Intellectual Defenestration

Anti-Semitism in Hollywood

Oscar Tribute to Nazi Filmmaker Draws Ire:

A tribute to Nazi-era filmmaker Leni Riefenstahl during the 76th annual Academy Awards rankled a few Oscar-watchers, who argued the propagandist shouldn't have been included....

Riefenstahl was considered one of the most effective producers of Third Reich documentaries and Adolph Hitler's favorite filmmaker. She produced Nazi documentaries during the 1930s and never apologized for her association with Hitler, claiming she didn't know about the mass murders. Riefenstahl died at her home near Munich, Germany, in September at age 101.

And, here's the best part:

"Yes, Hitler was evil, but I think it was proper to have her name there," Elton John told the paper. "She was a great filmmaker, and as an artist myself, I think she deserved to be there."

So, a movie about one of the central tenets of one of the major world religions is lambasted before shown, while a filmmaker that glorified one of the worst mass murderers in history gets a tribute because "She was a great filmmaker." No double standard there.

(via evangelical outpost)

March 4, 2004 08:27 AM