Terry Gilliam is working overtime to "promote" his latest movie, but rather than actually discussing his film the actor is rather using interviews to showcase his racist and sexist views of the world.
Gilliam, a director, first showcased his racism during an interview with IndieWire where he went on a tangent about his hate for Ryan Coogler's film Black Panther stating, "I hated Black Panther. It makes me crazy. It gives young black kids the idea that this is something to believe in. Bullshit. It’s utter bullshit." Black Panther, of course, depicted the fictional and technologically advanced African nation of Wakanda, so to be clear it's not the idea of a black superhero Gilliam has an issue with but instead a country of prosperity and intelligence. Why should this be an issue for Black children? White audiences have had the fictional worlds of Harry Potter, Percy Jackson, and Twilight (to name a few) none of which the director took issue with. He tries to cover his racism by centering his ire on the superhero genre in all but the damage was already done. "I make films where I’m trying to make people think... and look at the world in a different way, hopefully, and consider possibilities. Those films don’t do that."
Nearly two weeks later the director is doubling down on his bigotry this time continuing his attack on the #metoo movement, and voicing his support for the disgraced Harvey Weinstein during an interview with the Independent. "Yeah, I said #MeToo is a witch hunt... 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.” This time, unlike previous interviews he attempts to circle his comments towards his film and the character of a female prostitute. "Here’s a girl who takes responsibility for her state... 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 believes that White men are victims in particular and that he is tired for white men being blamed for all the problems in the world.
Gilliam will be the first to admit he enjoys being problematic, but sexist and racist are issues of a different caliber. I do however thank him for revealing his true self to the world. Perhaps his troubling views are a factor in his string of failed movies over the years and in the age of the cancel culture we're now living in its likely his latest film will suffer for his comments.
