Has anyone ever done a study of how the bright lights used on stage and for filming movies affect the “stars”? Perhaps psychological testing could be done to measure the decrease in IQ points as a career progresses. How else can the insane statements and warped “logic” of these people be accounted for?
Alec Baldwin, for example, said on the December 11th Late Night With Conan O’Brien show that Henry Hyde and assorted other Republicans would be taken out and stoned to death, if we lived in a third world nation. The crowd cheered wildly. “No, shut up. I’m not finished. We would stone him to death, and then we would go to their homes, and we would kill their wives, kill their children. We would kill their families.” When criticized for his comments, Baldwin said, “I’m not going to apologize for that. It’s a comedy show. If you can’t take a joke, get over it.” Oh! Silly us, it’s a joke. So, the worst Mr. Baldwin can be accused of is telling lousy jokes? Maybe he covets the title of “Conan’s Barbarian.”
We wonder how hard he and his Hollywood cronies would laugh if someone said, “You know, in some countries abortion doctors would be dismembered in retribution for their crimes. And then their nurses and employees would be taken out and shot.” Say, is this stuff uproariously funny? No, there is nothing funny about either of these scenarios. Anyone who thinks the two are not parallel is right. Abortion is a real moral evil; Baldwin is just upset with those who disagree ideologically with him. He ridicules those who are interested in preserving the rule of law. Fortunately, wiser heads than his have prevailed.
Then there is Kate Winslet who finds being voted “Body of the Year” in a woman’s poll “a little bit irritating.” In an October 17th news item in the Denton Record-Chronicle, she is reported as asking, “Why do we keep talking about women’s bodies all the time, particularly actresses?” (17A). Apparently the lights were so bright when Titanic was being filmed that she forgot that part of the picture includes both her nude body and a portrait of it. In fact, due to the success of the movie, she probably has the most famous body in the world. And she is surprised? Don’t anyone tell her about Playboy, Penthouse, and dozens of other magazines devoted to women’s bodies (including actresses). She might really be shocked at such news.
Let’s not overlook the recording industry. According to a news item in the December 4th Denton Record-Chronicle, George Michael was arrested for a lewd act in a park bathroom. He refused to show any contrition for his homosexual act. Apparently he thinks that if you see a cute guy, it’s perfectly acceptable to hit on him (2A). If we’re really lucky, maybe he’ll write a song about this seedy episode, for which he was found guilty.
Columnist Kathleen Parker found herself the object of criticism for her column questioning the value of single motherhood, which was prompted by Jodie Foster’s announcement of her intention to become a single parent in a People magazine article titled: “And Baby Makes Two.” A Colorado obstetrician-gynecologist took Parker to task for being politically incorrect and wanted to know who she was to make such judgments, according to the Denton Record-Chronicle of November 18th.
Parker replied simply but eloquently to all rationale opting for single parenthood: “Yes, a single woman can certainly be a good mother. But a single mother can never be a good father. It takes a man to do that, and children know this even if we don’t” (10A). She also put her finger on a problem that society has: “What I don’t like is our tendency to worship anything a celebrity does, even when the action is not, in fact, a great idea for the teeming masses” (10A). Parker certainly is correct, which gives us reason for concern that Americans may be listening to those whose own bulbs have grown a little dim.
Perhaps one of the dimmest of all is Sharon Stone, who first created a controversy by means of her lewd conduct in the movie Basic Instinct. Below is a portion of an article written in response to her actions and “reasoning” (with other appropriate comments) for the Columbia City Crusader (Indiana) on May 3, 1992.
When people do immoral and ungodly things, they can always justify it to themselves, as Sharon Stone does in the May issue of Vogue. This “star” who plays a bisexual serial killer says “she doesn’t mind being a sex object” because as a child “her brains got all the attention after she scored a genius-level 154 on an IQ test,” reported the May 1st [Fort Wayne, IN] News-Sentinel (2). No doubt she has achieved her goal since the amount of people who would now view her as intelligent (or even care if her IQ transcends 54) has probably dwindled considerably….
The problem with the audience (male or female) viewing someone as a sex object is that it dehumanizes the viewer, also, because the goal of such scenes is to provoke those watching to think only in fleshly, sexual terms. Personhood becomes lost amid suggestive, lascivious thoughts.
The problem with emphasizing the dehumanized person (with only sexual functions) is that it leads to rape, sexual harassment, and the general idea that the sum total of people’s existence is defined by their fleshly attributes. This false notion not only denies the intellectual, the spiritual, and the nobler thinking of mankind; it contributes to many of the current problems we are trying to solve. Society, which way do you want it? Do you want Sharon Stone with a high IQ or as a bimbo? Social ills (of a sexual nature) will not be cured by massive displays of the flesh with their incitement to think of others as sexual objects while at the same time acting shocked and horrified at crimes against women.
This church bulletin also contained a column by Erma Bombeck who refused to appear on a program designed to roast her, which would also include strippers as part of the activities. Those hosting the event agreed to cancel them, but they showed up to speak to her. According to the column published in the Peoria, Illinois Journal Star on April 28, 1992, the women told her, “We’re the strippers! Thanks for nothing. You did us out of a job we needed. We hope you’re happy!” (A7).
Erma responded in the following way:
It is unfair to say, “Men just don’t get it.” Many men actually do get it. Some Neanderthals who feed off their own insecurities will never get it. What is significant here is that some women still don’t get it (A7).
Are you paying attention, Kate Winslet?
Sharon Stone’s 154 IQ may not have improved any in the last six years. According to The Dallas Morning News of December 3rd, she recently appeared before a panel on AIDS and youth. Her advice to parents was: “Put 200 condoms in a box in some place in the house where everybody isn’t all the time so that your kids can take them” (2A).
200!? Either this is a very large family, or they don’t have much else to occupy their time. But in a sense the number is irrelevant. What is dangerous is the concept here of PARENTAL APPROVAL of fornication. Obviously, if birth control devices are so readily available, it would not do much good to also say, “One should not be promiscuous” or “The moral thing to do would be to wait until marriage.” Providing such resources for young people is tantamount to saying, “Sex is the primary thing. These will protect you from pregnancy and all diseases. Enjoy.”
Of course, the truth is that they are not foolproof protection (as many have discovered through experience). Despite their use, many have become pregnant or contracted a disease. But even if they were 100% physically safe, can they also prevent feelings of guilt, shame, and embarrassment? How can psychological damage be protected against?
And should parents also have a box of clean needles in case their children choose to experiment with heroin? And what about some unfrequented place in the house for bourbon, champagne, and kegs of beer? Forget ways of developing and enhancing the mind; let’s party!
But her High IQ-ness is not finished. She presents a “rationale” for her suggestion:
No matter how much we guide our children within our families, within our churches, within our schools, we are not stronger than the power of sexuality–particularly to a teenager (2A).
Teenagers? Some presidents in their early fifties have been known to have a problem! But there it is: schools can’t do anything; families can’t do anything; churches can’t do anything in the face of all-powerful sexuality. Joseph didn’t know that when he refused Potiphar’s wife. Paul didn’t know that when he commanded: “Flee fornication” in 1 Corinthians 6:18-20. But then they had not seen any of Sharon Stone’s movies, nor did they possess her great intellect!