BILL O’REILLY: AMERICAN ASSCLOWN

I gotta get this off my chest. This past week, gasbag Bill O’Reilly, staunch supporter of the doomed conservative political regime, railed mightily against horror films. It’s not certain if he took the same wide-open stance held by the Christian Coalition and their ilk, which basically condemns all kinds of horror films. He was particularly ruffled by “Saw 3” and its box office domination.

O’Reilly qualified his stream of misinformation by first saying that he supported free speech and that we all have the right to watch whatever we want, then went on to imply that there’s something wrong with us if we watch such “trash”. He then stated that “sadistic” movies were worse than “gangster” rap, or “dirty” movies, and linked their popularity to rising crime rates and school violence, saying that youngsters are buying tickets to PG fare, then sneaking in to see the latest splatterfest instead.
He also managed to resurrect the tired and strained comparison to the fall of Rome. You can read his fanatical ramblings on foxnews.com. Creature-corner.com has a response from Darren Lynn Bousman.

O’Reilly’s swiss cheese logic is no surprise. He’s neither fair nor balanced, and nobody other than O’Reilly himself pretends otherwise. I’d like to know where he comes by his knowledge that children are sneaking into R-rated movies, and why he’s not berating parents and the theatre industry for this, instead of taking shots at the studios.

“Those who push base entertainment are villains, no question.” O’Reilly spews. Well, since his program lacks any educational or informative value, it is pure sensationalism, which makes it base entertainment.

Bill O’Reilly: villain. And assclown.

“Standards of behavior are collapsing everywhere, and the media is leading the way.” Bill nailed that one. Conservative behavior has become more obnoxious in recent years. Perhaps the hardliners are emboldened by the pathetic but effective attention seeking outbursts of self-important blowhards like O’Reilly and Limbaugh.

But just as Bill has graciously allowed us the right to exercise our freedom of viewing choices, I acknowledge him his right to express his woefully misinformed opinion. In fact, I’ll bet his tirade will actually add to the ticket sales for “Saw 3”, and maybe even inspire viewers to check out some other horror films for themselves, as so often happens with any controversial topic.

For the record, I could live without certain entries in our beloved genre. Saying that a film goes too far is an individual judgment. Call me wimpy, but “Wolf Creek” for example, crossed the line for me. I was more appalled than entertained, and I’ve seen some pretty harsh films. Still, I have to applaud its raw visceral power and its ability to evoke a sense of dread and discomfort.

My point? I actually WATCHED the movie before making a judgment. O’Reilly is apparently too busy shouting down his callers and getting punked out by Franken and Letterman to do the same.

Read all of Patrick Green’s articles and reviews at Grave Misgivings