Mamet: No longer a “brain-dead liberal”
posted at 7:46 am on March 12, 2008 by Ed Morrissey
Send to a Friend |
printer-friendly
Playwright and screenwriter David Mamet has a confession to make: he doesn’t like NPR. He also has discovered that government solutions tend to make matters worse than better. Mamet has also discovered that America isn’t the root of all evil in the world. In fact, rather than see corporations and capitalism as evils, he now understands that life is a marketplace, and that the United States understands that better than any other nation.
Uh-oh. Mamet has become — gasp! — a conservative! Or, at the least, he has dumped “brain-dead” liberalism:
Do I speak as a member of the “privileged class”? If you will—but classes in the United States are mobile, not static, which is the Marxist view. That is: Immigrants came and continue to come here penniless and can (and do) become rich; the nerd makes a trillion dollars; the single mother, penniless and ignorant of English, sends her two sons to college (my grandmother). On the other hand, the rich and the children of the rich can go belly-up; the hegemony of the railroads is appropriated by the airlines, that of the networks by the Internet; and the individual may and probably will change status more than once within his lifetime.
What about the role of government? Well, in the abstract, coming from my time and background, I thought it was a rather good thing, but tallying up the ledger in those things which affect me and in those things I observe, I am hard-pressed to see an instance where the intervention of the government led to much beyond sorrow. …
I realized that the time had come for me to avow my participation in that America in which I chose to live, and that that country was not a schoolroom teaching values, but a marketplace.
“Aha,” you will say, and you are right. I began reading not only the economics of Thomas Sowell (our greatest contemporary philosopher) but Milton Friedman, Paul Johnson, and Shelby Steele, and a host of conservative writers, and found that I agreed with them: a free-market understanding of the world meshes more perfectly with my experience than that idealistic vision I called liberalism.
This essay surprised me somewhat, both in content and in style. Mamet has a particular voice, as anyone who has seen his plays or watched his movies can attest. Characters speak in almost minimalist phrases in movies such as Heist, House of Games, and Glengarry Glen Ross. Mamet in this essay waxes at length, using digressions that he would almost never tolerate from his characters — and it has a charm all its own.
Readers will certainly recall the maxim that anyone not a liberal at age 20 has no heart, and not a conservative at age 40 has no brain. That may apply here to Mamet, but his conversion goes beyond that. As he explains, he finally stopped grinding his teeth at conservatives and took the time to listen. He recalls the efforts of his rabbi to explain the duty that people have to give other people the benefit of argument, and Mamet finally responded to it. He found that his growing dissatisfaction with the liberal straitjacket was confirmed by authors such as Sowell and Friedman, among others.
In other words, he opened his mind to new ideas as a conscious decision. In doing so, he found that his reservations about his previous political philosophy were well-founded.
One has to wonder what this will mean for Mamet professionally. He has been a success in Hollywood, and he will certainly not hurt for work, but will he suffer a backlash for his conversion? Will the theater punish him for his new perspective, and will he find it as easy to stage plays that reflect it? (via The Anchoress, who has more thoughts)
Addendum: If you want to see one Mamet film above all others, I’d recommend either Heist or House of Games. Both of them feature excellent casts, and both are tightly-written, taut thrillers with high stakes and no fluff. House may be the most disturbing film I have ever seen, not because of the level of violence, but because of its reality, and the depiction of how easily a person can corrupt themselves and feel good about it.
You must be logged in to post a comment.
Blowback
Note from Hot Air management: This section is for comments from Hot Air's community of registered readers. Please don't assume that Hot Air management agrees with or otherwise endorses any particular comment just because we let it stand. A reminder: Anyone who fails to comply with our terms of use may lose their posting privilege.
Trackbacks/Pings
Trackback URL
Comments
Comment pages: [1] 2 »
Flash: Brilliant Liberal gets a clue.
Finally figured out NPR did he?
Hey Dude…..duh!
Hening on March 12, 2008 at 7:52 AM
wow….is that legal? can he say that?
HunnyWaggin on March 12, 2008 at 7:54 AM
Hmm. Interesting. I don’t know who he is, but I welcome his refreshing look at reality. It’s not the normal leftist who can’t see beyond their red-rose colored glasses, and make a move into common sense.
p40tiger on March 12, 2008 at 7:54 AM
Oh ye has seen the light,its a miracle.
Maybe David Mamet has had a Liberal version
of the Christmas Carol,maybe the past,present
and future ghosts of what was,is and the future
of the Liberal Party!
canopfor on March 12, 2008 at 8:07 AM
I read the article and got the sense that he believs he came to his conclusions because he is brilliant but the rest of us who have understood all along are still stupid and evil.
peacenprosperity on March 12, 2008 at 8:13 AM
Ironic the timing of this article, given that the excellent, gritty and pro-military Mamet creation “The Unit” may be a casualty of the WGA strike. According to wikipedia:
It would be a shame for this series to be sticken from the schedule, but I’ve seen no signs yet of its return. It is a writer’s show, so maybe that could be the holdup.
Captain Scarlet on March 12, 2008 at 8:14 AM
My Other Favorite Manet Movies:
Homicide:
Things Change
Spannish Prisoner
Go to his IMDB page and even if you don’t know his name, you will know his work.
Rich on March 12, 2008 at 8:16 AM
Yeah, Ed, you hit the nail on the head. It takes a CONSCIOUS decision to listen. I was utterly convinced of the correctness of my liberal views and likewise convinced of my open mindedness. Only after a conservative friend confronted my lefty drivel with logic that I couldn’t honestly refute did I begin to OPEN MY MIND. It’s the reflexive liberals with the locked down minds, not conservatives. David’s revelation should hearten any of us who feel that there is little hope of getting through to the liberal masses.
mugged on March 12, 2008 at 8:16 AM
Blackballing in 5… 4… 3…
ZK on March 12, 2008 at 8:19 AM
Doesn’t Mamet produce “The Unit” on CBS? I could be wrong.
robblefarian on March 12, 2008 at 8:23 AM
It’s the reflexive liberals with the locked down minds, not conservatives.
No, it was YOU with a locked-down mind. Not because you were liberal, but because you were YOU.
If you read the entire piece, it is about rising beyond political identity and thinking for one’s self. Part of that is not instinctively judging the other side to carry inherent qualities.
Tom_Shipley on March 12, 2008 at 8:23 AM
Finally one for our side.
RobCon on March 12, 2008 at 8:24 AM
Wow, never saw this coming. Mamet is brilliant (without the sarcasm) and he is a welcome addition to the fold — may get some of my reflexively liberal friends to open their minds a little.
bobthepeeler on March 12, 2008 at 8:25 AM
Interesting that the rabbi’s congregation thought he was a conservative because he considered himself an independent
Now, I do know many liberals who do take the time to listen and think, but too many live in an echo chamber and only want to hear things that reinforce their prejudices.
rbj on March 12, 2008 at 8:29 AM
He will find that marketplace reality is much easier to defend than idealistic socialism. Arguments based on irrational emotionalism are no match for those based on facts and logic. Thomas Sowell is a very convincing genius.
Dollayo on March 12, 2008 at 8:29 AM
Mamet makes me sick. For his entire adult lifetime, he and people like him have pushed the liberal agenda and influenced the culture as opinion drivers. As such, they’ve made me a stranger in my own land. I’ve had to fight the corrosive influence of people like him my entire adult life. But now, he’s changed his mind, and I have to continue to listen to him? Why? Because he’s proven to be someone who knows what he’s talking about? People like he who have made such a substantial and crucial mistake, and who have made life crappy for others, and haven’t figured out up from down and right from wrong until they are nearly elderly, ought to STFU for the rest of their days!
JiangxiDad on March 12, 2008 at 8:32 AM
You’ll never work in this town again…
Mr. Bingley on March 12, 2008 at 8:34 AM
He seems like a smart guy, and yet he rattles off the moonbat list of alleged Bush sins (all nonsense) without correction, his epiphany being the realization that Bush is “no worse” than his hero, JFK.
He’s a wonderfully acclaimed and successful artist and is, apparently, quite well educated, and yet how old is he? He only recently came to the same conclusions that most college liberals come to before they are 30. Come on in, Dave, the water’s fine.
My biggest issue with his new understanding of the world is his view that he was wrong — most people are not inherently good. I feel that the conservative worldview says just the opposite, and that most non-liberals are basically optimistic in their views, but that we also understand that there are very, very bad people out there and we should isolate them and protect good people from them.
Jaibones on March 12, 2008 at 8:35 AM
Chin up, Dad. He’ll be influential in his (sickening) community, and he’s (finally) on board.
Jaibones on March 12, 2008 at 8:36 AM
I tried to read that piece, but after two pages he still hadn’t got to the point. I doubt he’s completely conservative. That takes a while.
dogsoldier on March 12, 2008 at 8:41 AM
Calm down, you’ll live a happier life if you don’t think the left/right battle of America is life or death.
Lance Murdock on March 12, 2008 at 8:45 AM
“thinking for ones self”? if you are not thinking for yourself, you must have “locked down your mind” in this case, as a “reflex” due to his liberalism. He was just a part of the collective thinking in Hollywood, standard stuff. Its amazing how Hollywood is collectively liberal. I would like to think that if i were in Yankee Stadium and we were all conservative fans, and over at Shea, they were all liberal, i would like to hope i would stop in my tracks one day and say…hmm…let me re-think why i chose the position i did. When you think of actors, you think- Liberals!, When you think of college professors, you think- Liberals!, when you think of social workers, you think- Liberals!, when you think of artists, you think-Liberals, musicians- Liberals, etc. So i ask you, can you name me a profession that when you hear it, you think…AH!…Conservative!? point being, i think the collective thinking is rampant in the liberal mind.
HunnyWaggin on March 12, 2008 at 8:46 AM
Well we know how this is gonna go… “He’s a Jew!…”
I is too bad he has come to his senses so late in life. The end of his eclipse of reason will let in more sunshine of truth than he may have years to write about.
On the other hand, while successful, he hasn’t made that many plays or movies. Perhaps the relief of his liberal “constipation” will lead to a prolific new energy.
Agrippa2k on March 12, 2008 at 8:47 AM
highlight EXPERIENCE, underscore AGE, infer WISDOM as the meshing result dramatized between idealism and pragmatism
McCain ought to utilize this opportunity to clear the smear from the Murpha Boeing corruption, shine the floodlights back at WHY Boeing is a corrupt failure to America. With all of the political dissident activists in Seattle, sabotage was as likely to occur with Boeing as is as anywhere. In effect, if France is going to subsidize our military and the engines are GM and all is built stateside (Southern) so that we keep the jobs, why look a gift horse in the mouth when the boon is to taxpayers and Boeing learns that their own corruption was their own undoing. Shape up or ship out.
maverick muse on March 12, 2008 at 8:48 AM
Never heard of him.
Bob's Kid on March 12, 2008 at 8:48 AM
Don’t forget Spartan (2004)
It is really almost a prelude to “The Unit.”
Titus Flavius on March 12, 2008 at 8:49 AM
I quite disagree Tom. While it certainly was me with the locked down mind, it was also me who finally breached it. Having the luxury of having seen things from opposing sides, I realized that I had become quite indoctinated with the myriad tenents of liberal faith. And, once aware, that in order to continue as a liberal I’d have to suspend logic. Facts are the bain of any leftist thinker. And any fact that refutes those tenets MUST BE CRUSHED. Just as a cult member is programed to reflexively reject any idea not pre-approved by his handlers, so liberals must erect firewalls to preserve their delicate, vulnerable arguments. This was a REALIZATION not a judgement. You’re accusing me of simply exchanging one closed minded state for another. Again, I disagree.
mugged on March 12, 2008 at 8:49 AM
pre 911 i would have agreed wholeheartedly with ya Lance. but in a world where Muslims attack us like that and seven years later we elect someone with the middle name Hussein, who has a variation of first name of the horse that Mohammed (was said to have) ascended to heaven on…well…i fear greatly.
HunnyWaggin on March 12, 2008 at 8:51 AM
“thinking for ones self”? if you are not thinking for yourself, you must have “locked down your mind” in this case, as a “reflex” due to his liberalism.
If you read his piece, he speaks of evolving out from his tightly-held political views before he even became aware of doing so. In his mind, he so identified himself has a liberal with those values that he didn’t allow himself to see what he actually believed.
Now, you obviously think this is a quality inherent to “liberalism.” But I think it’s very short-sighted thinking. It can be any belief that anyone identifies themselves with.
And Mament ends his piece on a note that, to me, asks people like YOU to open their minds. People who lump entire groups of people together and labels them as how THEY want to see them.
Don’t be afraid to look at yourself and see if you can open up your mind as well.
Tom_Shipley on March 12, 2008 at 8:53 AM
This was a REALIZATION not a judgement.
A realization is still a personal judgement. It’s as if you’ve traded one certain reality for another…
Tom_Shipley on March 12, 2008 at 8:56 AM
someone send mammet a copy of liberal fascism while the iron is still hot.
jp on March 12, 2008 at 8:57 AM
Hollywood career over in 3….2….1….
ej_pez on March 12, 2008 at 9:05 AM
You know, no matter how many THC fueled dorm room discussions I had regarding the nature of reality and perception I always discovered that up was not down, 1 + 1 did not equal 3, and the pencil would always fall when dropped. An open mind shouldn’t imply an unfiltered mind. Sooner or later incoming data must be examined and either accepted or rejected on it’s merits. Otherwise one might find oneself believing in all manner of silliness. Socialism, for example.
mugged on March 12, 2008 at 9:10 AM
He will be blacklisted from Hollywood effective immediately.
Reaganite84 on March 12, 2008 at 9:14 AM
I have always thought that liberals would get the clue about reality if they saw the information in conservative blogs, talk radio, etc. But of course, they will never take the time or be “open minded” enough to do so.
It is refreshing to see one take those steps.
Grafted on March 12, 2008 at 9:16 AM
The entire article at Village Voice (linked above) is well worth the read. Eloquent and insightful…the comments posted there are quite charming as well.
Lockstein13 on March 12, 2008 at 9:16 AM
Too soon old, too late smart!
wepeople on March 12, 2008 at 9:16 AM
I hope his wife Rebecca Pigeon joins him in his conversion. Kinda hot in a pixieish way, and a damn good actress.
BuzzCrutcher on March 12, 2008 at 9:19 AM
The reason why I said that because JiangxiDad doesn’t believe Mamet’s conversion. Plus Mamet is talking about economics and social programs and how they failed. I don’t see why he can’t believe Mamet.
But the main reason why I said what I said because I live in a very democratic area and sometimes you just have to deal with their views. It can suck at times having to hear their views, but hey that’s life. Come on HunnyWaggin, Allah lives in NYC and its not like he’s surrounded by conservatives either. So I think people on this blog should be happy for people like Mamet when they finally come around, better late then never, right?
Lance Murdock on March 12, 2008 at 9:25 AM
Question to anyone: Has there ever been a staunch, respected, conservative that has “seen the light” and become a liberal?
Rod on March 12, 2008 at 9:43 AM
Happy to hear this. Love David Mamet. Now, if he can work on getting The Unit renewed I’d be even happier. Of course his conversion probably means the show will definitely get axed now by the still liberal powers that be.
macblanegirl on March 12, 2008 at 9:44 AM
I think this is a nice story.
As much as people like to bleat about how left-wing the entertainment industry is (and it is), the fact remains that there are some stand out talents working within it. I never cared for Mamet’s politics but have always respected him as a creative near-genius. The man is deserving of the title artist, unlike many in his field. Let’s not try to associate everything on earth with left-right politics - that concept, you realise, is Marxist.
The message is the medium, the medium is the message?
Please.
Ares on March 12, 2008 at 9:48 AM
My thoughts exactly; I liked “Heist”, but “Spartan” was even cooler. I just hope that “The Unit” can survive, and that he will lead it in new directions thanks to his personal revelation.
Frozen Tex on March 12, 2008 at 9:52 AM
Wasn’t Arianna Huffington a conservative at one point?
SouthernDem on March 12, 2008 at 9:54 AM
Mamet has been one of my favorite writers (from a technical standpoint) for I don’t know how long. His movie dialog is crisp, fresh and gritty-real. Spartan, The Heist and even State and Main were all excellent examples. You hear a character speak from the other room and I can spot it as Mamet.
Plus, I was a Unit fan from episode 1.
“I grew up in a tough neighborhood and we used to say you can get further with a kind word and a gun than just a kind word.” David Mamet
Signalfire_WI on March 12, 2008 at 9:54 AM
The high school illiteratti of Hollywood are going to throw some tantrums over this. Hoep he has planned well for his retirement.
jukin on March 12, 2008 at 9:57 AM
No, I don’t think so. I believe,like Theresa Heinz Kerry, she married a wealthy conservative for the money, and then reverted to type. I think Anna Nicole Smith’s husband was conservative, but have a feeling Anna wasn’t. :)
JiangxiDad on March 12, 2008 at 10:01 AM
The liberals over at HuffPost have been tearing Mamet apart for a while now. Every time Mamet would post an essay defending Israel the comments were very, very nasty.
greggish on March 12, 2008 at 10:04 AM
yeah it’s hilarious to watch the liberal jews being kicked out of their own country clubs! I trust this finally puts an end to any notion of superior jewish intelligence.
JiangxiDad on March 12, 2008 at 10:09 AM
House Of Games is my favorite movie of all time.
That said, this essay doesn’t have enough cursing in it. Are we sure Mamet wrote that?
the wolf on March 12, 2008 at 10:17 AM
What the hell is that suppose to mean?
Lance Murdock on March 12, 2008 at 10:24 AM
Welcome to the fold, Mr. Mamet. Come in, sit down and talk with us.
tickleddragon on March 12, 2008 at 10:24 AM
I thought Spartan was one of the better films I have seen. I loved it.
I enjoy the fact that someone else, a person I admire even, gets the exact same reaction to listening to NPR. I call it emotionless robotic radio. It has no feeling. There is no passion to it. Most of it is not scripted, yet the majority of the programming comes off that way. They are excited beyond belief about the prospects of “Sicko”, but are muted and dull about prospects for peace in Iraq. Give me a break.
Mamet is about as conservative as Milton Friedman. They’re not. Liberalism used to be the term “classical liberals” used to describe their positions. It changed dramatically with FDR. At this time, voters abandoned the philosophy of free men and adopted the philosophy of dictating politicians. Most of the seniors in my family are FDR serfs. He is their King. Even the Irish seniors view FDR as a King.
gabriel sutherland on March 12, 2008 at 10:34 AM
Tread softly friend. You’re not doing yourself any favors.
Rent some “Curb Your Enthusiasm” DVDs.
gabriel sutherland on March 12, 2008 at 10:35 AM
Which part wasn’t clear?
JiangxiDad on March 12, 2008 at 10:39 AM
been there, done that. didnt take long. “everyone in his universe knows the difference between right and wrong”, the difference is, i choose to see it.
HunnyWaggin on March 12, 2008 at 10:41 AM
Yeah, I thought of her. But I was trying to think of a “respected” conservative who turned liberal.
I agree with JiangxiDad in that she’s more of a Anna than a Peggy Noonan or Jean Kirkpatrick, another liberal who saw the light and truth of conservative beliefs.
Rod on March 12, 2008 at 10:41 AM
i agree with you. im happy, and welcome him with open arms. I dont think he stated he “didnt believe him”, rather he was tired of …well….like hearing a born again christen tell you that “youre going to rot in hell if you have a glass of beer”, based on the fact that THEY once were an alcoholic and now have seen the light. (true story, from someone in my life). I think JiangxiDad was just frustrated.
HunnyWaggin on March 12, 2008 at 10:49 AM
Quite right!
JiangxiDad on March 12, 2008 at 10:50 AM
When I was 20, I picked my politics because they matched my clothes. Once I shut my mouth and opened my eyes and began to investigate, I had a similar epiphany to Mamet’s.
ronsfi on March 12, 2008 at 11:05 AM
I guess you’re gone, so I’ll try to answer what you think may have been some sort of an anti-semitic comment.
I’m a conservative Jew, so I was commenting on the “home” liberal American jews have found/created in the liberal media (newspapers,lib websites, films, theater, hollywood) and for the past half-century in the Dem. party.
I despise the liberal jewish contribution to political thoughts like socialism and communism, the knee-jerk, mindless affiliation with nearly every stupid liberal political cause in this country, their nearly complete repudiation of religious belief, and like most other liberals, a contempt for the basics upon which the nation was founded.
I find it tragic, and ironic, that this same liberal home (country club I called it) that the liberal jews create and largely populate, is in large part turning its back on these very jews and the state of Israel. Just like black trumps woman in dem. electoral politics, Palestinian rights trump Israeli rights. I could go on and on, but I won’t, because I think you get the picture. So what I was commenting on is hilarious, and clear evidence of jewish stupidity, and at the same time, a tragedy for me personally, and my own people.
Now shoot me if you don’t like it.
JiangxiDad on March 12, 2008 at 11:09 AM
Not a conservative but a rationalist with an attractive and manageable cynicism about people and the world.
And btw - House of Cards is extraordinary but by far my favorite movie of his is Ronin - a film about a briefcase that is fought over by several different sides except we never find out what was in the briefcase that was so valuable.
Brilliant stuff.
rick moran on March 12, 2008 at 11:14 AM
Spoken like a guy who hasn’t had a hit movie in…forever.
The Dennis Miller syndrome?
alphie on March 12, 2008 at 11:20 AM
Huh! I had no idea he was involved with “Ronin” (likely ’cause he wrote the screenplay under another name), but looking back, yeah, the dialogue is definately his style! My “new” favourite Mamet movie (and one of my all-round favourite movies, anyway)!
Frozen Tex on March 12, 2008 at 11:28 AM
It’s happening more and more. But I think his main problem will be that as a writer he has not lost many of the traditional villains: the USA, corporations, etc. What will he write about?
Anti-Americanism, self-loathing — it has become a genre. But all genres wear out. I think Hwood has beat this one into an early grave.
PattyJ on March 12, 2008 at 11:28 AM
Now that you explain your back story your earlier response doesn’t seem as bad. Just remember, lefties are looking for any comment out of context from a right-wing blog to justified their views about conservative people, especially Jewish ones as you know very well.
As a conservative Jew myself I have to defend my views harder to people too. In my opinion you should be careful what you say in the future since some people might not know where you are coming from and just assume the worse from you.
Lance Murdock on March 12, 2008 at 11:29 AM
He had The Unit, which a lot of folks I know really like. And I thought Spartan was an excellent film.
HebrewToYou on March 12, 2008 at 11:33 AM
will do. nice to meet you. thought I was alone on this planet.
JiangxiDad on March 12, 2008 at 11:33 AM
same here.
I was “mugged” by reality from 9-11 and from the intifada when I was in college.
Lance Murdock on March 12, 2008 at 11:36 AM
Mamet may have come to his conclusions late in life, but that doesn’t make them any less sincere. Consider the life he’s led, isolated from everyday Americans, surrounded by left-thinking theatre and Hollywood types. I give him a lot of credit for using the brains God gave him and coming to his own conclusions, however belated.
doppelganglander on March 12, 2008 at 11:40 AM
Hard to say; the major story-arch for season 2 of “The Unit” was the secret war between the CIA and the military, with CIA officers arresting, interrogating and assasinating American military and intelligence operative, in the ol’ “Super-Patriot” routine (”I love America so much that I’ll break all the rules and kill anyone to save it from the liberals!”). Kind of like what “Jericho” is doing now.
See also: “24″
Frozen Tex on March 12, 2008 at 11:45 AM
Spartan grossed $8,112,712 worldwide, HTY.
An embarrassingly low gross even for an indie film, never mind something from a “pro.”
Unlike defense contracting, oil and farming, Hollyweird is a true capitalist industry…you make a profit or you go under.
No government welfare to keep you afloat.
alphie on March 12, 2008 at 11:57 AM
Good for Mr. Mamet.
Agreed.
eanax on March 12, 2008 at 12:05 PM
The New Yorker did a great profile on him a few years back and I still have it. He told an anecdote about how he was at home with his (then) five year old daughter getting her a Fudgsicle while on the phone w/ an agent or something, and he used the “f” word on the phone.
His little girl said right away, “Daddy, you shouldn’t use that word” and - according to him - he shot back, “Um, that word put that f******g Fudgsicle in your mouth.”
True story? Um….I report, you decide.
inviolet on March 12, 2008 at 12:05 PM
BTW, For anyone who hasn’t seen The Spanish Prisoner, I highly recommend it. Terrific, smart con flick - liked it even better than Spartan - and Rebecca Pigeon is totally entertaining as an arch secretary spouting Mamet-brand convolutions.
inviolet on March 12, 2008 at 12:09 PM
That’s just ’cause Hollywood’s in the wrong country; watch any Canadian-made TV show or movie (and even some US productions filmed in Canada) and at the end of the credits (or even in the opening) you’ll see a reference or two to Telefilm Canada which exists to give tax breaks to Canadian productions (and even government grants).
Frozen Tex on March 12, 2008 at 12:15 PM
Mamet wrote “The Verdict,” which I recommend to anyone who hasn’t seen it.
SWLiP on March 12, 2008 at 12:17 PM
“My motherf***er’s so cool, sheep count him.”
My favourite incomprehensible line from “Heist”.
Frozen Tex on March 12, 2008 at 12:17 PM
America now has socialized banking, FT.
Maybe socialized entertainment is next?
alphie on March 12, 2008 at 12:17 PM
There’s a good reason why there should be exclusivity between the Fed government and defense contracting. If that’s not clear to you, then you ought to ponder why for a while.
Fed-Gov welfare for farming is a disgrace. Getting paid NOT to farm land and the ethonol-related crap is bunk.
What corporate welfare for oil, though? Tax breaks? If you tax them more, like any business, they will raise their prices to make up for the cost or they will layoff more employees. Neither one is a good solution.
eanax on March 12, 2008 at 12:18 PM
I like that he’s decided to join the side of reason. Would that his body of work weren’t currently functioning as a major component of post-modern leftism.
Unfortunately, his best work is likely behind him, so there’s very little chance that he’ll be able to contribute to the culture in a positive way artistically.
spmat on March 12, 2008 at 12:24 PM
A reality check.
Johan Klaus on March 12, 2008 at 12:27 PM
He’s currently working on Joan of Bark: The Dog that Saved France. So, if his career tanks, I don’t know if we can blame his change of heart.
29Victor on March 12, 2008 at 12:42 PM
Ho, that mirrors my own switch quite well. Though it was the stark idiocy that lives on a college campus that drove me away.
Nashoa on March 12, 2008 at 12:50 PM
I like mamet, and Now I like him more. Glengary Glenross is awesome
spacekicker on March 12, 2008 at 1:01 PM
“You want to know the first rule you’d learn if you’d ever spent a day in your life? You never open your mouth until you know what the shot is.”
-Al Pacino, Glengarry Glen Ross
Best. Quote. Ever.
Chuck Schick on March 12, 2008 at 1:04 PM
We tend to get the Andrew Sullivan effect: conservatives who go left but insist that they haven’t. See also John Dean (denigrating the memory of Barry Goldwater) and maybe Rod Dreher.
In the straightforward liberal to conservative model, does David Brock matter? To anyone?
Kensington on March 12, 2008 at 1:55 PM
Also, it’s worth pointing out that Mamet is still nursing an active case of full-blown BDS. He still insists in that essay that Bush stole the 2000 election, that he lied about his military service and he outed a CIA agent.
I know, I know, baby steps.
Kensington on March 12, 2008 at 1:57 PM
He had the same epiphiny I had. I wish more liberals would shut thier mouths and open thier minds. They would be surprised at how little they really know and understand! Good on ya Mamet!
ihasurnominashun on March 12, 2008 at 2:00 PM
My favorite Mamet movie is “The Spanish Prisoner”.
I can’t wait to annoy my wife with my faux-Mamet repeating dialogue schtick.
“David Mamet turned to the right. He did. He turned to the right. Hard right.”
“Go you Huskies!”
fluffy on March 12, 2008 at 2:20 PM
Best. Quote. Ever.
That entire scene is one of my favorites. Has one of cinema’s best revelation moments.
Tom_Shipley on March 12, 2008 at 2:24 PM
What? A public confession of sympathy for conservative ideas in the Village Voice???
Next you’ll be trying to tell me the playwright is straight!
Back to the flying pig watch…
landlines on March 12, 2008 at 2:53 PM
Too late to be “next”: we’ve already got PBS plus a million federal, state, and local subsidy programs for “arts”!
And the more useless, depraved, and degrading you can make the “art”, the more likely it is to get a public subsidy. Urine and dung seem to be the preferred media of the subsidized.
landlines on March 12, 2008 at 3:04 PM
Mamet has always had a latent libertarian streak. Oleanna, one of his best works, is about a college professor whose life is ruined because a student he tried to mentor filed bogus charges of harassment against him. The movie version is particularly unsettling.
Afghan whig on March 12, 2008 at 3:13 PM
Great quote. Kennedy lowered taxes on the rich, jacked defense spending way up and almost got us into a nuclear war. I’ve always wondered why JFK is considered a liberal icon. If he were president today, the libs would hate him.
29Victor on March 12, 2008 at 4:06 PM
Sounds like someone has been reading Common Sense.
29Victor on March 12, 2008 at 4:15 PM
Rebecca steals mosts scenes she is in due to bad actressing.
Rich on March 12, 2008 at 4:43 PM
FYI - ‘Alphie’ is a long-time troll from Patterico, Protein Wisdom and elsewhere. Would recommend not wasting your time reading or engaging as there isn’t anything interesting going on there.
On topic, I give Mr. Mamet credit for his awakening. He is now less an idiot than 98% of Hollywood.
RyanOH on March 12, 2008 at 6:18 PM
Comment pages: [1] 2 »