Cognoscenti may have noted that Israeli actress Gal Gadot( due to star as Wonder Woman in next year's "Batman v Superman" movie) has been receiving her share of brickbats from the "body fascists"- accusing her of being too skinny and having too small boobs amongst other things.
Given that Ms Gadot is also due to star in the title role of "Wonder Woman"(due out in 2017), a much more serious question is whether we should boycott the film as way of showing our disapproval not so much of anything Ms Gadot has done or said but of the policies of her government( ie simply because she is a citizen of the State of Israel)?
Now I am fully aware of the argument that Ms Gadot has (or seems to have no) politiical views least of all on the recent events such as "Operation Cast Lead" and that why is Israel being "picked on" whilst other countries get what amounts to a "free pass"( ir Russia, China, Cuba, North Korea, Syria, Saudi Arabia) as well as the fact that I routinely watch TV shows and film dramas featuring actors and actresses whose political views are scarcely in sync with my own( ie "CSI:NY"'s Gary Sinise, "Everybody Loves Raymond" 's Patricia Heaton, "Frasier"'s Kelsey Grammer, "Shark"'s James Woods " "Law And Order's " Angie Harmon-presumably no relation to NCIS's Mark Harmon) and others such as "The Good Wife"( with lead star Julianna Margulies) whose views are not known.
Firstly Israel(unlike the other countries I mentioned) claims to be a democracy- which means its citizens bear moral responsbility for what its government does unlike those of tyrannical or autocratic polities( anybody remember the times when demonstrations against the Bolshoi Ballet to protest Soviet human rights abuses were popular in the 1970s) although not even the demonstrators claimed the performers were in a position to affect Soviet policies on human human rights?)
Secondly the argument that calls for a boycott of a film because its lead star is an Israeli woman amount to anti-Semitism because her country is composed largely of Jews is a ludicrous non sequitur to my mind. Had Ms Gadot been a Saudi or Russian citizen rather than an Israeli citizen would calls for a boycott based on the Kingdom's reprehensible human rights record( or Putin's land grab of Crimea) be denounced as "Islamophobic" (or "Russophobic")?
And another thing too- say what you will about the other countries- none is them is under investigation and possible indictment by the ICC (International Criminal Court)-as of next Wednesday the PA(Palestinian Authority) is due to formally join the ICC. It so happens that I myself have always had a soft spot for "Wonder Woman"( or atleast the 1970s version played by Lynda Carter) so I may go and see the film myself but if the axe falls on Ms Gadot's country in the shape of formal indictment by the time it comes out then I may not!
Anybody think as I do?
Terry
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