Overshadowed by Controversy: Difference between revisions

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* Despite being a seminal feature film on its own merit, ''[[The Birth of a Nation]]'' gained notoriety for reviving the [[Ku Klux Klan]] in 1915. African-American rights groups such as the NACCP protested the film and called it to be banned for its denigrating portrayal of blacks, though regardless of any hot-button debates the film generated and the monster it indirectly created, the film is still highly regarded by film critics and scholars alike. You'd be hard-pressed to watch it outside of YouTube streams and educational film showings though.

** [[D.W. Griffith]] later produced ''[[Intolerance]]'' in response to said criticisms, though Griffith felt he had nothing to apologize for with the racist portrayals in his earlier epic. [[Shirley Temple]] later recalled in her memoirs about Griffith's controversial views on black people, specifically on how uncomfortable he was seeing a little white girl performing alongside a black tap dancer.

* Speaking of [[Shirley Temple]], at least some of her films veer into this largely due to [[Values Dissonance]] over her interactions with grown men, and the various abuses she witnessed on- and off-set like in ''Baby Burlesks'' where misbehaving child actors were locked up in a cupboard with a big block of ice and left to freeze, and an incident where an errant MGM producer [[Squick|exposed his willy]] in front of the then twelve-year old Temple, the latter [[Children Are Innocent|unaware]] of the ~~obscenity~~ being done to her. In fairness, she did fare better than the likes of [[Lindsay Lohan]] and other former child actors after retiring from acting, but the creepiness factor with her films did turn off some modern audiences.

* Speaking of [[Shirley Temple]], at least some of her films veer into this largely due to [[Values Dissonance]] over her interactions with grown men, and the various abuses she witnessed on- and off-set like in ''Baby Burlesks'' where misbehaving child actors were locked up in a cupboard with a big block of ice and left to freeze, and an incident where an errant MGM producer [[Squick|exposed his willy]] in front of the then twelve-year old Temple, the latter [[Children Are Innocent|unaware]] of the obscene act being done in front of her. In fairness, she did fare better than the likes of [[Lindsay Lohan]] and other former child actors after retiring from acting, but the creepiness factor with her films did turn off some modern audiences.

* ''[[The Passion of the Christ]]'' became more well known for its gratuitously visceral portrayal of [[Jesus]]' passion and death as well as accusations of anti-Semitism than [[Mel Gibson]]'s efforts at a period-accurate retelling of the crucifixion. The film's violence also caused controversy in the Philippines when the Movie and Television Rating and Classification Board reportedly gave the film a dubious PG-13 rating due to its religious content (especially as the Philippines is predominantly Catholic), and even some French bishops were also disturbed by the portrayal as a "distortion of Christian teaching" and questioned the necessity of said violent scenes.

* ''[[The Dark Knight Rises]]''{{'}} release was marred by tragedy when a crazed gunman identified as James Eagan Holmes opened fire at a midnight screening in Aurora, Colorado, killing 12 people ''including children'' and injuring 58 others. Initial reports stated that Holmes identified himself as "the Joker" at the time of his arrest though this has been debunked. While he did not receive the death penalty as a result of his atrocities, Holmes was sentenced to twelve life sentences without parole, and [[Longer-Than-Life Sentence|an additional 3,318 years]] in prison. Judge Carlos Samour stated that the defendant should "[[You Can't Go Home Again|never set foot in free society again]]," adding that "the defendant deserves [[No Sympathy|no sympathy]]." To rub salt in Holmes's wound, a fellow inmate named Mark "Slim" Daniels assaulted him in what Daniels claimed to be [[Vigilante Man|in retribution]] to such a heartless and disgusting act.<ref>[https://abcnews.go.com/US/exclusive-inside-prison-assault-aurora-theater-shooter-james/story?id=37339691 Exclusive: Inside the Prison Assault on Aurora Theater Shooter James Holmes]</ref> Whether Slim was sincere about sending the Aurora shooter straight to hell or not is debatable as he could be just doing it for the notoriety, but regardless, [[Even Evil Has Standards]].