About eight years ago, a young actor bought me lunch in New York while I was on a speaking tour of American universities. He wanted me to tell him about torture and extraordinary rendition,and in particular precisely what I had witnessed personally. He wished to get authentic, first hand, hard information. He was interested in the characters and motivations of the people who supported and administered the torture policy, and I recall he was struck by my telling him that some of them were nice people who I had known for years. He had a very gentle persona. His name was Mark Ruffalo. I am sorry to say that, having been living in Uzbekistan and Ghana, I had never heard of him.
I have no recollection of how that lunch came about or who organized it. I think it was just on the itinerary my American publisher gave me. My impression was that Ruffalo’s purpose was to inform himself politically, rather than prepare for a role or anything professionally oriented. I had almost forgotten about it until I read today’s profile in the Guardian. There is often much scepticism about the sincerity, roots and durability of celebrity activism. I merely wish to point out that in Ruffalo’s case, his is very genuine and very well grounded.
Craig, I’m reposting this from Arbed as I think you may be interested:
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The US Office of the Director of Intelligence has issued a new edict forbidding all intelligence employees from talking to the press, even about unclassified stuff:
http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2014/apr/26/new-snowden-obama-administration-anti-leak-guidelines
So, the US governing elite and powerbrokers are turning inward, drawing in their web and cutting their own ability to communicate, just as predicted in this rather famous essay…
Julian Assange: Conspiracy as Governance:
http://cryptome.org/0002/ja-conspiracies.pdf
Makes for an interesting re-read at this point in time.
Rare from Hollywood types… Respect for Mark Ruffalo
“I might take a hit,” he said. “There’s no doubt I will, and I have, but there are some serious issues ahead of us.” Such criticism, he said, is “the price that you pay for being a human citizen”. After all, he said, it would certainly beat “lying on my death bed saying, ‘You know what? I should have had a little bit more courage.'”
Clark cheers i’ll have read at that too
There is nothing in the Guardian piece more than TV PR targeting the liberal market. Exactly the type of fluff that engenders “celebrity activism” scepticism.
Concluding Ruffalo is “very genuine and very well grounded” from one meeting years ago reveals a remarkable ability to pronounce motivation of someone you had “almost forgotten”. And bravo in grounding him so well in activism.
Celebrity activist blindly endorses celebrity activism! Genuine and grounded my arse.
He’s a ‘method-actor’, which is the best kind of actor. Time will tell if he is truly an activist because the good die young.
Clark; What do you make of the Intercept’s dearth of relevant ‘revelations’?
The last post was by Cook on 4/14 wrt Passover?
Really enjoyed him in Zodiac, a 2007 film about a 1970s US serial killer.
In “13 Going on 30”, a charming Romcom. And the cop in “Collateral” of course.
On the downside, he was in “My Life Without Me” which is one of the few DVDs I’ve put in the bin because I couldn’t it all conscience pass it onto anyone. It potrays a woman dying of cancer who doesn’t tell her family. Possibly the worst thing you can do as they get a sudden death to deal with rather being able to adjust to it, and say all the things you would say. But in the movie it all goes swimmingly well. Really dangerous film for anyone to be informed by IMO.
Good job you didn’t make him angry.
You wouldn’t liked him when he’s angry…