Thursday, December 4, 2008

Prop 8 (The Musical) - too little, too late.

See more Jack Black videos at Funny or Die


Yes, this video (created by Hairspray director Adam Shankman) is very funny and quite sharp. The singing is terrific and the video makes a different point aside from the standard 'gays are people too' argument. And, yes, it's great fun to see the many major stars that are almost background players (Sarah Chalke, Andy Richter, Margaret Cho). But, in the end, I can't help but wonder why this didn't pop up BEFORE the election. You know, when it might have actually made a difference.

Frankly, despite the good intentions, this almost feels cowardly. The vote has already been cast and there will be no consequences for this video one way or another. It's almost disingenuous of these well-meaning comedians to wag their finger at the people who voted for Prop 8, after quite a few of them stayed silent during the run-up to the election (major props for Brad Pitt who actually cut a video advertisement decrying it before the election). This is no different than April 2005, when MoveOn.org went out of their way to attack Democrats who were voting for the ghastly bankruptcy bill, even while the organization was mostly silent while the details of said bill were being debated and their voices could have been useful in shaping the bill in the first place.

Courage requires speaking out before a calamity occurs, not merely criticizing the aftermath with righteous superiority. I agree with every sentiment expressed in the admittedly witty clip. I just wished they had put it out when it could have actually made a difference.

Scott Mendelson

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