"You Have to Speak Up": Viggo Mortensen Defends Quentin Tarantino's Criticism of Police Killings

[marmar]

Published on Nov 5, 2015

Award-winning film director Quentin Tarantino is refusing to back down from his criticism of police brutality, even as police unions have launched a campaign to boycott his films. Tarantino sparked controversy after he called fatal police shootings "murders" during the Rise Up October rally against police brutality in New York City on October 24. Tarantino’s comments have come under intense criticism, with several major police unions calling for a boycott of his films. "[Tarantino] clearly saw what anybody with eyes on their head could see," says Academy Award-nominated actor Viggo Mortensen. "What’s troubling is the tacit condoning of these abuses of power by certain police officers by their bosses, by people who should know better." Mortensen also looks back on his own brush with a right-wing political backlash, after he famously wore a T-shirt on the PBS show Charlie Rose that said "No more blood for oil."

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[daleanime]

1. K&R.....

[MynameisBlarney]

2. Speaking up is only the beginning of what needs to be done.

And it's also the very least.

[appalachiablue]

3. K & R. Very deep piece and a powerful mandate that much more must

be done to recognize and stop brutality, killing, discrimination, incarceration and damage toward black people in America.

[libodem]

4. .

[img][/img]

[valerief]

6. An amazing graphic. nt

[libodem]

7. Glad to share

[valerief]

5. It's good Tarantino's speaking up, but the irony is that his films glamorize violence.

That's why I have little interest in seeing his films.

He's certainly not the only filmmaker glamorizing violence. I remember back in the video store days that half the non-kiddie movies had a gun in jacket graphic. This hasn't changed. Check out Netflix and Amazon Prime. The rest of the world is lured with sex. America is lured with violence.

So Tarantino has profited from the Hollywood messaging that nurtures killer cops.

Without bullshit, our species couldn't exist.

[Spitfire of ATJ]

8. Most of Tarantino's films show a world where cops are only talked about....

Look at "Pulp Fiction" where the only mention of cops is they tend to notice a car drenched in blood.

They didn't exist at all in "Kill Bill". She kills an orderly and then spends a ton of time in his truck in the parking lot before she drives it to her first revenge hit.

[valerief]

9. Yeah, but it's not the cops. It's the violence. nt

[Spitfire of ATJ]

10. Might as well rail against slasher flicks.

[valerief]

11. I don't like them either, but my point was that a filmmaker known

for making violent films is decrying violence in real life. I was pointing out the irony. Again, I'm glad he's speaking out against the killer cops.

[Spitfire of ATJ]

12. BTW: Did anyone ever count how many orcs Viggo killed?

[valerief]

13. I don't think I've ever seen a Viggo film. nt

[Spitfire of ATJ]

14. He was in the Lord of the Rings trilogy.

[valerief]

15. Ah. That has no appeal to me. Anything magicky is not my cup of tea. nt

[Spitfire of ATJ]

16. I know people who have the same reaction over "Sleepless In Seattle".

[valerief]

17. Definitely. It's all a matter of taste. I LOVE classic films, the B&W ones made

in the 30s, 40s, and 50s. I'm not an average movie viewer.

[Spitfire of ATJ]

18. Ever see "Suddenly"?

Frank Sinatra plays a hit man hired to assassinate the President.

Its over at the internet archive.

https://archive.org/details/suddenly_avi

[valerief]

19. Oh, yeah. Ages ago. But I liked Sinatra even more in his other assassination flick--

Manchurian Candidate. Some of my faves are Laura, A Woman's Face, and charmers like The Apartment. Too many to list, actually. These are just what popped in my head.

I'm more a Hitchcock fan. I like the tension and suspense over the actual violence scenes. Once slasher movies came into being in the 70s, I was turned off. I'm not saying these films will automatically create killers but I recognize that for most viewers, our base drives need to be fed. I vote for sex over violence.

[Spitfire of ATJ]

20. Just checked and found I had "Laura" in my collection....

I take it "Night of the Demon" isn't your style.

[valerief]

21. Ha, don't think so, just from the title. nt