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Breaking News from America's Progressive Community... 1999
Releases
The press releases posted here have been provided to NewsCenter by the one of the many progressive organizations we have selected to participate. If you would like more information about this press release, you should contact the organization directly. |
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| FEBRUARY
23, 1999 11:56 PM FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT: Committee Against Silence Bernie Gordon (323)659-0833 Leone Hankey (323)935-8585 |
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| Black Tie Meets Black List As Protesters Target Oscar Night Over Kazan Award | ||||
| LOS
ANGELES
- February 23 -
A coalition including many formerly blacklisted writers will protest Elia
Kazan's Lifetime Achievement Award from the Motion Picture Academy on
Sunday, March 21st. Kazan, who directed such classics as On the Waterfront
and Streetcar Named Desire stands by his actions, many of his colleagues
many of his colleagues have still not forgiven him for informing on
suspected "subversives" during the post-war House UnAmerican
Activities Committee hearings. Protesters will gather at 3:00 pm the day of
the Oscar ceremony at First and Grand near the Dorothy Chandler
Pavilion.
The Committee Against Silence, coordinators of the protest, hope to draw hundreds of people to join in the peaceful demonstration outside the Oscars ceremony. Opponents of the award plan to publish a full-page ad in Daily Variety on March 19th. Media coverage of the controversy already includes CNN, Good Morning America and the New York Times; international coverage includes the BBC and Rome's La Republica. "Kazan chose to cooperate with HUAC, which caused enormous damage to our industry," said blacklisted writer Bernard Gordon, a co-chair of the committee. "HUAC was also demonstrably anti-Semitic. What Kazan did does not call for honors or public acclaim. Kazan's choice destroyed the careers of many of his talented friends and colleagues," Gordon added. "The Academy should not honor the life of a dishonorable man." The Academy's action has more to do with current politics than artistic achievement, say critics. "In a recent interview, Charlton Heston not only defended the award for Kazan based on artistic merit but defended Kazan's actions, arguing in essence that he helped win the Cold War," said committee co-chair Leone Hankey. "This is precisely the sort of political abuse of an artistic medium and community that we must speak out against." The blacklist's old wounds are only beginning to heal. In 1997, four entertainment guilds apologized for the role their members played in the destruction of thousands of lives. However, neither the Academy nor Kazan have ever apologized for their roles in cooperating with the blacklisting campaign. "The Academy has reopened the scar. This award is a signal to the current generation to silence their own dissenting views and keep them out of the culture," said Hankey. "Will artistic statements opposed to government or corporate excesses be censored by today's movie moguls?" she asked. Some Academy members oppose Kazan's award and the Academy's failure to consult its 5,900 membership on the matter. Thirty-nine people on the Board of Governors made this controversial decision with no knowledge or comment from the membership. Endorsers of
the demonstration include writers Bernard Gordon, Abe Polonsky,and Bobby
Lees, all directly affected by black-listing. Children of the blacklisted,
including Becca Wilson are also speaking out against the award. The protest
is also endorsed by the Los Angeles Greens, National Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression, Office of the Americas,and
many other
progressive groups. ### |
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