Petition For Patsy

Hey huddled masses. I haven't been on a rant about Pat Robertson in a while. And I won't be. But I DID come across a petition online that has like 700 signers so far. The petition asks Robertson to either resign or stop saying stupid things (paraphrase). So here's the link. Read it and sign it.
http://www.petitiononline.com/caps1606/petition.html

The Trenches Are Dug

The reason the trenches are being dug in so deep on the "Right" and the "Left" is because no one is learning anything new. Well, they are certainly learning more about what they already believe, but their focus is so narrow that they are not actually expanding their minds at all.
It's about the Left learning more and more about how to prove that they are right; and the same with the Right. See, learning something new always begins with acknowledging that you-as you are now-could be wrong!
And this is where we are messed up. Everyone today begins with the presupposition that they are right! This mentality automatically puts them on either the offensive or the defensive...instead of in a dialogue.
We have Conservatives who continue watching Fox News for their information and Bill O'Reilly and Limbaugh for commentary. Liberals turn to CNN for their news and get their comment from Al Franken and certain Hollywood pundits. And of course, the trenches get deeper and deeper and deeper. Egos are fed. Sources paid. Arguments rage on. Friendship ended. Statistics slanted (on both sides). Lies are told (well, half-lies). And so on.
And all in the name of being "less slanted" than the others. And who suffers? Well, everyone, I guess. Though they don't all realize it. But people are getting dumber, less informed, and narrower as a result. It's actually an irony that in an age when people know more, are well read, intellectual, and up-to-date, we are actually quite dumb and shallow. We are like a pool that is 300 feet wide, but 2 inches deep.
You have some liberal on the street who got all his statistics from Al Franken, his tenacity from the NY Times, and his rhetoric from George Clooney. Let's say he bumps into some conservative on the street. This conservative got all his stats from Rush Limbaugh, his tenacity from Bill O'Reilly, and his rhetoric from the Christian Coalition. What transpires is a farce to say the least, and a tragedy to be nearly accurate. As they argue, neither one is hearing the other, only waiting for their chance for rebuttal. The Liberal spouts a statistic about something social that is actually about 90% accurate but is somewhat out of context, to which the Conservative angrily shouts back a statistic in response that is only about 40% true, and then the Liberal with some condescension and arrogance in his voice says something defaming about George W. (that in reality has nothing to do with anything in this context), to which the Conservative says something about the Liberals having no values using statistics that he got off of O'Reilly Factor, to which the Liberal responds with some statistics (the exact opposite of his Conservative friend), that he got from Al Franken. Then the battle gets heated when the liberal mentions Global Warming. The liberal and the conservative go at it hard on this heated and most contemporary of issues. Of course (and this is quite amusing and confusing to me) both of these fellows have gen-U-ine statistics from bon-A-fide scientists to back up each of their respective claims. The liberal can give stats to show that the earth is heating up and it's the results of our damage. He's got real numbers here. From real scientists, in real fancy schools, using real fancy language and technology. And then the Conservative goes "oh yeah? I got numbers of my own." And indeed he does. He too has real scientists saying real things, using real numbers. Hmm, amazing! And they go back and forth and back and forth! Statistics, and then counter-statistics. Points, then counter-points. Logic, and then counter-logic. Testimonials, then counter-testimonials! And with each shot, the trench is dug deeper. The liberals get stronger in their position that they-and only they-know how to run things. And the conservatives the same. Just for fun, as you listen to this conversation, see how many times you hear the following buzz words:
Agenda
Culture Wars
George W. Bush
WMD's
Activist Judges
Traditional Values
Illegal War
Gay Agenda
Environmentalist Agenda
Liberal Agenda
Conservative Agenda
Religious Agenda
Secular Agenda
Hollywood's Liberal Agenda
Agenda
Agenda
Agenda
Fear
National Security
Civil Rights.

Man, that was fun. But I had to stop because I could just keep on listin! It's like an orgy of mis-information out there! Of buzz words. Of sound-bytes. Of Headlines. And yes, agendas.
Of course, the truth is out there for us to find. But it has been divided up in the camps. You can find 30% of the truth there on Fox News, and 30% on CNN, 15% on the Daily Show (which I love!), 5% here, 5% there, 10% way over there, and finally 5% somewhere else. Of course, those stats are not scientific, in case you were wondering. And I'm sure someone reading this is already finding their underwear in a knot ("Oh, I don't know, I think Fox News is more like 90% true!") to which I say: Thank you for illustrating my point to yourself.
The reason you can only find a certain degree of truth in each of these places is because none of them will report something that they disagree with.
See, most people have already settled on what they believe is political and social truth. Their opinions have been chiseled in stone in their brains (and in some cases their hearts). And they don't see their opinions as opinions, they see them as bonafide scientific fact. Therefore, anything that is contrary to those "facts" is untrue and biased. Even if the new evidence is 100% true. It's like someone taking a position that rocks are soft objects, and sticking to it. They really believe that rocks are soft. Now there could be some news report on some station that has scientists and everyday people on it, holding the rock, banging it on things, throwing it through windows and such. Then they come to the conclusion that rocks are indeed hard. The person could then turn off the station infuriated. They'd say "That god-awful hard rock agenda! I hate that station, they only report that slanted hard rock foolishness!" Immediately they turn on their favorite station, that reports the Soft-Rock theory of life. I know that was a ridiculous illustration, but I made my point. We refuse to grow when we don't allow ourselves to realize that we were wrong about something. I mean, by definition, you can't grow or learn until you realize that what you have previously thought was wrong.

But in todays society, we have so many choices of information outlets, that we can choose only to plug in to the ones we ALREADY AGREE WITH! So you have people who only watch a certain news station because they agree with it's views, and only listen to certain radio stations because they agree with it, only visit certain websites because they agree, only read newpapers and magazines that line up with their idealogies. And so you go back to what I said originally. People who are shallow, narrow, dumb (but learned...I hope you get the irony), and are full of themselves because all they do is fill their life with POV's that agree their own and put down others!
I'm convinced that political and social truth is a combination of the Right and Left (which I am convinced is the political and social way of Jesus). I try to fill my life with points of view that are across the spectrum (this might draw concerned looks from friends and co-workers at times), that are very different and similar to my own, that rub me the wrong way and the right way, that offend me and assuage me, that challenge and comfort me, that make me feel closed-minded and open-minded. I love it. I get called a Left-Wing Liberal by my conservative friends and family. I get called a Conservative by my more Liberal friends. See, that makes me feel good...like I'm on the right track. But most of all...whenever I hear a person speak on TV or on the Radio or in Life...I'm prepared to be wrong. I am always ready to switch positions on something if I am confronted with what seems to be new light. In my life so far, I have switched from conservative to liberal on many issues. And vise-versa. I usually end up on the middle road for most issues. And it's not that I am an ideological prostitute (like John Kerry seemed to be), and I'm certainly not an idealogical machinegun (like W.). It's just that I want to REALLY know what is right. And because there are so many layers of shite to peal away before you find what the truth of the matter is, sometimes truth starts looking different the less it's clouded by points of view and spin. Suddenly it looks less easy and headline-ish and it usually ends up looking more complex, beautiful and difficult...like Jesus or "Fargo".
Anyway, I feel like writing a book right now, but I know YOU don't want me to do it on this blog. Maybe one day I'll be able to get a book contract and I can be a spin-doctor. I can write a book and push my agenda of not knowing what in God's name is going on!

Ted Baehr of MovieGuide.org

Okay, sorry. I really wanted to resist going on any rants for a while, because I have been trying to work on the whole "doing it" thing I talked about in my "on a personal note" post. But I cannot help but to comment on this deal.
And this is one of those deals where it should be as easy as saying to myself, "just don't go to that website, no one is making you read this." And technically it is that easy. But everyonce in a while, just like when you drive by a car stopped by a cop, you have to look. (what is it, alcohol, crack, stolen vehicle?) This website I will describe is like that. I find myself looking up movie reviews or essays, and I come across it in the Google search results, and against my better judgement out of pure, morbid cuiosity, I click on the hyperlink, and off I go...to get pissed off.
The website is movieguide.org
The Man is Dr. Ted Baehr.

He is supposedly a movie critic. He is absolutely NOT a movie critic. He is a man with an agenda. He cares not for art, or film, or anything having to do with those things. It is evident in his "reviews." All he really wants is to remove anything objectionable from movies. Of course, his favorite things to harp on is anything homosexual and anything anti-american or anti-capitalist. And just so you know, I'm not inferring that he hates those things, he LITERALLY labels movies ANTI-CAPITALIST, i'm not kidding even one single bit.
To be fair, he does have two separate ratings. One is for content and the other is for the quality. For instance, a film like "Good Night and Good Luck" would receive two ratings. A GOOD one for quality, but a BAD one for it's content. Even though it is rated PG and has NO bad content, unless of course you don't like the message it's stating.
A few months back I was having issues with this same site, and was mulling about it for a while. Then I started to realize, well, this is a specialized site. It is geared toward Christians who might actually care what he is saying, so I thought "I guess he is doing his job, and is only reporting all these absurd details because his target audience really wants to know."
But then, today, only an hour or so ago, I realized that I was wrong. I was looking at some reviews for the movie"V for Vendetta" which I saw, and thought was pretty good. And upon my google search, I saw His review. I knew it would be a hoot, because the hero of the film is essentially a terrorist, and I could only imagine how hyped up Teddy Bear would be, so I read it. Anyway, that is not the point. My point is that one thing led to another, and I came across his "Rotten Bananas: 20 worst movies of 2005." I read his list. I wish I hadn't, because I became so incredibly angry, I almost lost my cool in a big way. I almost reacted in an email to ted baehr that would've been bad even for me. Essentially I would've returned his anti-christianity with some more of the same. So I didn't send the email. So I decided to blog about it, to get out my anger.

http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=49037

The above web address is the article itself. I had to post it, because I don't want people reading my slanted view of this man, so I decided to let him speak for himself.
As you can see, this man has serious issues. I can understand people not appreciating some of these films, especially Brokeback and Transamerica (personally, I thought Brokeback was one of the 5 best films of the year), however, if you look at the Award Titles, you can obviously see that this man has got problems.
Sexual Predator Award? Benedict Arnold Award? Hitler Youth Brainwashing Award? Osama Award? Lucifer Awa-?
What in the hell is this man talking about? You know, this would be hilarious if it wasn't so scary! I'm not kidding, this man is filled with hate and bigotry. As I said before, I use to think that he was just a prude with a website that is so anal because he is serving his constituency. But after I read this article, I realized something. That is not the case. He REALLY IS like that! That's not his "movieguide.org" personality, that's really him! He really is that sick and twisted! He really does want all movies to be pro-american, pro-capitalist, pro-christian, pro-momdad2andahalfkidsandonedog, anti-gay, anti-controversy, anti-truthtelling!

Munich...worst compromise with terrorism? The Brothers Grimm...worst perversion of morality in fairy tales? Oh... my... God!?!?!

Maybe you're thinking I am taking this too personally. I'm sorry if I am, but I can't help it. People are reading this shite thinking "Oh, well, he's an authority, and I'm a christian so I can't think for myself, so I guess it's true! Hollywood keeps putting out this godless moraless filth!"
And it makes me angry.

And it makes me kind of sad. When I read those Awards titles, and the other comments that he has made, I don't just see stupid, adolescent jokes. That would be easy to dismiss from my mind. But what I read in the subtext, in the tone, is real genuine bigotry and hate.

""These films have been chosen not necessarily because they have sex, violence, nudity or profanity, but because they have a worldview antithetical to the biblical, conservative worldview. They communicate philosophies that, in the final analysis, are anti-human, anti-God, un-American, false and immoral – and that can only lead to disaster. """ -Ted Baehr

This is his final comment on these films. anti-human? un-american? UN-AMERICAN? UN-AMERICAN!?!?!?! What in the HELL does that mean? You don't even understand how angry this makes me. Who is this guy? Where did he come from? What gives him the authority? And what complete moron would give him credence in their life? And since when is being American a Christian value? Is this guy serious?

Anyway, you might be thinking "what moron gives this guy credence? apparently you, Lee Krempel. You are the one taking him seriously!" That would be a good observation if you were making it. However, it would be a false interpretation of what I'm saying. Only a moron would take Dr. Baehr's opinion seriously and use it as a tool for judging art. However, I believe Dr. Baehr himself and what he stands for SHOULD be taken seriously. If he were just some crazy guy on the fringe somewhere, then I would ignore him, and dismiss him as inconsequencial. But he is actually recognized by people and his opinion is apparently valued in some circles. And unbeknownst to them, common everyday well meaning christians are reading his reviews, taking them seriously, not seeing films for themselves to see if what he says is true, and there you have it.
Anyway. I don't think this is just important for people who take their film seriously like me. This is important for all true christians to understand, because what this really is, is a form of christianity that is simply untrue. It's not the real faith. Jesus was not a white, middle class, conservative American. And that is what Mr. Baehr is portraying. It's evil. It's untrue.
Anyway, I might have further thoughts on this later.
PEACE

BACK WITH A VENGEANCE!

Actually I am not back with a vengeance. In fact, I don't really even know what to say. I just saw how long it has been since I posted, so I felt obligated to write something. Anyway. Oh by the way, in case you don't know, I have a MySpace page also. It really exists for no other reason but to promote this blog. It's this. www.myspace.com/teardownwallsnow
Yeah, so...

directed by Lee Krempel (MOVIES Pt. 3)

Conclusion here. I promise. There was just so much I wanted to get out.
I'm getting that edge back. That edge and passion and inspiration to make movies. It gets hard. The prospect of really attempting to do something that you may or may not succeed at. It's always been one of my fears. Being mediocre. Being average. Attempting to do something great, failing, and then getting a job somewhere I hate and forcing a smile forever. I don't want to do that. So sometimes it's easier to not even attempt something great. It's like, you know, at least this way I can say, "I could've made it, but I didn't try"; instead of "I tried, but I didn't have what it takes." It seems easier to be the first guy. The guy I have been over the last couple of years, with the exception of a few moments of creative burst here and there. It is a profoundly scary thing when you start to actually consider going down that road. Hollywood. Filmmaking. It feels like saying, "I want to be Superman when I grow up." And it's weird cuz I'm not in that stage anymore when people can really patronize me and my dream. Ya know? I mean, I'll be 24 soon. I'm an adult. I'm not a kid. When I say I want to make movies, I feel like I can see the look in peoples eyes that says, uh, shouldn't you be over that? Not that people think that, but that's what I think they think.
Well, this book and the directors in it have inspired me again. Either I love film and will give everything to be a part of it, or I will continue to love film and just watch a lot of movies for the rest of my life when I get home from my 9 to 5.
Either I will struggle, eat rahman (how do you spell that) soup for a while, trust God desperately, and forsake all for this dream...or I will just keep telling my work buddies how I thought of a cool idea for a movie over lunch hour and then forget it by 5.

I feel now like I can be a part of something great. I don't think film hit it's peak as an art in the 70's. There is more to come. Today is a great time to be alive in cinema. Difficult, tumultuous, yes. But exciting and groundbreaking also. I feel renewed for filmmaking. My love for film and the craft has NEVER EVER EVER faltered, but my motivation and drive to make them has. But it feels like the embers are glowing again. I dunno. I have a short film in the works. Script done and stuff. The details of shoot need to be planned. I am wanting to get to work on it soon. So I will start kicking my butt to get going on it.

Ya know, I use to say this to myself all the time... If the great directors of our time all had to struggle and fight and be poor for a while and face rejection and disappointment and fight depression and such in order to break through the impossible walls into their dreams...then why shouldn't I? Do I expect that because I believe in God and trust Him that he will magically lift me up above all of that and place me on a podium at the 82nd Academy Awards? Absolutely not. He won't.
God help me. I am addicted to film. I am a junkie. I can't live without you God. Without your hope and love and guidance. But I don't know if I can adequately live without this drug that YOU put in my system.

Hi, I'm Lee and I'm a movie junkie (MOVIES Pt. 2)

Okay, I want to make my thought on Easy Riders, Raging Bulls personal. Here it goes. I have been so lazy when it has come to my dream of making movies it makes me want to puke. And i'm sure that it has made the following people want to puke also:
Mom, Dad, Niki, Pastor Brian, Matt and Steph, Curt Tasker, Shane, Tiff Hahn, John Wood and Jon Douglas, and of course me.
Sorry if I left you off the list. I know it was an odd list to include, but I had to remind myself of the people who have a real stake in this thing. I know everyone believes in this thing, but those people came to mind as people who--oh I don't know why, but those people stuck out to me as reminders.
Anyway, let me get off that. I want to talk about my re-realization of something I once knew and understood, but have since watered-down. Here it is:
MY PASSION FOR FILM IS UNREASONABLE AND CANNOT BE CONTAINED, AND I CANNOT BE COMPLETELY HAPPY DOING SOMETHING APART FROM IT.

That's the bottom line. I realized this walking in Border's yesterday. I go to Border's all the time. I want you to keep in mind that I live well below the poverty level. I basically live from payday to payday. I have all the needs (well, at least according to me) Food, shelter, water, clothes, etc... My car's muffler fell off sunday night, but she drives just live she did before. Anyway...my point is, I don't have enough money to be throwing around frivilously. So there, I set up my story. I'm walking around Border's, the day after the Oscars thinking about films. Border's always has movies on Sale for like $9 on a special shelf. So I always check it, knowing full well that I don't have enough money to justify buying ANYTHING AT ALL let alone a movie or something. SO I walk away from it and go to the book section. I go to the religion section, where I usually BORROW a book, and read it at the cafe for about 1 hour and put it back. The new Brian McLaren book was not in yet, so I walk around for while. Then I remember hearing about a book called "Easy Rider's Raging Bulls" (see previous post on info for that book). I go to the Film Studies section and find it. I take it around the store as I flip through it's pages. I'm going to be honest, the book really had me at the introduction by the author. His passion and knowledge of film culture ignited me. I turn it over...$15. Hmm... I keep walking and start looking through movies. Thin Red Line $9. M*A*S*H $15. 2001: A Space Odyssey $14. Ghost World $9. Hmm Ghost World, I remembered really liking that film. I carried it around for a while, God only knows why. Then I remember thinking that Anchorman was a movie I really wanted in my collection, I thought it was one of the best comedies of that year, and it really hits the spot for me when I'm in that mood. So I went to see if it was on sale. It wasn't, it was still 16 dollars. Well, I started walking around with it as well. So I have a book, and two movies with me, just walking around the store. I THINK I was debating buying them at the time, but maybe I just liked the feel of two movies and a book about movies in my hands. I knew in my gut that I shouldn't spend $40 dollars on this stuff. I should put the $40 in the bank where it belongs, or at the very least something substantial. Before I knew it I was standing in the line with this merchandise, literally cursing at myself under my breath. "You ****in' dummy, put the movies back. You're wasting your ****ing money idiot!" But I bought them. Handed over the cash. At least I got points on my Border's Card. Anyway, I realized something. I AM ADDICTED TO FILM. TO CINEMA. TO MOVIES! I would have (and probably did) given up a meal or two or 3, if it meant I would own a great film to add to my collection. I got home, quickly unwrapped them both, open the cabinet with my DVD collection, put them all together and read all the titles aloud for myself to hear them. Mmmm. I put in Ghost World and watched it and read "Easy Riders..." at the same time. Ecstacy. I couldn't help it. Of course, in one sense I COULD HAVE HELPED IT. But in another sense, I was so compelled by the idea that I would be able to unwrap a brand new film, put it in the player and watch. Commit it's style and dialogue and camera work to memory. I was like a junkie. A Film Junkie. If you are reading this thinking I'm weird, then that's cool. Maybe it is weird. But ya know? I have been this way about movies ever since I was in 3rd or 4th grade. My taste has only gotten richer and more sophisticated, and my opinions stronger and stronger. The only thing is, age and life has an uncanny ability to wear down your edge...your motivation to give up your life to make movies.
But over the last couple of days, that edge has begun to return. See the next post for PT. 3 of this.

"Easy Riders, Raging Bulls" (MOVIES Pt. 1)

Hey there. It's been a week or so since I last posted. I've begun reading a book by Peter Biskind called "Easy Riders, Raging Bulls: How the Sex-Drugs-And-Rock'N'Roll Generation Saved Hollywood." So far I really like the book. It came out in '98 and is basically a film-connesiouer's must-read. So I'm about 6 years behind...sue me. Not literally.
Anyway, it is mostly about the rise of the FILM-AS-ART generation that came to prominence in the 60's and 70's. You know, the generation that destroyed the studio-system oppression and the "Leave it to Beaver" safe films. I'm talking about directors like Scorcese, Coppola, Spielberg, Lucas, Allen, Altman, Friedken, etc... I'm talking about movies like Mash, Jaws, Taxi Driver, Godfather and Apocolypse Now, The Excorcist, Easy Rider, Annie Hall, THX 1138, Bonnie and Clyde, etc... The list goes on and on. Every year from 1964-1980 produced a masterpiece or two or three. That's what this book is about. Those directors...their creativity, rebellion, and artistry...along with their not so upstanding lives during the 70's and how it affected them. Interesting. Very interesting.
I wasn't alive in the 70's. Or for that matter, the 60's. ; Sometimes I wish I was. I am usually classified by those who know me, and often by those who don't as a hippie. I guess the way I walk and talk and sit on things that aren't usually used as chairs, and wear my clothes and such... I don't know what classifies a hippie person...I don't live in a commune and I don't smoke grass, so I dunno. Anyway, I take it as a compliment. The point is, I have admired 70's cinema from afar for years now. But with this book, I am getting an insight into the culture of the 70's subversive filmmaker. It is electrifying to say the least.
I know it is difficult to separate these artists and their work from the drugs and promiscuous sex that characterized their lives back then (not in all cases...well at least not the drugs), but I am trying to see what was really there. Beneath it all. And what was beneath it was the same heart that inspired all the depravity in general in the 60's and 70's. Rebellion. Break the Mold. Stickin' it to the "Man" as it were. Trying new things. Touching what said Do Not Touch. Saying what hadn't been said before. This was true in every art form. Of course, some of this was negative. In fact, we are still feeling the effects of the random anonymous sex in our society today.
However, many of the taboos that were broken were good. Sure people might have said and done things that had never been before, but with that came more openness and honesty. The art and film in America at that time began reflecting that. It might have been messy and ugly and offensive to some, but it was truth, and finally we were seeing art that looked like us. Real and raw and beautiful. I guess that statement was kind of relative, because some might see it differently. If so, comment on it.
Anyway, what these guys were doing was revolutionary. There are pictures of some of them together, hanging out. There's a picture of Spielberg, Scorcese, and Brian De Palma (dir. of Carrie) together. They're all in mid-laugh, in tuxedos, having a good time. I keep looking at that picture, trying to place myself in that setting. Spielberg was in his late 20's, Scorsese probably the same, and DePalma in his 30's or so. They were rebels in Hollywood. They were taking the bricks out of the wall. They were idealistic. They were, and several others along with them, the New Hollywood as it was called. They were changing that town, the art, and culture along with them. It is amazing.
Sorry about the rambling. I was going to write about the Oscars and how much I loved the ceremony on Sunday Night. One of the best in years I think. Anyway...I'm going to start a brand new post, because I wanna break it up for you if you're reading and this gets too long. SO I'm going to start a new one, with some more personal thoughts on it.