Joseph Planta's Commentary - thecommentary.ca

Thursday, 10 March 2005

Post-Oscar addendums

By Joseph Planta

VANCOUVER - A recent column in this space reviewing this year's Academy Awards elicited a number of e-mails on my assertions, opinions, and observations. Over lunch with my colleague Michael Kwan the other week, it was interesting after the deluge, to go through the e-mails received.

First, acknowledgement goes out to Barry Rosen, and Dr. Avril IJsselmuiden, the latter who wrote in from Germany to correct me on the error I made. Clint Eastwood won Oscars for Unforgiven in 1992 and not 1972 as I said in the column. I made an editing error. Dr. IJsselmuiden also points out a typographical error I made. She puts it best: "Amazing that you correct Adam Sandler for [pronouncing adaptation wrong, while] in your commentary you have directors with an apostrophe where one isn't needed." Yup, it was a silly mistake on my part. I am chastened and rebuked.

I got a number of e-mails complimenting me on the column, but they're not as fun to share as the negative ones. Perhaps the most vitriolic was one from a woman who signed the e-mail, Linda. Her e-mail handle however identified her as Andrea Jones. Whoever she is, I thought perhaps she's suffering from an identity crisis. Anyway, the gist of Linda or Andrea's e-mail is that I am essentially a racist.

"I found your article on the 77th Oscars disturbing. You seem to have a problem with the number of African-Americans and Latin-Americans on the broadcast," she writes. She goes on to cast aspersions as to my own race and my background: "I don't know the demographics of where you grew up but you sound as if you've rarely been exposed to anyone outside of your race."

Well, having grown up in Vancouver, where multiculturalism is prevalent, I have been exposed to people outside of my own race. Andrea, Linda, whatever, I am not intolerant. Perhaps you're reading too much, or not enough into what I wrote, to contrive that I am intolerant.

She writes further: "Your masthead seems chock full of Asians so I don't understand why would sound so intolerant in an article about a show which had nothing to do with race (sic)." Well, I happen to be an Asian, and it's a coincidence frankly that the masthead is riddled with Asians.

I hate to rewrite a column, because columns ought to stand for themselves. I did write back to Linda to respond to her charges. Intemperate comments may have been made, and so they should. Columnists should be provocative. Just because one uses caustic or edgy humour doesn't mean they're themselves racist, bigoted or intolerant. Perhaps we use humour as a spotlight, that to make them a source of laughter we can see just how absurd they really are. Think about Mel Brooks-a Jew-who turned his hatred of Hitler into a source of mockery and derision. Nazism is less potent when we see Eva Braun frolicking through a chorus of "Springtime for Hitler." Or All in the Family, where Archie Bunker's acid beliefs actually helped shine a light on just how silly bigotry was, not to mention insane.

I'm glad to say that Linda did write back. (She's a New Yorker incidentally.) All is well, frankly. And although columnists and writers usually don't like to write addendums to previous works, I think it's healthy to have a dialogue and explain when necessary.

As I write back to everyone who e-mails me here at editor@thecommentary.ca, it's always good to hear back from readers. It is. It's constructive and it's helpful for us who write for the site, as well as gratifying at times-even the negative e-mails. Keep them cards and letters coming . . .

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