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estebanana -> RE: RIP Brigitte Bardot (Dec. 31 2025 2:59:25)
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quote:
ORIGINAL: BarkellWH
I started this thread because, as I pointed out, Brigitte Bardot was at one time the lover of Manitas de Plata. It seems to have morphed into a critique of Brigitte Bardot's later involvement in right-wing politics, bigotry against Muslims, and anti-immigrant stance. This just makes her one in a long line of entertainers, writers, singers, and others who have embraced authoritarian and totalitarian leaders, primarily on the left. Compared to many, Brigitte is pretty small beer.
As I say, compared to those above and others, Brigitte Bardot's transgressions were pretty small beer.
Bill
Bill,
I agree that Bardot is a minnow in a pool of sharky sized bigots. Her opinions only carry the weight of having been a pop icon, who had somewhat of an impact on influence in women’s sexual liberation by transgressing
Mid 20th century cultural expectations. She wasn’t an intellectual with the credibility of a deep comparative thinker and honestly, in reality, outside of France she was regarded as an eccentric aging icon, that is if she was thought of at all. Godard’s muse is much more famous and influential on the generations going forward.
The U.S. does everything bigger, John Wayne swung a bigger racist dick than any European cinema star. And Bardot is a lightweight class bigot like our own Sarah Palin, the only reason eurotrash bigots end up in court for saying the same dumb things as US bigots is that libel laws are stricter and hate speech is semi protected by our constitution. ( although I wish hate speech were more condemnable by constitutional standards).
My point was, and sorry for redirecting the conversation as that wasn’t my intention, when someone famous dies there’s a bums rush by certain factions in US media culture and in the online social media space to ‘shame the fame’. If a person is famous for a particular sports event or being the author of a book everyone knows, or a sex symbol celebrity the first the political virtue assessors do is point out his that person should be shamed in death and the achievements not recognized because the rest of their life is wasn’t ethically of morally superior. My point is that very few people become famous because they are considered high examples of moral or ethical value. People become famous by being who they are, and while are famous in their own time it’s seldom pointed out that they are not perfect, hold bad personal opinions or beliefs. The example of Bardot being ‘dragged’ on social media is a perfect illustration; she’s a product of her times and became famous in a cultural background where her audience gave permission to her opinions, she never evolved out from her understanding of the permissive attitude that enabled her to be famous for her various stances on sexuality and politics.
It’s an interesting aside that she ‘dated’ a Roma guitarist, showing again that bigotry is general and not interpersonal if you like someone.
What I find fatiguing and mildly hypocritical, but hypocritical enough to draw my fire, is the group of social do gooders who shame their peers for recognizing the feats and positive accomplishments of regular people who would never become famous were it not for a particular talent they possess in droves. Now then there are certain others who tower above the famous, the famous among the famed who are extraordinarily good at being psychopaths, racists, anti-empathic or non compassionate above all other attributes they have. These are the people who are the real bastards, and you don’t even need to reach far back into history to finger a Stalin or a Pol Pot, they walk among us now.
Here’s what I say, tonight I drink to you Bridget, you racist old bitch, you were wrinkled as she was, but you were no Judy Dench.
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