In a <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/director-terry-gilliam-says-hes-tired-of-white-men-being-blamed-for-everything-that-is-wrong-with-the-world">recent interview</a>, film director Terry Gilliam commented on his reluctance to embrace the #MeToo movement, referring to it as a “witch hunt.” This view certainly sets him apart from his peers in Hollywood, but that’s really nothing new for Gilliam. He’s always been a little different. The lone American member of Monty Python, Gilliam is an accomplished provocateur and, while I’m fairly certain his politics probably don’t line up with mine, his tolerance for mob mentality is extremely limited. He makes movies about loners and misfits who, like Gilliam himself, operate well outside the mainstream. Among his filmography are cult classics like “Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas” and “Time Bandits,” and Oscar-worthy fare such as “The Fisher King” and “12 Monkeys.”
But perhaps Gilliam’s greatest cinematic achievement is his 1985 science fiction film “Brazil.” The story of a naive dreamer oppressed by an authoritarian government will likely sound familiar to most, as it is the core idea behind George Orwell’s iconic “1984.” While obviously inspired by that novel, Gilliam here chooses to embrace his comedy roots and find the absurdity within the darkness, playing up the soul-crushing farce at the core of governmental bureaucracy. The result is a film akin to Stanley Kubrick’s “Dr. Strangelove,” acknowledging the humor amidst horror, bringing the inherent despair to the surface in a way that a straightforward drama never could.
“Brazil” features a premise that many conservatives will appreciate. While many science fiction films like “Alien” and “RoboCop” focus on the inhumanity of corporate greed, Gilliam instead presents the smiling evil of a government with absolute control over its populace. From the drudgery of endless paperwork (“This is your receipt… and this is my receipt for your receipt”) to the chilling assumption of government inerrancy (“Mistakes? We don’t make mistakes”), “Brazil” shows us a world where individualism is constantly, cheerfully suppressed in favor of mindless, banal provision.
Featuring delightful performances from Jonathan Pryce, Ian Holm, and Gilliam’s Python cohort Michael Palin, the nervous politeness of the characters underscores the complete lack of any real personality within this cold, gray world. There is no passion, no romance, no adventure. Everything that we yearn for – the things that make us human – is ignored by this government, replaced by comfort and safety. Of course, should any citizen decide that they’re not totally satisfied with what has been generously provided for them by their leaders, there is the ever-present threat of government force looming over the proceedings.
With “Brazil,” Terry Gilliam provides a funny, fascinating, but ultimately quite depressing image of an ever-growing government that would appear to care for its citizens, but is actually much more interested in retaining its own power. It is a cautionary tale about the travails of being an individual in an increasingly-monolithic society, where refusing to simply go along with the appearance of tranquility and tolerance can get you, shall we say, cancelled.
It is a brilliant film, and one that deserves to be revisited. Because, though it is now thirty-five years old, its themes are more relevant than ever.

“Brazil.”

SMITH: A Film For Conservatives In Terry Gilliam’s ‘Brazil’

Hollywood

Terry Gilliam

Director and former “Monty Python” cast member Terry Gilliam is under fire now because he refused to kowtow to modern “woke” rules.
During <a href="https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/films/features/terry-gilliam-interview-harvey-weinstein-victims-metoo-race-a9269136.html">an interview</a> with The Independent, the “Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas” director insisted that “people work so hard to be offended now.” Gilliam enraged his interviewer by daring to suggest that people are responsible for their own decisions. Gilliam went so far as to claim that people today want to blame others for their lot in life. He used a character named Angelica (played by Joana Ribeiro) in his upcoming movie “The Man Who Killed Don Quixote,” who was promised to be made a star by a director (played by Adam Driver) when she was 15. He does not come through on his promise, and she becomes a model and escort.
“In the age of #MeToo, here’s a girl who takes responsibility for her state,” Gilliam said. “Whatever happened in this character’s life, she’s not accusing anybody. We’re living in a time where there’s always somebody responsible for your failures, and I don’t like this. I want people to take responsibility and not just constantly point a finger at somebody else, saying, ‘You’ve ruined my life.’”
Gilliam then said the #MeToo movement had become a “witch hunt.” While it might have nabbed people like Harvey Weinstein, it quickly devolved into a grievance movement that allowed women to destroy the reputations of men over exaggerated and contrived slights.
“Yeah, I said #MeToo is a witch hunt,” Gilliam said. “I really feel there were a lot of people, decent people, or mildly irritating people, who were getting hammered. That’s wrong. I don’t like mob mentality. These were ambitious adults.”
He went on to say that all of Weinstein’s victims were indeed victims.
“There are many victims in Harvey’s life,” he said, “and I feel sympathy for them, but then, Hollywood is full of very ambitious people who are adults and they make choices. We all make choices, and I could tell you who did make the choice and who didn’t. I hate Harvey. I had to work with him and I know the abuse, but I don’t want people saying that all men … Because on [the 1991 film] Fisher King, two producers were women. One was a really good producer, and the other was a neurotic bitch. It wasn’t about their sex. It was about the position of power and how people use it.”
Gilliam said that he had been approached by “a very well-known actress” who asked him, “What do I have to do to get in your film, Terry?”
“I don’t understand why people behave as if this hasn’t been going on as long as there’ve been powerful people. I understand that men have had more power longer, but I’m tired, as a white male, of being blamed for everything that is wrong with the world,” he said. “I didn’t do it!”
His interviewer was clearly annoyed, adding woke responses to everything Gilliam said.
Naturally, the “Brazil” director’s comments <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/film/2020/jan/04/terry-gilliam-metoo-witch-hunt-backlash">enraged social justice warriors</a>, who no doubt are sharpening their cancel-culture pitchforks.

Director Terry Gilliam Says He’s ‘Tired’ Of White Men ‘Being Blamed For Everything That Is Wrong With The World’

MeToo

Legendary British-American actor and director Terry Gilliam of &#8220;Monty Python&#8221; fame is not afraid to push back on politically correct notions promoted by his counterparts in Hollywood. In his latest comments taking aim at progressive premises, the 79-year-old &#8220;Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas&#8221; director slammed the idea that only people with the right sexuality, gender identity or race can play certain roles.
&#8220;In Hollywood, there&#8217;s a lot of pressure if you&#8217;re going to have a transgender character, then you have to have a transgender actor — it&#8217;s ridiculous,&#8221; Gilliam told <a href="https://news.yahoo.com/monty-pythons-terry-gilliam-outraged-climate-change-hollywood-135459422.html">AFP</a> Friday. &#8220;If you&#8217;re going to have a serial killer then you&#8217;ve got to have a serial killer actor who has killed many people? It&#8217;s illogical.&#8221;
Referencing actress <a href="https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0757855/">Zoe Saldana</a> (&#8220;Guardians of the Galaxy,&#8221; &#8220;Avatar&#8221;), who was recently &#8220;pilloried&#8221; for darkening her skin to portray soul singer Nina Simone, Gilliam said, &#8220;If I&#8217;m going to play an Italian on film I&#8217;ll darken my skin, I&#8217;ll try to look Mediterranean.&#8221;
&#8220;This is such superficial nonsense,&#8221; said the director.
This certainly isn&#8217;t Gilliam&#8217;s first time going against the PC grain. In July 2018, Gilliam stirred up some controversy by offering a trolling response to the controller of BBC Comedy Commissioning stating that “Monty Python’s Flying Circus” would never fly today. “If you’re going to assemble a team now, it’s not going to be six Oxbridge white blokes,” said BBC&#8217;s Shane Allen. “It’s going to be a diverse range of people who reflect the modern world.”
“It made me cry: the idea that … no longer six white Oxbridge men can make a comedy show,” Gilliam said at a film festival press conference in early July, as reported by <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/film/2018/jul/04/terry-gilliam-on-diversity-bbc-monty-python-black-lesbian">The Guardian</a>.
“Now we need one of this, one of that, everybody represented,” said the &#8220;Time Bandits&#8221; director. &#8220;This is bullsh**. I no longer want to be a white male, I don’t want to be blamed for everything wrong in the world. I tell the world now I’m a black lesbian… My name is Loretta, and I’m a BLT, a black lesbian in transition.&#8221;
&#8220;[Allen’s] statement made me so angry, all of us so angry,&#8221; he added. &#8220;Comedy is not assembled, it’s not like putting together a boy band where you put together one of this, one of that everyone is represented.&#8221;
In April, Gilliam returned to his PC perpetual &#8220;offense&#8221; theme in an interview with <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/monty-pythons-terry-gilliam-wishes-comedy-hadnt-changed-11555333940">The Wall Street Journal</a>. Asked if he believes there’s a difference between British and American humor, Gilliam told the Journal, &#8220;I always felt the British are very good at laughing at themselves; the Americans are better at laughing at other people.&#8221;
&#8220;I still think it’s pretty true, but it’s changing because now we can’t laugh at anybody because it causes offense,&#8221; he added. &#8220;There’s a kind of egotism out there: ‘Oh, they were making fun of me,&#8217; Never heard of you. I’m making fun of an idea.&#8221;
Asked about his response to Allen&#8217;s comments about &#8220;six Oxbridge white blokes,&#8221; Gilliam explained, &#8220;The idea is that we’re already excluded because the world has changed. I said, I’m tired of being, as a white male, blamed for everything that’s wrong in the world. So now I want you to call me Loretta. I’m a black lesbian in transition.&#8221;
The &#8220;Loretta&#8221; reference, he said, was to the famous Monty Python film &#8220;Life of Brian&#8221; (1979). &#8220;People now might take offense at that,&#8221; Gilliam remarked. &#8220;And when offense becomes so easy, it takes the fun out of offending!&#8221;
In March 2018, the director also pushed back against another idea that Hollywood has embraced, the &#8220;believe all women&#8221; excesses of the #MeToo movement. While he would go on to condemn Harvey Weinstein as a &#8220;complete monster,&#8221; Gilliam also suggested that some of the women who allegedly had sex with Weinstein had done so in order to promote their careers.
In his conversation with AFP Friday, Gilliam demonstrated that he doesn&#8217;t disagree with all of the Left&#8217;s premises by taking shots at Donald Trump and calling for more action to combat climate change.
Related: <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/feminist-tries-to-cancel-disneys-the-mandalorian-over-lack-of-female-characters-gets-wrecked">Feminist Tries To Cancel Disney’s ‘The Mandalorian’ Over Lack Of Female Characters, Gets Wrecked</a>

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Terry Gilliam

SMITH: A Film For Conservatives In Terry Gilliam’s ‘Brazil’

Director Terry Gilliam Says He’s ‘Tired’ Of White Men ‘Being Blamed For Everything That Is Wrong With The World’

‘Superficial Nonsense’: Iconic Director Slams Idea That Only Trans Actors Can Play Trans Roles