is being played by a white man was but in real life is Latino!
The only time Bob ever felt to mention discrimination in Hollywood was when it had to do with under rated black British actor Idris Elba playing a role that was NOT THE LEAD in a movie that was all about launching another white guy as a Hollywood superstar and also to lead to the lily white superhero movie The Avengers. Ironically, in that segment, Bob says “you gotta start somewhere” in reference to Elba's casting.
Hey Bob!
HOW ABOUT STARTING BY CASTING NONWHITES AS THE LEAD OF A MOVIE WHICH IS EXACTLY WHAT ARGO COULD HAVE BEEN????!! WHY DON'T YOU MENTION THAT IN YOUR REVIEW OF THIS MOVIE???!!
You had the chance to bring this issue to a large audience so dialog can be had and people can be awoken to the injustice that Hollywood produces on a daily basis and like before you turned a blind eye to it.
Funny how you make these articles and video segments talking about how you were bullied as a kid and it sucked for you. Guess what, Bob? I don't feel sorry for you. At the end of the day you are a white man who even as an obese “geek” still have privilege that no nonwhite person gets in this country. You refusing to bring this issue to a wider audience is enabling the bulling of nonwhites that goes on in Hollywood.
I hope you feel good about yourself. You just showed your true colors with this review.
you are totally pushing opinions on Bob that he has NOT endorsed.
I seem to remember him defending a certain casting in Thor, if you don't remember. Just because a movie did something you didn't like, or I didn't like, or whatever, does NOT mean that movie isn't quality.
note: whenever you find yourself using the “caps lock” button, you may just being reacting emotionally instead of rationally.
calm down! you're making your position seem absurd, when the core idea that white people are favored in movie casting is a real issue.
The Iranian Hostage Situation was what “ARGUABLY” led to Jimmy Carter's downfall?
Uh, Bob, I know you're to the left of Chris Matthews, but gimmie a fucking break, man. You can't even recognize the situation was so atricous it led to one of the worst Presidential losses in history.
“I seem to remember him defending a certain casting in Thor, if you don't remember.”
You really should actually read someone's post before replying to them. That comment shows you didn't read my post at all.
“Just because a movie did something you didn't like, or I didn't like, or whatever, does NOT mean that movie isn't quality. “
Classic white privilege talk.
“when the core idea that white people are favored in movie casting is a real issue. “
So real in fact, that Bob felt no need to bring it up in his review which would have reached a big audience so that this issue can be discussed and awareness can be brought forth.
That statement of Bob's you are referring to was nothing but his ill-informed opinion.
I can sit down and mention a bunch of white actors that were complete unknowns but were still casted as leads in major motion pictures (e.g. The lead in Thor).
But when we are talking about a nonwhite actor it's a different story and barriers are held that white actors don't experience. Bob should be ashamed at making such an obvious racist justification like that.
Also, Affleck is hardly a box office draw. The guy as an actor has been a laughing stock and its his career as a director that has given him more success.
So that whole excuse of Bob's was pure garbage.
@ The Mason
Right, because a complaint about a lack of jokes is similar to the issue that I bringing forth and Bob outright refused to mention in his review.
Refused to mention? Gee, I guess I missed the hidden bit in the credits where Bob outright says “Not mentioning the whitewashing thing because I don't care”
You, sir, need to get a grip. If you don't like or don't agree with something, acting like a jerk and dropping a wall of text thesis about why the person in question is hitler or whatever is a waste of not only your time, but everyone elses.
Also, is it not possible that due to the ~5 minute runtime of the review, Bob chose to put in stuff about the movie (ie, the Jack Kirby thing) that would have appealed to the type of people that visit the website the video is hosted on?
“Refused to mention? Gee, I guess I missed the hidden bit in the credits where Bob outright says “Not mentioning the whitewashing thing because I don't care””
Something like that would sort of defeat the purpose of not mentioning something, wouldn't it?
“Also, is it not possible that due to the ~5 minute runtime of the review, Bob chose to put in stuff about the movie (ie, the Jack Kirby thing) that would have appealed to the type of people that visit the website the video is hosted on?”
So is Bob's audience a bunch of white supremacists/white nationalists? Cause that's the only audience that wouldn't want to hear about an issue like this.
And about that running time you bring up, Bob's reviews usually run a over 5 minutes. Some even close over 6 minutes.
His review for this movie ran under 5 minutes. He had more than enough time to mention Hollywood's whitewashing and the blatant discrimination of not casting a Latino as a real life Latino and also to give him a chance as a lead in Hollywood. But Bob simply refused to mention it. Instead it was far more important for him to talk about Argo never mentioning Jack Kirby by name.
I gotta wonder, Phil, if you are spamming the comments under every review of this movie that doesn't mention the lack of a latino in the lead. I bet you aren't, because you'd be quite a busy guy. But for some reason, the statements of this particular z-list internet personality are so important that you need to harass him for not saying what you want him to say. That's… um… kind of a waste of effort from every angle.
Moviebob is not a social crusader. He's not even a social commentator, at least not in his reviews. He's a film critic. His job, pure and simple, is to tell us what he thinks of the movie in question. That's it. He thinks Argo is a good movie. So do I. So do roughly 90% of critics on Rotten Tomatoes. The fact that Ben Affleck is white does not change how effective the film is, so there's really no reason for Bob to mention it in his review.
He HAS mentioned it in other forums and has said, more than once, that he would have wanted the role to go to a Latino actor. He doesn't owe you anything more than that.
“Called Bob out”? More like “made a big deal out of nothing”. Even if Bob were to give in and tell you you're right about everything, you've accomplished nothing. If Hollywood's casting practices are so important to you, do yourself a favor and direct your anger to a place where it might actually do some good.
“I gotta wonder, Phil, if you are spamming the comments under every review of this movie that doesn't mention the lack of a latino in the lead. I bet you aren't, because you'd be quite a busy guy”
Not to mention quite the leap that would be.
I assume the authors of these articles are also me “spamming” the internet on this issue?
“Moviebob is not a social crusader. He's not even a social commentator, at least not in his reviews. He's a film critic. “
What a load garbage. Not only has the guy brought up a whole range of topics not related to film it says right on the banner of this website that he deals with things other than movies.
“He HAS mentioned it in other forums and has said, more than once, that he would have wanted the role to go to a Latino actor. He doesn't owe you anything more than that.”
This isn't about owning me anything. This is a guy who says he is against these kinds of things but never actually expresses being against it in his work. In fact, he's defended it more than anything.
Go ahead and read his post when he first mentioned Tom Hardy being cast as Bane here. He actually was criticizing people for not saying anything about the fact that a white man was playing a Latino in that movie.
But did he mention it in his review of The Dark Knight Rises? Nope.
What about in his review of Argo? Nope.
If he really cared then I would be irrelevant as it's the issue that counts and Bob would've spoken about this in his review. He doesn't when given the opportunity but wants to sick back and act noble.
“”Called Bob out”? More like “made a big deal out of nothing”.”
Of course Bob covers things not related to movies here. This is his blog. That's what blogs are for. His blog posts are NOT part of his job, i.e. the review videos. (And the Big Picture.) Do you seriously not see the difference? His videos are *reviews*, not op-ed pieces on social issues. When I watch his video, I want him to tell me if (and why) the movie is good. He accomplished that with this video. Job done.
At the end of the day, the opinions of a z-list internet personality on the issue of whitewashing really are quite meaningless. Bob has a limited audience over which he has approximately zero actual influence (read the comments under his political posts for evidence of that). It's great that you want to do something about Hollywood's whitewashing. But proving that Bob doesn't care about the issue (which you really can't do because you are not a psychic) does nothing to make the situation better.
Again, direct your anger where it might do some good. Say, towards a person/organization that might actually have some influence over how these casting decisions are made. Just a thought.
I don't feel sorry for you. At the end of the day you are a white man
I'm glad white privilege makes you feel that way.
RACISM! But seriously, Phil, as everyone else has been saying, you're being an asshole about this. Maybe you have a legitimate concern, but your attitude is absurdly confrontational. Either you're a troll or you're a little unhinged.
You are a petchulent, childish little asshole. Seriously, go back to the little hole you came out of and live the rest of your miserable life. Or, get off your ass, start writing some actual reports about whitewashing in Hollywood, make a blog, and try to help make the change you rightfully want.
God Bob how many times do I have to tell you exactly what to say in your reviews of this movie?! Seriously I even brought it up in a completely unrelated post a week after you mentioned the film briefly alongside a dozen or so others. For the last time the only review of this movie I can accept would be one which outright refuses to critique the cinematography, script, direction, performance, set-design, costume design or any other factor because BEN AFFLECK IS NOT A LATINO! Otherwise you're just a privileged white man pretending to have a social conscience, there are no other possible explanations!
Well I for one can't wait to go see this hateful, discriminating, piece of racism that will apparently insult me to my very core as a Latino. 🙂
Seriously, I've been really looking forward to this one. Partly because of my admitted crush on Ben Affleck but mostly because; Cranston, Affleck, and Goodman all in the same film? Yes please. Yes please very much. I'm so glad he switched to directing and if he does get an oscar nod, its been quite some time coming.
Don't necessarily think it's Bob's 'job' to bring up white-washing or lack thereof consistently whenever it happens in a film. But to be fair to Phil, I can see why he's mad. The guy from Argo is a real person and he did something pretty incredible in the real world. It's bullshit to white-wash his race and cast him as a different ethnicity. I mean, would everybody here be alright if they cast an Asian guy to play say… Jack Kirby? If they made a film about Jack Kirby's life and the only way they could get the money was by hiring Ken Jeong would everybody be like “Oh well, at least we get a great story about Jack Kirby”? Somehow I doubt that. I'm not saying Bob's a bad guy or everybody's racist, I'm just saying if the shoe was on the other foot people would be dancing to a different tune.
Wow, never would have expected someone making a big deal about MovieBob and racism on his blog. Coming in raving about how so leftist he is? Yes, that happens all the time, and to him that could easily be a compliment if he takes pride in being left-wing. But calling him a racist? Huh.
I doubt this movie needs more help this weekend, so I was going to see Seven Psychopaths with my friend. I'm assuming it didn't screen to critics since there was no mention of it on your blog, in your video or in your column.
If I can be allowed, please, to steer the discussion back to something more germaine to the movie itself, I've been very interested in seeing Argo. In a way, both this movie and the upcoming Zero Dark Thirty kind of bookend each other. I was already aware of the basic premise. But now knowing that such legends as John Chambers and Jack Kirby were involved in this makes me want to check it out even more.
Incidentally, this reminds me of another story about a secret attempt to extract some of the hostages. Back in 1983, Ken Follett wrote a book entitled “On Wings of Eagles.” It was actually based on a real-life operation to go into Iran and rescue some of the hostages, who happened to work for the company Electronic Data Systems. When EDS' CEO heard about this, he used his clout and funds to mount his own operation to rescue his employees.
And who was this insanely rich CEO? None other than…wait for it…Ross Perot!
Yes, several years before Perot would be remembered as the lovably eccentric billionaire who ran for President, he was then known as the lovably eccentric billionaire who had the balls and wherewithal to pull off what many believed the Federal government at the time couldn't. It's kind of a shame that history has forgotten this detail of his life. But in light of the movie Argo, I'd say it's worth mentioning.
Anyway, Perot would later commission Follett to write a novel based on the incident, which was subsequently adapted into a TV miniseries that aired on TNT in the 1980's and starred Richard Crenna as Perot and Burt Lancaster as the mission's rescue leader, retired Co. Arthur Simons. After seeing Argo, you might want to check this out as well.
Also, Bob, I may have to disagree with you on the Academy passing this over for an Oscar. Because Hollywood loves a comeback story; in this case, Ben Affleck's. Considering that for over a decade his name had been considered box office poison, and that his career managed to survive both Jennifer Lopez and the disaster that was Gigli, that he managed to come back with well-regarded movies such as The Town and now Argo I'd say is nothing short of miraculous.
As for your intermission, I'm surprised you still haven't mentioned either The Human Centipede or A Serbian Film. Those are two movies that my friends often bring up when it comes to endurance tests. And while I never saw the latter, I have seen THC (at least the first one), and I can tell you, that movie was an endurance test for me. And while it's true there was very little in the way of gore, the movie itself was so disturbing that at times I found it difficult to sit through. By the end, I felt as if someone should have given me a medal for getting through it!
Hopefully you'll mention these two in the next “Test Your Might.” They certainly deserve it.
I agree but I think if they made an MLK movie with an Arabic guy as Martin Luther King, Jr. people would have the same reaction as Ken Jeong Kirby. It's not just black and white in “casting a white person to play an ethnic person” and vice-versa, it's casting, ultimately, the wrong-looking person to play a role. I think Goku looked bad less because they cast a white dude and more because he didn't look like Goku. (WHITE PRIVILEGE MAKES MY OPINION ABOUT HIS LOOKS AND NOT HIS RACE WAHH WAHH) So Asian Kirby or Arabic Dr. King would receive the same reaction.
I just saw Argo today and I really liked it; it may not be Oscar-worthy but it's a solid, well-made film with good everything across the board.
Jesus Bob, you have some pretty freaking twisted stalkers…
As a latino myself, I consider that complaining about whitewashing in Hollywood is childish. Yes it's not a good thing, but the movie industry is exactly that, an industry and it's aim is to make money. I really don't think that trolling a C-list internet celebrity will make a difference.
Also, good review Bob, it seems Ben Affleck has a hat trick. Kinda disappointed about you not making a Looper video, but I guess it's already too late. Anyway, keep the good stuff.
I am in no way saying that what you think about Argo and it's regards to race discrimination is wrong. I am in no way saying that you are wrong for not wanting to see Argo because of its casting choice. What I am going to say is wrong though is that you're accusing Bob of having certain opinions that he hasn't even expressed. You were tagged with being a jerk by Bob because you are being a jerk.
But, that's ok, there's still hope. Let me give you some guide lines in the future.
Instead of throwing accusations around, why don't you start asking question to Moviebob so you can get a clearer understanding of what he actually thinks on the whole situation. Questions like “What do you think about the part being given to Ben Affleck instead of an authentic Latino actor like it was in actual history?” or “What do you think we can do to fix this?” or “What do you think this all means?”
There! That's it! You gain a further insight into what Bob thinks, nobody thinks you're a jerk now, and we gain a further understanding of movies and Hollywood in general.
When Bob actually does start giving off opinions that showing that he's actually for “white-washing”, then…..well, I guess you can stop following him. Or you can express how you feel on how he feels about situations that you don't agree with.
In other words, be civilized. Don't start putting opinions in other people's mouth; that's what we call “arguing with ghosts”, and it one of the things that get's everybody NOWHERE!
I hope you take what I said with some consideration.
Sure, people would react to casting Martin Luther King as a different ethnicity as offensive (regardless of what ethnicity it would be). But that hypothetical 'what if' scenario doesn't make Argo any less racist. When you got Hollywood having a history, a very long history of white-washing other races and denying leading roles to great actors because of their race, saying “well it's not a white problem, it's just bad casting” is just fooling yourself. It's racist, plain and simple. Like I said, the guy is a real figure in history, casting him as a white guy is manipulative and arrogant and I think it's racist in a naive, oblivious sort of way. Again, I'm not calling anybody else racist, I'm not calling Bob racist or telling people they shouldn't see the movie or enjoy it. Just that, I can see the dude's point and why he's angry and I'm not gonna dismiss him. Just because someone acts impulsively or emotionally doesn't mean they're wrong.
Phil is 100% correct. Have any of the rest of you even seen Bob's other videos? He constantly bashes others as racists, particularly video gamers and conservatives. And yet here he is, recommending the most blatantly racist movie in recent memory. He has absolutely no moral high ground to be calling anyone else a racist. And really, bigots with power like Ben Affleck do far more damage than random idiots mouthing off on Xbox Live.
By giving this his recommendation, he is saying that we should go see it, that we should give our money to support racism. So yes, if he were truly against racism, he would have told us to stay away.
“For the last time the only review of this movie I can accept would be one which outright refuses to critique the cinematography, script, direction, performance, set-design, costume design or any other factor because BEN AFFLECK IS NOT A LATINO!”
I suppose you think reviews of Mein Kampf should focus only on grammar, punctuation, and the cover art.
MOVIEBOB CENTRAL 
Wow!
No mention at all in your review of this movie that the real life person that Ben Affleck plays is Latino even after this was brought to your attention multiple times??
Incredible.
On May 8th of this year I called Bob out for his complete and utter blindness to Hollywood's racism. When specific incident occur of Hollywood continually pushing nonwhites to the side Bob doesn't say anything. Just look at his reviews of movies like M. Night's live action movie based on Avatar The Last Airbender and
Prince Of Persia where his comments on the whitewashing range from either bizarre indifference to contrived justification.
I called him out for not mentioning anything at all for Argo, which casts white privileged actor Ben Affleck as real life Latino Antonio Mendez. When the trailer first came out all Bob said was that the trailer looked “promising” according to his twitter. NO MENTION WHATSOEVER OF THE WHITEWASHING.
When he posted the trailer on this blog that same day he didn't mention the whitewashing as major news. Whitewashing that continues to DESTROY the dreams of many Latino Americans by NOT casting them as the LEADS of movies. What he mentioned was that white man Jack Kirby will be featured in the movie. Only when you actually click to enter the page did he have a line at the bottom mentioning the discrimination of the movie in a tone that was very insincere (quoting Bob himself, “So… yeah, now I've mentioned that”).
In fact, Bob spends more time in this review talking about Kirby and how it's some kind of injustice that the movie doesn't mention him by name but he never mentions whatsoever that the lead role is being played by a white man was but in real life is Latino!
The only time Bob ever felt to mention discrimination in Hollywood was when it had to do with under rated black British actor Idris Elba playing a role that was NOT THE LEAD in a movie that was all about launching another white guy as a Hollywood superstar and also to lead to the lily white superhero movie The Avengers. Ironically, in that segment, Bob says “you gotta start somewhere” in reference to Elba's casting.
Hey Bob!
HOW ABOUT STARTING BY CASTING NONWHITES AS THE LEAD OF A MOVIE WHICH IS EXACTLY WHAT ARGO COULD HAVE BEEN????!! WHY DON'T YOU MENTION THAT IN YOUR REVIEW OF THIS MOVIE???!!
You had the chance to bring this issue to a large audience so dialog can be had and people can be awoken to the injustice that Hollywood produces on a daily basis and like before you turned a blind eye to it.
Funny how you make these articles and video segments talking about how you were bullied as a kid and it sucked for you. Guess what, Bob? I don't feel sorry for you. At the end of the day you are a white man who even as an obese “geek” still have privilege that no nonwhite person gets in this country. You refusing to bring this issue to a wider audience is enabling the bulling of nonwhites that goes on in Hollywood.
I hope you feel good about yourself. You just showed your true colors with this review.
LikeLike
Phil, are you a cartoon character?
LikeLike
@ Phil
WOAH!
you are totally pushing opinions on Bob that he has NOT endorsed.
I seem to remember him defending a certain casting in Thor, if you don't remember. Just because a movie did something you didn't like, or I didn't like, or whatever, does NOT mean that movie isn't quality.
note: whenever you find yourself using the “caps lock” button, you may just being reacting emotionally instead of rationally.
calm down! you're making your position seem absurd, when the core idea that white people are favored in movie casting is a real issue.
LikeLike
The Iranian Hostage Situation was what “ARGUABLY” led to Jimmy Carter's downfall?
Uh, Bob, I know you're to the left of Chris Matthews, but gimmie a fucking break, man. You can't even recognize the situation was so atricous it led to one of the worst Presidential losses in history.
LikeLike
@ Billy
“I seem to remember him defending a certain casting in Thor, if you don't remember.”
You really should actually read someone's post before replying to them. That comment shows you didn't read my post at all.
“Just because a movie did something you didn't like, or I didn't like, or whatever, does NOT mean that movie isn't quality. “
Classic white privilege talk.
“when the core idea that white people are favored in movie casting is a real issue. “
So real in fact, that Bob felt no need to bring it up in his review which would have reached a big audience so that this issue can be discussed and awareness can be brought forth.
Gotcha.
LikeLike
@Phil
Bob has already stated that If Affleck was not in a leading role then he probably wouldn't have gotten as much backing for the movie as he did.
LikeLike
@Allen
Glad I'm not the only one who realizes how badly Carter got his ass handed to him.
LikeLike
Illumination Entertainment (who've made The Lorax) isn't making the CGI Peanuts movie. That is done by Blue Sky.
LikeLike
@Phil
Holy crap, dude, CHILL!
Why do you act as if Bob himself was the one that made the casting decision in question?
Also, how is your berating of a CRITIC, whose job is to judge the movie itself, and not the “questionable” casting of Ben Affleck, helping in any way?
Personally, I found the review a bit dry, but you don't see me coming in here screaming “RAH!!! NOT ENOUGH JOKES!! RAH!!!”
LikeLike
@ Ralphael
That statement of Bob's you are referring to was nothing but his ill-informed opinion.
I can sit down and mention a bunch of white actors that were complete unknowns but were still casted as leads in major motion pictures (e.g. The lead in Thor).
But when we are talking about a nonwhite actor it's a different story and barriers are held that white actors don't experience. Bob should be ashamed at making such an obvious racist justification like that.
Also, Affleck is hardly a box office draw. The guy as an actor has been a laughing stock and its his career as a director that has given him more success.
So that whole excuse of Bob's was pure garbage.
@ The Mason
Right, because a complaint about a lack of jokes is similar to the issue that I bringing forth and Bob outright refused to mention in his review.
Gotcha.
LikeLike
@Phil
Refused to mention? Gee, I guess I missed the hidden bit in the credits where Bob outright says “Not mentioning the whitewashing thing because I don't care”
You, sir, need to get a grip. If you don't like or don't agree with something, acting like a jerk and dropping a wall of text thesis about why the person in question is hitler or whatever is a waste of not only your time, but everyone elses.
Also, is it not possible that due to the ~5 minute runtime of the review, Bob chose to put in stuff about the movie (ie, the Jack Kirby thing) that would have appealed to the type of people that visit the website the video is hosted on?
LikeLike
“Refused to mention? Gee, I guess I missed the hidden bit in the credits where Bob outright says “Not mentioning the whitewashing thing because I don't care””
Something like that would sort of defeat the purpose of not mentioning something, wouldn't it?
“Also, is it not possible that due to the ~5 minute runtime of the review, Bob chose to put in stuff about the movie (ie, the Jack Kirby thing) that would have appealed to the type of people that visit the website the video is hosted on?”
So is Bob's audience a bunch of white supremacists/white nationalists? Cause that's the only audience that wouldn't want to hear about an issue like this.
And about that running time you bring up, Bob's reviews usually run a over 5 minutes. Some even close over 6 minutes.
His review for this movie ran under 5 minutes. He had more than enough time to mention Hollywood's whitewashing and the blatant discrimination of not casting a Latino as a real life Latino and also to give him a chance as a lead in Hollywood. But Bob simply refused to mention it. Instead it was far more important for him to talk about Argo never mentioning Jack Kirby by name.
LikeLike
I gotta wonder, Phil, if you are spamming the comments under every review of this movie that doesn't mention the lack of a latino in the lead. I bet you aren't, because you'd be quite a busy guy. But for some reason, the statements of this particular z-list internet personality are so important that you need to harass him for not saying what you want him to say. That's… um… kind of a waste of effort from every angle.
Moviebob is not a social crusader. He's not even a social commentator, at least not in his reviews. He's a film critic. His job, pure and simple, is to tell us what he thinks of the movie in question. That's it. He thinks Argo is a good movie. So do I. So do roughly 90% of critics on Rotten Tomatoes. The fact that Ben Affleck is white does not change how effective the film is, so there's really no reason for Bob to mention it in his review.
He HAS mentioned it in other forums and has said, more than once, that he would have wanted the role to go to a Latino actor. He doesn't owe you anything more than that.
“Called Bob out”? More like “made a big deal out of nothing”. Even if Bob were to give in and tell you you're right about everything, you've accomplished nothing. If Hollywood's casting practices are so important to you, do yourself a favor and direct your anger to a place where it might actually do some good.
LikeLike
“I gotta wonder, Phil, if you are spamming the comments under every review of this movie that doesn't mention the lack of a latino in the lead. I bet you aren't, because you'd be quite a busy guy”
Not to mention quite the leap that would be.
I assume the authors of these articles are also me “spamming” the internet on this issue?
http://www.thefastertimes.com/politicallycorrectpop/2011/09/06/ben-affleck-puts-white-before-right-in-next-flick/
http://www.tailslate.net/quality-vs-equality/
“Moviebob is not a social crusader. He's not even a social commentator, at least not in his reviews. He's a film critic. “
What a load garbage. Not only has the guy brought up a whole range of topics not related to film it says right on the banner of this website that he deals with things other than movies.
“He HAS mentioned it in other forums and has said, more than once, that he would have wanted the role to go to a Latino actor. He doesn't owe you anything more than that.”
This isn't about owning me anything. This is a guy who says he is against these kinds of things but never actually expresses being against it in his work. In fact, he's defended it more than anything.
Go ahead and read his post when he first mentioned Tom Hardy being cast as Bane here. He actually was criticizing people for not saying anything about the fact that a white man was playing a Latino in that movie.
But did he mention it in his review of The Dark Knight Rises? Nope.
What about in his review of Argo? Nope.
If he really cared then I would be irrelevant as it's the issue that counts and Bob would've spoken about this in his review. He doesn't when given the opportunity but wants to sick back and act noble.
“”Called Bob out”? More like “made a big deal out of nothing”.”
I'm glad white privilege makes you feel that way.
LikeLike
Agree with Anonymous@6:18 PM, your gripe ain't with The Bob. He doesn't have that much influence anyway, AND he's mentioned it anyway.
LikeLike
Of course Bob covers things not related to movies here. This is his blog. That's what blogs are for. His blog posts are NOT part of his job, i.e. the review videos. (And the Big Picture.) Do you seriously not see the difference? His videos are *reviews*, not op-ed pieces on social issues. When I watch his video, I want him to tell me if (and why) the movie is good. He accomplished that with this video. Job done.
At the end of the day, the opinions of a z-list internet personality on the issue of whitewashing really are quite meaningless. Bob has a limited audience over which he has approximately zero actual influence (read the comments under his political posts for evidence of that). It's great that you want to do something about Hollywood's whitewashing. But proving that Bob doesn't care about the issue (which you really can't do because you are not a psychic) does nothing to make the situation better.
Again, direct your anger where it might do some good. Say, towards a person/organization that might actually have some influence over how these casting decisions are made. Just a thought.
LikeLike
Phil, no one will give a damn about your griefs (justifiable as they may be) if you're a pushy asshole about them.
Anyway, had high hopes for this since Affleck has been making a great reputation as a director. Glad to see it did well.
LikeLike
I don't feel sorry for you. At the end of the day you are a white man
I'm glad white privilege makes you feel that way.
RACISM! But seriously, Phil, as everyone else has been saying, you're being an asshole about this. Maybe you have a legitimate concern, but your attitude is absurdly confrontational. Either you're a troll or you're a little unhinged.
LikeLike
@Phil
You are a petchulent, childish little asshole. Seriously, go back to the little hole you came out of and live the rest of your miserable life. Or, get off your ass, start writing some actual reports about whitewashing in Hollywood, make a blog, and try to help make the change you rightfully want.
The choice is yours, make it.
LikeLike
God Bob how many times do I have to tell you exactly what to say in your reviews of this movie?! Seriously I even brought it up in a completely unrelated post a week after you mentioned the film briefly alongside a dozen or so others. For the last time the only review of this movie I can accept would be one which outright refuses to critique the cinematography, script, direction, performance, set-design, costume design or any other factor because BEN AFFLECK IS NOT A LATINO! Otherwise you're just a privileged white man pretending to have a social conscience, there are no other possible explanations!
LikeLike
Well I for one can't wait to go see this hateful, discriminating, piece of racism that will apparently insult me to my very core as a Latino. 🙂
Seriously, I've been really looking forward to this one. Partly because of my admitted crush on Ben Affleck but mostly because; Cranston, Affleck, and Goodman all in the same film? Yes please. Yes please very much.
I'm so glad he switched to directing and if he does get an oscar nod, its been quite some time coming.
LikeLike
Big surprise, Phil, someone didn't want to wade through the giant wall of text in a comments section.
To everyone else, responding to his lengthy tirades with lengthy tirades, only encourages more lengthy tirades.
If your “comment” is more than 100 words, it should probably be a response-style blog post.
LikeLike
Don't necessarily think it's Bob's 'job' to bring up white-washing or lack thereof consistently whenever it happens in a film. But to be fair to Phil, I can see why he's mad. The guy from Argo is a real person and he did something pretty incredible in the real world. It's bullshit to white-wash his race and cast him as a different ethnicity. I mean, would everybody here be alright if they cast an Asian guy to play say… Jack Kirby? If they made a film about Jack Kirby's life and the only way they could get the money was by hiring Ken Jeong would everybody be like “Oh well, at least we get a great story about Jack Kirby”? Somehow I doubt that. I'm not saying Bob's a bad guy or everybody's racist, I'm just saying if the shoe was on the other foot people would be dancing to a different tune.
LikeLike
Wow, never would have expected someone making a big deal about MovieBob and racism on his blog. Coming in raving about how so leftist he is? Yes, that happens all the time, and to him that could easily be a compliment if he takes pride in being left-wing. But calling him a racist? Huh.
I doubt this movie needs more help this weekend, so I was going to see Seven Psychopaths with my friend. I'm assuming it didn't screen to critics since there was no mention of it on your blog, in your video or in your column.
LikeLike
If I can be allowed, please, to steer the discussion back to something more germaine to the movie itself, I've been very interested in seeing Argo.
In a way, both this movie and the upcoming Zero Dark Thirty kind of bookend each other. I was already aware of the basic premise. But now knowing that such legends as John Chambers and Jack Kirby were involved in this makes me want to check it out even more.
Incidentally, this reminds me of another story about a secret attempt to extract some of the hostages. Back in 1983, Ken Follett wrote a book entitled “On Wings of Eagles.” It was actually based on a real-life operation to go into Iran and rescue some of the hostages, who happened to work for the company Electronic Data Systems. When EDS' CEO heard about this, he used his clout and funds to mount his own operation to rescue his employees.
And who was this insanely rich CEO? None other than…wait for it…Ross Perot!
Yes, several years before Perot would be remembered as the lovably eccentric billionaire who ran for President, he was then known as the lovably eccentric billionaire who had the balls and wherewithal to pull off what many believed the Federal government at the time couldn't. It's kind of a shame that history has forgotten this detail of his life. But in light of the movie Argo, I'd say it's worth mentioning.
Anyway, Perot would later commission Follett to write a novel based on the incident, which was subsequently adapted into a TV miniseries that aired on TNT in the 1980's and starred Richard Crenna as Perot and Burt Lancaster as the mission's rescue leader, retired Co. Arthur Simons. After seeing Argo, you might want to check this out as well.
Also, Bob, I may have to disagree with you on the Academy passing this over for an Oscar. Because Hollywood loves a comeback story; in this case, Ben Affleck's. Considering that for over a decade his name had been considered box office poison, and that his career managed to survive both Jennifer Lopez and the disaster that was Gigli, that he managed to come back with well-regarded movies such as The Town and now Argo I'd say is nothing short of miraculous.
As for your intermission, I'm surprised you still haven't mentioned either The Human Centipede or A Serbian Film. Those are two movies that my friends often bring up when it comes to endurance tests. And while I never saw the latter, I have seen THC (at least the first one), and I can tell you, that movie was an endurance test for me. And while it's true there was very little in the way of gore, the movie itself was so disturbing that at times I found it difficult to sit through. By the end, I felt as if someone should have given me a medal for getting through it!
Hopefully you'll mention these two in the next “Test Your Might.” They certainly deserve it.
LikeLike
@NotPhil2ElectricBoogaloo
I agree but I think if they made an MLK movie with an Arabic guy as Martin Luther King, Jr. people would have the same reaction as Ken Jeong Kirby. It's not just black and white in “casting a white person to play an ethnic person” and vice-versa, it's casting, ultimately, the wrong-looking person to play a role. I think Goku looked bad less because they cast a white dude and more because he didn't look like Goku. (WHITE PRIVILEGE MAKES MY OPINION ABOUT HIS LOOKS AND NOT HIS RACE WAHH WAHH) So Asian Kirby or Arabic Dr. King would receive the same reaction.
I just saw Argo today and I really liked it; it may not be Oscar-worthy but it's a solid, well-made film with good everything across the board.
LikeLike
Jesus Bob, you have some pretty freaking twisted stalkers…
As a latino myself, I consider that complaining about whitewashing in Hollywood is childish. Yes it's not a good thing, but the movie industry is exactly that, an industry and it's aim is to make money. I really don't think that trolling a C-list internet celebrity will make a difference.
Also, good review Bob, it seems Ben Affleck has a hat trick. Kinda disappointed about you not making a Looper video, but I guess it's already too late. Anyway, keep the good stuff.
LikeLike
@Phil
I am in no way saying that what you think about Argo and it's regards to race discrimination is wrong. I am in no way saying that you are wrong for not wanting to see Argo because of its casting choice. What I am going to say is wrong though is that you're accusing Bob of having certain opinions that he hasn't even expressed. You were tagged with being a jerk by Bob because you are being a jerk.
But, that's ok, there's still hope. Let me give you some guide lines in the future.
Instead of throwing accusations around, why don't you start asking question to Moviebob so you can get a clearer understanding of what he actually thinks on the whole situation. Questions like “What do you think about the part being given to Ben Affleck instead of an authentic Latino actor like it was in actual history?” or “What do you think we can do to fix this?” or “What do you think this all means?”
There! That's it! You gain a further insight into what Bob thinks, nobody thinks you're a jerk now, and we gain a further understanding of movies and Hollywood in general.
When Bob actually does start giving off opinions that showing that he's actually for “white-washing”, then…..well, I guess you can stop following him. Or you can express how you feel on how he feels about situations that you don't agree with.
In other words, be civilized. Don't start putting opinions in other people's mouth; that's what we call “arguing with ghosts”, and it one of the things that get's everybody NOWHERE!
I hope you take what I said with some consideration.
LikeLike
Required reading to all
http://abagond.wordpress.com/2010/07/24/the-tone-argument/
LikeLike
Sure, people would react to casting Martin Luther King as a different ethnicity as offensive (regardless of what ethnicity it would be). But that hypothetical 'what if' scenario doesn't make Argo any less racist. When you got Hollywood having a history, a very long history of white-washing other races and denying leading roles to great actors because of their race, saying “well it's not a white problem, it's just bad casting” is just fooling yourself. It's racist, plain and simple. Like I said, the guy is a real figure in history, casting him as a white guy is manipulative and arrogant and I think it's racist in a naive, oblivious sort of way. Again, I'm not calling anybody else racist, I'm not calling Bob racist or telling people they shouldn't see the movie or enjoy it. Just that, I can see the dude's point and why he's angry and I'm not gonna dismiss him. Just because someone acts impulsively or emotionally doesn't mean they're wrong.
LikeLike
For latest information also visit this blog =>http://argo-american-film.blogspot.com
LikeLike
Affleckkk is a racist scumbag and so is anyone who support this filth.
LikeLike
thanks for share..
LikeLike
Phil is 100% correct. Have any of the rest of you even seen Bob's other videos? He constantly bashes others as racists, particularly video gamers and conservatives. And yet here he is, recommending the most blatantly racist movie in recent memory. He has absolutely no moral high ground to be calling anyone else a racist. And really, bigots with power like Ben Affleck do far more damage than random idiots mouthing off on Xbox Live.
By giving this his recommendation, he is saying that we should go see it, that we should give our money to support racism. So yes, if he were truly against racism, he would have told us to stay away.
LikeLike
“For the last time the only review of this movie I can accept would be one which outright refuses to critique the cinematography, script, direction, performance, set-design, costume design or any other factor because BEN AFFLECK IS NOT A LATINO!”
I suppose you think reviews of Mein Kampf should focus only on grammar, punctuation, and the cover art.
LikeLike