Veteran actress Jane Fonda has been cast in the role of former First Lady Nancy Reagan in an upcoming film entitled, "The Butler." Casting such an outspoken leftist in that particular role has some U.S. War Veterans outraged. Fonda -- nicknamed "Hanoi Jane" in reference to her highly controversial trip to North Vietnam in 1972 -- has a flippant response to the outrage: [people should] get a life.
Nobody can deny the fact that the Vietnam War was hugely unpopular. And I find nothing wrong with hating a war -- any war -- on principal. However, what she did in North Vietnam was both appalling and shameful. Whether she ever made a public apology for the trip or whether she ever even had a change of heart regarding it, I don't know and don't particularly care. An adequate apology would be hard to come by, at least for me. Her outrageous display of contempt for our men and women in uniform -- in the middle of a war! -- broke my heart. Yet even though forgiveness doesn't seem likely, to continue to trash her for things she said and did forty years ago provides me no emotional reward.
Jane Fonda was then and still is one of my favorite actresses; only a select few in the trade can tackle both dramatic and comedic roles with equal perfection as she can [cf. "Klute" and "Fun with Dick and Jane"]. I won't advocate for a boycott of The Butler... I think the casting director had a good eye to spot Jane for the role of Nancy Reagan. Both women have a similar build and carriage which is an important consideration when casting a historical role. I am confident Jane can and will portray Nancy as Nancy would wish to be portrayed. Hopefully the screenplay, which I know nothing about, doesn't get in the way.
No comments:
Post a Comment