Robert Downey Jr. on Alejandro Gonzalez Iñarritu's comment that superhero movies are a form of “cultural genocide”: “For a man whose native tongue is Spanish to be able to put together a phrase like ‘cultural genocide’ just speaks to how bright he is.”
Offsite Link| by Anonymous | reply 99 | September 29, 2022 12:52 PM |
RDJ is close friends with Mel Gibson. What do you expect?
| by Anonymous | reply 1 | September 10, 2022 7:46 AM |
Clearly Downey didn't realise that 'cultural genocide' that Iñarritu was cinema as an art form, which those Marvel films are not.
| by Anonymous | reply 2 | September 10, 2022 7:47 AM |
Anyone who thinks that's racist or xenophobic didn't understand the comment and is showing their ignorance of the history of Spanish Imperialism throughout the world.
| by Anonymous | reply 3 | September 10, 2022 7:59 AM |
OP, white Downey criticizing white Iñarritu has nothing to do with racism.
| by Anonymous | reply 4 | September 10, 2022 8:06 AM |
Downey is a nepotism actor.
| by Anonymous | reply 6 | September 10, 2022 8:14 AM |
Downey is barely an actor at this point.
| by Anonymous | reply 7 | September 10, 2022 8:28 AM |
r6 Robert Downey Jr.'s career has nothing to do with nepotism. Robert Downey Sr. has always been an outsider and has never had any power or influence in Hollywood to get jobs for his son.
| by Anonymous | reply 8 | September 10, 2022 8:28 AM |
R8: lol. He totally benefited from his Dad’s connections and name.
| by Anonymous | reply 9 | September 10, 2022 8:32 AM |
[quote]OP, white Downey criticizing white Iñarritu has nothing to do with racism.
He is a bigot. Mexican people are not truly considered white. No matter how much progressives try to push this geography bullshit and act as if Latinos are not discriminated against.
| by Anonymous | reply 10 | September 10, 2022 8:34 AM |
R2, "...Clearly Downey didn't realise that 'cultural genocide' that Iñarritu was cinema as an art form..."
| by Anonymous | reply 11 | September 10, 2022 8:37 AM |
Robert Downey Jr.'s comments are alluding to Iñárritu Spanish heritage, and that therefore, Iñárritu doesn't get to comment on cultural genocide? The U.S. is an empire, and has economically and culturally colonized much of the world, and Latin America especially. Mexico, being our neighbor, bears the brunt of it. I think Downey Jr. who needs to pipe down and maybe read a few books on American imperialism.
| by Anonymous | reply 12 | September 10, 2022 8:38 AM |
I didn't interpret RDJ's response or comment as a slight. I suppose taken out of context, it could be viewed as an insult but my initial response is that it was a compliment. I'm a native English speaker but I'm somewhat bilingual. I say somewhat because I'm not fluent and I especially struggle with advanced or academic words. I think RDJ's comment acknowledges Iñárritu's proficiency in English.
| by Anonymous | reply 13 | September 10, 2022 8:52 AM |
That director's films are incredibly pretentious.
| by Anonymous | reply 14 | September 10, 2022 9:17 AM |
Wow. RDJ will never produce anything near the creative brilliance of Iñarritu.
| by Anonymous | reply 15 | September 10, 2022 9:43 AM |
[quote]“It [RDJ] was like ‘Oh, you guys from your banana country,’” Iñarritu said. “If I were from Denmark or Sweden, I might be seen as philosophical, but when you’re Mexican and you say things, you’re pretentious.”
Iñarritu is correct. Americans love to feel superior to all others and to Mexicans most especially, and RDJ is right quick to condemn anyone who doesn't swoon over his latest franchise shit or the overlords behind it. Mocking Iñarritu about his English language proficiency when it's better than Downey's is a bit rich. It's the equivalent of a backhanded compliment to a Black director for being 'so articulate, considering.'
Downey is, for my tastes, a shit actor and has been for most of his career. That he makes enormous salaries doing cheesy superhero franchise films that make billions, well, good for him. It would take a stronger person than most of us to walk away from the offers Downey has, but instead of a sense of his good fortune, he feels challenged at every turn and quick to come to defend the virtue of his employers. Either that or he's just a vile cunt.
| by Anonymous | reply 17 | September 10, 2022 10:03 AM |
Downey most definitely is an ass, but "the creative brilliance of Iñarritu" @ R15 really made me laugh.
| by Anonymous | reply 18 | September 10, 2022 10:26 AM |
Given the Spanish Empire was one of the very cruellest, with unspeakable atrocities, Downey is right to mock him for bandying about 'cultural genocide'.
| by Anonymous | reply 19 | September 10, 2022 10:49 AM |
R3 That's true, but i find surprising that americans seems to think spanish colonialism is worse than british or even the recent USA imperialism all over the world.
Iñarritu words were ridiculous, as simple as that
| by Anonymous | reply 20 | September 10, 2022 10:53 AM |
It was just a matter of time before RDJ's nasty personality would show up. He's friends with Mel Gibson after all.
| by Anonymous | reply 21 | September 10, 2022 10:59 AM |
[quote] Downey is, for my tastes, a shit actor and has been for most of his career. That he makes enormous salaries doing cheesy superhero franchise films that make billions, well, good for him. It would take a stronger person than most of us to walk away from the offers Downey has, but instead of a sense of his good fortune, he feels challenged at every turn and quick to come to defend the virtue of his employers. Either that or he's just a vile cunt.
R17 perfectly stated.
| by Anonymous | reply 22 | September 10, 2022 11:04 AM |
This comment is really old (from 2014 I want to say) and Iñarritu is bringing it up because Bardo was widely panned and he and Netflix are pivoting strategies for awards season. They’re trying to frame the pans as racist and xenophobic. Netflix had a pundit booted from a Telluride party because he panned it. Hilariously, said pundit is Black and Latino.
Obviously, RDJ is a moron for the comment regardless.
| by Anonymous | reply 23 | September 10, 2022 11:05 AM |
RDJr has been very obviously Republican for a long time, and many on here over the years have defended it, saying he was probably raped in prison and the only logical response to that would be to turn far-right Republican, which makes no sense, of course.
As to his comments, Americans for some reason, probably our scattershot History/Social Studies curricula in public schools, believe that Spain's colonization centuries ago was far more destructive than that of other European countries or even our own, which isn't entirely accurate.
It's also not the point, as Iñarritu was talking about CULTURAL genocide, and making a point that about 90% of DLers make every damn day on here: that the current culture is of little to no value to humanity, superhero movies being the biggest example of that.
But DLers are also the "Spaniards and Italians are only white adjacent and not really white" types until something like this happens, then they're "Spaniards are white and making a rude comment about their ability to speak English cannot possibly be racist," so it's not like many people here are what you'd call consistent.
| by Anonymous | reply 24 | September 10, 2022 11:08 AM |
[quote]“It [RDJ] was like ‘Oh, you guys from your banana country,’” Iñarritu said. “If I were from Denmark or Sweden, I might be seen as philosophical, but when you’re Mexican and you say things, you’re pretentious.”
Inarritu can fuck right off. It's not his banana country he was commenting on. It was his conquistador country.
| by Anonymous | reply 25 | September 10, 2022 11:09 AM |
R24, the Inca and the Maya would like to have a little talk with you about your thoughts on "cultural genocide" when it comes to the Spanish.
| by Anonymous | reply 26 | September 10, 2022 11:12 AM |
[quote]Robert Downey Jr.'s career has nothing to do with nepotism. Robert Downey Sr. has always been an outsider and has never had any power or influence in Hollywood to get jobs for his son.
Completely and entirely untrue, r8. His first acting experiences were in his father's films, and that got him into Stagedoor Manor, and later, his dad's counter-cultural cred got him onto SNL, even though he didn't deserve it and was no good on the show.
| by Anonymous | reply 27 | September 10, 2022 11:18 AM |
[quote]Given the Spanish Empire was one of the very cruellest, with unspeakable atrocities, Downey is right to mock him for bandying about 'cultural genocide'.
Iñarritu Isn’t Spanish. He is Mexican, which means he likely has indigenous blood and has many ancestors who were enslaved by the Spaniards. Why is it so difficult for far lefties to defend any other poc besides blacks? Fucking hypocrites.
| by Anonymous | reply 28 | September 10, 2022 11:21 AM |
R28, maybe it's because we understand that he's also Spanish, ya idiot. His ancestors killed his other ancestors. He's a hypocrite and tone deaf to lightly comment on 'cultural genocide' concerning comic book movies when his ancestors were some of the biggest perpetrators of actual genocide.
| by Anonymous | reply 30 | September 10, 2022 11:33 AM |
[Quote]maybe it's because we understand that he's also Spanish, ya idiot. His ancestors killed his other ancestors. He's a hypocrite and tone deaf to lightly comment on 'cultural genocide' concerning comic book movies when his ancestors were some of the biggest perpetrators of actual genocide.
What the actual fuck? This has got to be the most ignorant and bigoted post I have seen on DL in years. Seriously. This poster has extra chromosomes.
| by Anonymous | reply 31 | September 10, 2022 11:39 AM |
Iñarritu comes from a very prominent and wealthy family. His mother’s side is in fact Basque/Spanish.
| by Anonymous | reply 32 | September 10, 2022 11:47 AM |
R14.
Incredibly pretentious?
How so?
I’m perplexed as to who thinks this way and why?
Because he’s filmed in black and white medium?
| by Anonymous | reply 33 | September 10, 2022 11:55 AM |
So what if this dude is part Spanish? He is also Mexican. RDJ is still a Republicunt asshole. If he made a snide comment about a director who is half black DL would be in an uproar.
| by Anonymous | reply 34 | September 10, 2022 12:05 PM |
It is precisely the irony that a Mexican who is complaining about cultural genocide is speaking Spanish instead of the native language of the Aztecs because of the cultural genocide visited upon the people of Mexico is RDJ’s whole point.
| by Anonymous | reply 35 | September 10, 2022 12:11 PM |
[quote]It is precisely the irony that a Mexican who is complaining about cultural genocide is speaking Spanish instead of the native language of the Aztecs because of the cultural genocide visited upon the people of Mexico is RDJ’s whole point.
I seriously doubt it. Talk abut reaching.
| by Anonymous | reply 36 | September 10, 2022 12:16 PM |
RDJ looks as Mexican/Spaniard as Inñaritu.
The latter of the two being hotter.
| by Anonymous | reply 37 | September 10, 2022 12:18 PM |
JFC - Can there be any discussion in this decade just focusing on the idiotic comments between 2 wealthy, famous, spoiled men? Must every comment be accompanied by a (usually misguided) history lesson about the alleged actions of everyone's alleged ancestors?
| by Anonymous | reply 38 | September 10, 2022 12:25 PM |
RDJ is just a bigot and a Republicunt ignoramus, in spite of his money and fame. His rep later said he meant the comment as a compliment after he received much deserved backlash. However, neither he nor his rep ever elaborated as to what he actually did mean when he said what he did. I think he just meant he was impressed that a Latino man who speaks Spanish could say something as sophisticated as “cultural genocide” so he must be smart. RDJ is smug and bigoted. Just like most affluent white people, both liberal and conservative.
| by Anonymous | reply 39 | September 10, 2022 12:28 PM |
So disagreeing with someone's opinion is now racist? It's becoming increasingly obvious who the actual privileged, racist people are and that's western PoC.
| by Anonymous | reply 40 | September 10, 2022 12:32 PM |
RDJ is an uneducated moron, I seriously doubt he has a wide ranging knowledge of history. The few brain cells he had got popped by his decades of alcohol and drug abuse.
| by Anonymous | reply 41 | September 10, 2022 12:54 PM |
Both of them come off badly.
But I'd say that RDJ is within his right to bristle at the comment.
Guess what. Cultural genocide is the brutal removal of language, social forms and customs - as well as the people who use them. It's something very, very ugly and very specific. Calling superhero films cultural genocide is extremely offensive and no more correct than calling 1930s musicals cultural genocide. There are a lot of them and they're not very deep and some people really don't like them. But Busby Berkeley did not blow up a sacred site. He hired a bunch of starlets to dance around holding neon violins. If you think that's cultural genocide, you don't fucking understand the term. And if you accuse someone incorrectly of cultural genocide - even indirectly - then I think they have the right to take offense. I, personally, would have simply called Innaritu a stupid fuck and left it that.
Bonus points for this crack from RDJ evidently being made eight years ago and dug up for PR purposes.
| by Anonymous | reply 42 | September 10, 2022 1:19 PM |
Yeah, RDJ as a Republican racist is...pretty much not a thing. Which doesn't make his comment any less stupid, mind. But given the way he talks I'm pretty sure we would have already heard a lot worse if it was indicative of some deep-seated hatred of Mexicans.
That said, I'm a bit surprised at some of the above assumptions.
RDJ is linked to the MCU in a way that very few actors are linked to a film series. He has a right to be proud of his work, whether you happen to like it or not. Shitting on it will probably make him angry. Go figure.
Why doesn't RDJ do small independent movies? I don't know, maybe because he already did a whole bunch, primarily at the behest of his old man, who was an interesting filmmaker but also an abusive cunt who did everything he could to wreck his young son's life? RDJ is producing a film about RD Snr. and I'm curious to see it.
A life of grotesque parental neglect followed by hardcore drug abuse (instigated by the parent in question) and topped up with a stint in jail and evidently a brutal rape might leave some people a bit damaged, emotionally and otherwise. How this is news is a bit of a puzzle.
Iñarritu is a fascinating filmmaker, but his own crack was equally stupid, so I'm seeing it as a battle of the brain-farts rather than some huge revelation about character.
| by Anonymous | reply 43 | September 10, 2022 1:41 PM |
I always wonder with stupid stuff like this, are people just sitting around refreshing their browser, waiting for something they can twist into OMG HE'S RACIST, OMG HE'S ANTI GAY.
I just KNOW there's something I can be offended by today, and I have to tweet it to my audience!
| by Anonymous | reply 44 | September 10, 2022 1:45 PM |
[quote]RDJ is linked to the MCU in a way that very few actors are linked to a film series. He has a right to be proud of his work, whether you happen to like it or not. Shitting on it will probably make him angry. Go figure.
Sure, but it's still an asshole move to say "I'm surprised that Mexican could say somethin' so purty in English" in response.
But he's RDJr and he made it sound snooty, so he was forgiven.
| by Anonymous | reply 45 | September 10, 2022 1:45 PM |
This is from 2014, r44. Who do you imagine is sitting around, hitting F5, just waiting for the story to be posted again?
| by Anonymous | reply 46 | September 10, 2022 1:47 PM |
R45, I agree - it's a crass and offensive comment. But I don't think it represents anything more than mental fumbling. He should apologize.
| by Anonymous | reply 47 | September 10, 2022 1:48 PM |
R42, 1930s musicals were not made at the expense of other entertainment. The proliferation of superhero movies and TV shows in the modern era have happened in part because studios and production companies stopped making other kinds of movies to focus entirely on superhero stories.
You made an inaccurate comparison and then started flapping about with the ridiculous hyperbole, as if anyone here ever said something along the lines of "Busby Berkeley blew up a sacred site." No one even came close to making that kind of a comment, including Iñarritu.
| by Anonymous | reply 49 | September 10, 2022 1:52 PM |
[quote]Calling superhero films cultural genocide is extremely offensive and no more correct than calling 1930s musicals cultural genocide.
Except 1930s musicals didn't act as military propaganda. For the most part, anyway.
[quote]Iñarritu said in his initial remarks that just the word “superhero” bothered him, adding, “What the fuck does that mean? It’s a false, misleading conception, the superhero. Then, the way they apply violence to it, it’s absolutely right wing. If you observe the mentality of most of those films, it’s really about people who are rich, who have power, who will do the good, who will kill the bad. Philosophically, I just don’t like them.”
| by Anonymous | reply 50 | September 10, 2022 1:53 PM |
R49, the modern cultural trajectory has been towards pop entertainment, true. But other than MCU itself, I can think of no studio devoted simply to superhero stories.
There has usually been a pop ascendancy in film - musicals, westerns, horror films, thrillers, science fiction and fantasy and now superheroes.
Busby Berkeley's films have been critiqued as a form of Fascist art and an influence on Nazi propaganda vis-a-vis Triumph of the Will. I don't 100% see it myself, but the charges have been laid.
I checked my local theater and the films playing are Mrs. Harris Goes to Paris, Gigi and Nate, Medieval, Top Gun: Maverick, Where the Crawdads Sing and The Invitation. All of them look like shit, but except for "Medieval", which I suppose you could call a superhero story of sorts, none of them are superhero films.
| by Anonymous | reply 51 | September 10, 2022 2:03 PM |
RDJ has collected enough cash from those things to .... never mind, I just remembered his former drug addictions and how badly wired his brain must be at this point.
| by Anonymous | reply 52 | September 10, 2022 2:05 PM |
[quote]except for "Medieval", which I suppose you could call a superhero story of sorts, none of them are superhero films
You're lucky.
Medieval, Spiderman No Way Home, Dragonball something or other, Top Gun, Bullet Train, Thor, Minions, DC League of Super Pets.
Everything is superhero or franchise, except for Bullet Train.
| by Anonymous | reply 53 | September 10, 2022 2:11 PM |
I would like to know when Robert Downey Jr is going to come out as a connoisseur of COCK.
| by Anonymous | reply 54 | September 10, 2022 2:16 PM |
Iñarritu said in his initial remarks that just the word “superhero” bothered him, adding, “What the fuck does that mean? It’s a false, misleading conception, the superhero. Then, the way they apply violence to it, it’s absolutely right wing. If you observe the mentality of most of those films, it’s really about people who are rich, who have power, who will do the good, who will kill the bad. Philosophically, I just don’t like them.”
While the above is fair enough, the basic superhero trope is of an underdog acquiring power. The only cannon superheroes presented as wealthy are Batman and Tony Stark. Dr. Strange is a rich doctor in the films at the beginning - IIRC he wasn't so in the comics. Spiderman is a high-school kid from Queens. The Hulk is a scientist. Scarlet Widow is a government operative. Ant-Man is an idiot. The Guardians of the Galaxy are idiots. Thor is - okay, Thor I guess is a god, as well as an idiot, so there's some power there. But in the context of the MCU, all these people lose whatever it is they have to start with. Tony's mansion blows up and he moves to a log cabin. Strange spends his money to try to cure his crippled hands. Spiderman finishes his last film without his aunt, his home, his friends or admission to college.
Batman always sort of bothered me because if Wayne was so goddam rich, why didn't he fund social programs to keep Gotham from swirling down the toilet?
| by Anonymous | reply 55 | September 10, 2022 2:23 PM |
RDJ clearly meant it as an insult, it’s not even subtle. He was angry at the critique of his shitty films because he knows the critique is correct, and he lashed out in response. That his instinctive response in anger was something so bigoted speaks poorly of him.
| by Anonymous | reply 56 | September 10, 2022 2:31 PM |
R56, the critique is not correct. They may be shitty films. They are not "cultural genocide".
| by Anonymous | reply 57 | September 10, 2022 2:32 PM |
[quote]Anyone who thinks that's racist or xenophobic didn't understand the comment and is showing their ignorance of the history of Spanish Imperialism throughout the world.
No, clearly, YOU are the one who doesn't understand the comment, which was a sarcastic remark about the ability of a native Spanish speaker to put together the phrase "cultural imperialism." It's a nasty comment about language and has nothing to do with the history of Spanish imperialism.
[quote]Alejandro Gonzalez Iñarritu does not like superhero movies. The Oscar winner said in 2014 while promoting “Birdman” that superhero movies were a form of “cultural genocide,” adding, “I don’t respond to those characters. They have been poison because the audience is so overexposed to plot and explosions and shit that doesn’t mean nothing about the experience of being human.”
Given the subject, it's a bit ironic that his comments do contain a grammatical error, which I'm sure I don't have to point out.
| by Anonymous | reply 58 | September 10, 2022 2:36 PM |
I agree that it was a very nasty remark. It'll be interesting to see if RDJ can dance out of this one. Trying to walk it back to a compliment is equally stupid.
| by Anonymous | reply 59 | September 10, 2022 2:42 PM |
They are cultural genocide insofar as they leave no room and no money for creativity. Marvel has been churning them out like on a conveyor belt basically. Whatever originality was present with the first Iron Man movie has turned into stale repetition.
Meanwhile directors who want to make some interesting movies can't find any financing bc the big studios suck up all the money with billion dollar budget extravaganzas and tens of million paychecks for RDJ, who has completely forgotten that he was a very talented actor some 20 years ago.
| by Anonymous | reply 60 | September 10, 2022 2:43 PM |
Directors who want to make some interesting movies have been up against this problem since Star Wars (1977).
And it still doesn't make it "cultural genocide".
"Today, the cast of the MCU rounded up the surviving cast members of every single John Waters film and shot them" = cultural genocide. And even that would be stretching the term considerably.
| by Anonymous | reply 61 | September 10, 2022 2:47 PM |
Don't be so literal, R61. "Cultural genocide," in this case, doesn't mean that people are being killed. It refers to the fact that interesting, serious, lower-budget films are being killed -- i.e., not being funded for production -- because the blockbuster superhero movies (and action movies, and special effects extravaganzas) suck up all the money and interest in Hollywood. You don't have to agree with that statement, but I'm sure that's what Iñarritu meant.
| by Anonymous | reply 62 | September 10, 2022 2:58 PM |
Then Inarritu was wrong, R62.
What he should have said was "Interesting, serious, lower-budget films are not being funded for production because the blockbuster superhero movies (and action movies, and special effects extravaganzas) suck up all the money and interest in Hollywood."
He could have followed this with other equally bold ground-shaking insights, such as "attractive people with their clothes off are a draw" and "when you pound RDJ on the back while he hums he makes a sound like a motorboat."
| by Anonymous | reply 63 | September 10, 2022 3:03 PM |
So, R63, it seems you're objecting to the use of the word "genocide" to describe anything other than the mass killing of a specific group of people. That's entirely valid, and I would even say that I agree with you, but I stand by my interpretation of what Iñarritu meant when he used the phrase.
| by Anonymous | reply 64 | September 10, 2022 3:07 PM |
I never could stand him. Was he ever popular with gays?
| by Anonymous | reply 65 | September 10, 2022 3:08 PM |
[quote]Was he ever popular with gays?
He's popular among apologists for any actor who makes a lot of money for film studios. They seem to think that that's doing god's work, the worth of which should not be challenged in the least.
| by Anonymous | reply 66 | September 10, 2022 3:12 PM |
R63, I absolutely object to the term "cultural genocide" to describe anything other than the destruction of a culture and society through the removal of its language, social totems, rites and symbolic sites or art forms. This is usually accompanied by actual genocide, which is the mass killing of a specific group of people. Some terms are too important to be bandied about and hung on things people simply don't like.
I do agree that your interpretation of Inarritu's remark is bang on the nose. If he had phrased it that way, I would have agreed with him myself, with the caveat that the problem he's identifying is much older than superhero films and may be seen (and has been seen) as intrinsic to Hollywood itself. Thus the phrase "That's so Hollywood" or "The Hollywood ending".
| by Anonymous | reply 67 | September 10, 2022 3:13 PM |
R65, gee, I dunno. Maybe if you ever meet a gay you should ask him.
| by Anonymous | reply 68 | September 10, 2022 3:14 PM |
Let me get this straight. Inarritu is still upset about something said to him eight years ago. All those millions of dollars and he’s not a strong enough person to get over something said to him eight years ago. That’s not something to admire, people. Also, many of you have no Hispanic heritage and lack knowledge of nuance concerning what Inarritu said . Being Mexican doesn’t place you in a victim category where you can put down American pop culture as imperialistic. I watch Mexican sitcoms and they consistently use the term “mojado” (wet back) to refer to those who come to the U.S. from Mexico. Characters of full Indian/Native American descent are used for the purpose of mocking them as ignorant. The types that we welcome here with open arms are Mexico’s rednecks or as they call them, “nacos” on their sitcoms. Also mocked and viewed as ignorant. You can still make fun of people of Asian descent on Mexican television, simply for being Asian and how they talk. The list goes on.
Inarritu had the opportunity to start a conversation about the lack of creativity in American entertainment that now exists. Instead, he twisted it into something else and RDJ turned it back on him. When you’re trying to be a snob and someone else puts you in your place, that’s justice.
| by Anonymous | reply 69 | September 10, 2022 3:16 PM |
Thanks for clarifying, R67, and I do agree with you.
| by Anonymous | reply 70 | September 10, 2022 3:18 PM |
R66, really? You'll have to point out where someone made that argument, otherwise you seem to be pulling an entirely separate thread out of your ass.
R69, appearing to mock someone for their mastery of English is offensive and ugly, regardless of the original context. And Inarritu wasn't critiquing the films as imperialist per se. Furthermore is he lying awake thinking of it every night? I doubt it - I dare say someone raised it as a question, he mentioned it rankled him and the press ran with it.
I am a fan of RDJ and I have a lot of respect for him as an actor and a person, but this is a canker. He should admit it was a low remark and apologize.
| by Anonymous | reply 71 | September 10, 2022 3:21 PM |
Most people understood what cultural genocide meant in relation to big budget cinematic fodder produced for the masses and for the Chinese market.
Innaritu had a point, that's why RDJ, the primary beneficial of superhero movie dreck lashed out in such an inappropriate way.
| by Anonymous | reply 72 | September 10, 2022 3:31 PM |
Imagine being mocked by a former inmate, sex-addicted junkie and self-loathing bisexual.
| by Anonymous | reply 73 | September 10, 2022 3:32 PM |
Imagine deciding the low point of a person's life was the thing that defined him or her forever.
| by Anonymous | reply 74 | September 10, 2022 3:36 PM |
[quote]He is a bigot. Mexican people are not truly considered white.
Ludwika Paleta, Polo Morín, Froy Gutierrez, Ariadne Diaz, Angelique Boyer the list goes on.
Unless you think Gisele Bündchen isn't white either, you're just an idiot. Mexico is more mixed than Brazil or Argentina, but its still a multiethnic society with lots of white Europeans in it. Most televonelas have predominantly white casts which is something everyone criticizes nowadays.
| by Anonymous | reply 75 | September 10, 2022 3:46 PM |
R71 I agree it was a low blow…… made in response to a low blow aimed at RDJ by Inarritu. He shouldn’t have brought it up. Eight years earlier, sitting with someone, RDJ, that made his comeback by way of superhero movies, and referring to those types of movies as “cultural genocide” is a very low blow. Do you understand that that comment was a shot aimed at RDJ? It sounds like Inarritu wanted to be a little bitch and no one dare say anything to him or call him out on it. I’m assuming we’re all gay men here and have been around other gay men who like to make underhanded comments at others so as to embarrass them. But when someone makes a comment back at them then suddenly they’re the bad guys. Play with fire you’re gonna’ get burned.
| by Anonymous | reply 76 | September 10, 2022 4:03 PM |
You don't insinuate that a Mexican talks real good.
You don't equate pop culture stupidity with cultural genocide.
I, personally, wouldn't mock a former drug-addict or a person with self-hatred issues either, as some have done above.
I think since this is an issue, RDJ should apologize for the comment.
But it's not much of an issue in the great scheme of things.
| by Anonymous | reply 77 | September 10, 2022 4:18 PM |
[quote]It is precisely the irony that a Mexican who is complaining about cultural genocide is speaking Spanish instead of the native language of the Aztecs because of the cultural genocide visited upon the people of Mexico is RDJ’s whole point.
What a ridiculous comment. The way some of you are moving the goalposts is hilarious. First, he can't comment on American imperialism because he has Spanish heritage. When it's pointed out that he is mestizo, he doesn't have a right to comment because he's not speaking Nahuatl. Some of you really have no clue how widely the U.S. has colonized the world culturally. The MCU films are a part of that, and that they do push American military propaganda. Even Iron Man is an arms dealer you can root for. These films should be analyzed for how they prop up American imperialism, not just for their entertainment value.
| by Anonymous | reply 78 | September 11, 2022 5:02 AM |
R78, Agree with your primary points, but the whole point of Tony Stark is that he realizes what he has been doing and redirects his resources to technology to protect rather than to attack. It's sort of an important message in the whole cycle with various other characters.
| by Anonymous | reply 79 | September 11, 2022 5:17 AM |
Posters keep mentioning that Iñarritu is mestizo. This is irrelevant and ridiculous. He has about as much Indian blood as Elizabeth Warren.
| by Anonymous | reply 80 | September 11, 2022 5:40 AM |
People seem to think that everyone in Mexico mixed. Yes the working class is heavily mixed with poor being browner and the upper middle-class being paler. Most Mexicans don't deny this. But the upperclass remains predominantly European. In every Latin American speaking country, the ruling class is white. That's why telenovelas feature white actors in the main cast and mestizos as the help. Most LatAm immigrants to The US are working class, so they'll be the mixed or black/brown ones. The rich don't need to emigrate.
| by Anonymous | reply 81 | September 11, 2022 5:55 AM |
R81 It is true that almost everyone in Mexico is mixed. Just because you look white doesn't mean you are not mestizo. There are Afro-mestizos as well. The idea that if you look White, you must be 100%, or even predominantly European or if you're Brown, you have little to no European ancestry, is wrong. In every Latin American country (yes, even Argentina) most people have some Indigenous ancestry, regardless of what they look like. However, that doesn't mean that they are culturally Indigenous.
| by Anonymous | reply 82 | September 11, 2022 7:56 AM |
Can not stand superhero blockbusters. Having said that, Inarritu was a button-pushing poseur calling them "genocide." Classic wokester playing the martyred drama queen when he gets a retort. All the more rich given his own privilege and direct line to imperialist destroyers of indigenous culture.
| by Anonymous | reply 83 | September 11, 2022 8:14 AM |
R82 The thing is while white Latin Americans may have some indigenous ancestors. It doesn't mean they aren't white. If majority of their DNA is European and they mainly marry and associate with others who are predominantly European. Then why does that admixture matter? Are white Southerners with black ancestry, no longer white? In Latin America, colorism is intense and people are pressured to marry those with lighter skinned. The upperclass remained isolated from the working class and many of the upperclass has recent European ancestry from the massive influx of European immigrants that came in thr 20th century. Working class Argentines for example absolutely have indigenous and African ancestry. But it's far tinier in the wealthier population especially in Buenos Aires which attracted European migrants.
Only in The US do people want you to take out your family tree and find that one ancestor from 200 years ago to argue you're mixed or a person of color.
| by Anonymous | reply 84 | September 11, 2022 2:20 PM |
Downey is an elitist and an insufferable cultural snob. That his retort to a valid point (from another different kind of snob) was to reach for the lowest common denominator of ethnic insults is disappointing.
| by Anonymous | reply 85 | September 11, 2022 2:54 PM |
RDJ is not educated and it makes him insecure. Like many Hollywood actors, he's narcissistic and has an inflated ego and believes he can speak for topics he has no knowledge on. He can't handle being matched against someone who's clearly more intelligent and educated and resorts to name-calling and ad hominems to feel in control.
| by Anonymous | reply 86 | September 11, 2022 3:00 PM |
R84 the one drop thing really is very strange.
| by Anonymous | reply 87 | September 11, 2022 3:09 PM |
Downey was referring to Spanish colonialism. An unwise comment but it's not quite what people are trying to make it. Inarittu seems like a bit of an elitist asshole as well. Birdman was terrible .
| by Anonymous | reply 88 | September 11, 2022 3:11 PM |
ALL these assholes need to STFU and get back to making good films again, not this relentless superhero CGI bullshit and films based on old TV shows! Are there no original ideas in entertainment.
These people need to start working on NEW ideas! Actual filmmaking not 2 hours of relentless noise and retina steering visual effects.
Sure, there's place for these types of action films, but, after awhile, these directors and writers need some fresh ideas.
| by Anonymous | reply 89 | September 11, 2022 3:19 PM |
Inarritu should’ve said cultural “homicide” , not genocide. He totally destroyed the point he was trying to make. I agree, very little is coming out (of Hollywood) of any good quality.
| by Anonymous | reply 90 | September 11, 2022 3:31 PM |
RDJ is considered a "man of color" by DL racialists. So can't be racist.
| by Anonymous | reply 91 | September 11, 2022 5:12 PM |
R84 I agree with you. Of course White Mestizos are White. In Latin America, people will identify you with what you look like, not your particular heritage. That's why I wrote that having Indigenous ancestry doesn't make you Indigenous.
What I mean is that, in the U.S., people assume how you identify culturally by the color of your skin, whereas in Latin America, it's not that easy. You have White people who are descendants of Europeans and/or the Middle East (lots of people with ancestry from Syria, Lebanon, and Palestine). You also have Indigenous people who are White or Black, who are culturally Indigenous. How people identify culturally has nothing to do with what they look like. So when someone criticizes Alejandro Gonzalez Iñarritu as being a White Mexican that must be "Spanish" or "European" culturally, I find that ignorant. He most likely identifies with being Mexican only, regardless of his ancestry. Even though Mexico is diverse and has many ethnicities, most people identify with the national culture of Mexico, which is difficult for a lot of Americans to understand, because so many people here identify as anything but American.
| by Anonymous | reply 92 | September 11, 2022 7:58 PM |
He may be similar to Gael Garcia Bernal or Diego Luna who are very in touch with their indigenous heritage though they present as white. Puerto Ricans like Jon Seda, Benicio del Toro, Jennifer Lopez and Ricky Martin just seem to identify as just Puerto Rican which implies a multiracial identity despite looking predominantly European. Shakira and Salma Hayek identify a lot with their Lebanese heritage.
Americans are brainwashed. They don't also understand that Black Americans and white American Southerners have the same culture, vernacular and stereotypes as well. African influence on white Southern culture especially in Louisiana, Alabama, Georgia and the Carolinas is really understated.
| by Anonymous | reply 93 | September 11, 2022 8:17 PM |
Also Native American tribes in North America had a history of adopting non-natives into their tribe. So there were white and Black Americans and Canadians raised on Native territories and reservations and culturally Native. There has been controversy over the Cherokee, Creek and Chickasaw Nations refusing to acknowledge their Black Freedman descendants and giving them tribal membership. The Seminole Freedman have membership and continue to practice the Seminole culture.
The blood quantum laws are racist and similar to one drop rule and allowed many people with no cultural connection to enter tribes. Many tribes actually want to get rid of it because they care more about maintaining their culture than blood purity. Which is a very Anglo obsession.
| by Anonymous | reply 94 | September 11, 2022 8:27 PM |
I really think he has suffered brain damage from all the years of booze and drugs. I had to unfollow him on Instagram. He was getting so creepy. Ironman has given him this massive ego. He thinks anything he does is funny and cute.
| by Anonymous | reply 95 | September 11, 2022 8:28 PM |
RDJ needs to come out (again). Maybe he'll stop being so bitchy.
| by Anonymous | reply 96 | September 11, 2022 8:29 PM |
Since when is DL offended at a racist or xenophobic comment? Oh wait, he's a suspect bisexual, I forgot. Carry on...
| by Anonymous | reply 97 | September 12, 2022 4:37 AM |
"He may be similar to Gael Garcia Bernal or Diego Luna who are very in touch with their indigenous heritage though they present as white."
They absolutely do not "present as white".
This entire "Latinos checking the white box" is wrong and will lead to Governor Abbott being re-elected. They are not white, period.
| by Anonymous | reply 98 | September 29, 2022 12:31 PM |
r95, Jason Momoa is going that route.
| by Anonymous | reply 99 | September 29, 2022 12:52 PM |
