Johnny Depp's Comments about the US - Page 2

Jack Sparrow is his character in Pirates of the Caribbean, Debby He did make one hot pirate -- i wouldnt have minded being his hostage
Could it be maybe he said these comments because his wife is French? Either way, it does not bother me what celebs say about our country .. they are humans, too, even though they are humans with millions of dollars. They should have a right to say how they feel too. I guess if a normal, unknown person would have said the same, it wouldnt have been made public By the way, What did Kate Hudson say?

Depp's interview was with the German "news" magazine "Stern", which has not had a particularly good reputation since it published "Hitler's Diary", which turned out to be a forgery. Perhaps that's why people haven't reacted too strongly? That was a long time ago (80s or 90s), but caused quite a scandal at the time, so I'm sure there are a lot of people the world over who simply don't take anything "Stern" prints seriously.

I think you have two very good points here. The first is that you don't hear a lot from him. As I said in an earlier post, the fact that he has kept his life private makes him much more like us in some ways. When a celebrity is constantly in the media, I think we project on them some of our own thoughts and feelings, and when they say something we disagree with, we get angry with them. But if a celebrity stays out of the spotlight, we can't and don't impose our own views on them, so in some ways it's like hearing from our coworker or neighbor (does that make sense?). Secondly, I think that his comments came at a different time. More soldiers have died in Iraq after the cessation of the war than during the war. Also, serious questions about why we went into Iraq, especially the claims about weapons of mass destruction, have been raised. More and more normal people, like you and me, are starting to question the US role in Iraq and in the world in general. So, if a celebrity asks the same questions, we are more willing to listen to them.

On the Kate Hudson quote -- It doesn't bother me one way or another. I guess you would have to be a celeb, and visit other countries to make these type of comments like Kate Hudson and Johnny Depp have. Then again, when a celeb makes a comment, the media takes it out of context and people start getting all riled up. I am guessing a lot of these comments made by celebs are because of the war in Iraq..

I think that people should be able to say whatever they please, short of the usual example of screaming 'fire' in a crowded theater as a joke. However, people who disagree with them have as much of a right to personal expression, which in the case of celebrities may include avoidance of their performances etc.

To some degree, I think people react more strongly to actors/celebrities stating opinions because they seem to believe that their celebrity status makes them experts in areas that they are commenting on, which in most cases, they are not. That's of course due in part to the news media, which gives them exposure that the average human does not have. Bono of U2 has pretty strong feelings about many things but doesn't seem to get the same sort of reaction, I think in part because he is by all accounts well versed in the things that he speaks about.

At the risk of raising too clich-ed a comment, I find it amusing to have Johnny Depp comment abt the youngness of America vs. Europe.
Most of Europe would be goose-stepping today down their main avenues were it not for young America, the willingness of the Russian people to fight to the death and of course, the astonishing resolve of the Brits to preserve freedom. On some level, I believe that's why many Americans loathe the French, for allowing their politicians to publically act as if they have forgetten a debt that they will never be able to repay. Many British citizens have been critical of various American activities in the past few years without generating a comparable response among Americans.

That's true, but the relationship with France is much more complicated than that with Britain. Along with the expression "frogs", I think we've assumed a lot of the British disdain for, and competition with, France that have accumulated over the centuries, primarily because of our history as former British colonies, our shared language, and to some extent, culture, not to mention the bonds forged during the World Wars. And I believe the French think we also owe them for their support during the Revolutionary War. I'm not a Francophile, but I have French friends and colleagues whom I greatly appreciate. Whenever I believe that France is looking down its nose at the U.S., I try to remember that, as a nation, France must feel insecure vis Ã:censor: vis a nation that "usurped" its position as a major power, and always seems to take the side of its former archrival, Britain. Not to mention what many Europeans call "cultural imperialism": English as the international language, TV series, Hollywood movies, jeans, Coca Cola and McDonald's. And as far as the French being arrogant, which is a common complaint: many are, and many aren't. The same can be said of Americans, Germans, Brits, etc., etc. My French is nonexistent, and I used to think that it was very arrogant of many French people to insist on speaking French, even though they had years of English in school, until I had several French people, at different times, admit that they were embarrassed to speak English because of their "appalling accents". They were all rather surprised when I told them that many Americans find a French accent charming!

Jcat, you made an interesting point about why the frnch don't speak English. Many people don't realize how hard it is to speak a foreign language. Even if you understand it, it can be intimidating to speak it to a native.

Heidi, One of the reasons I wasn't as annoyed by Johnny Depp's comments is that they were directed at the government. From what I remember, what Natalie Mains said was a direct criticism of George Bush, and Kate Hudson attacked American people in general. I was also very offended by Michael Moore's comments at the Oscars, again a personal attack on Bush. I can handle criticizing the government, personal attacks should be kept out of the public eye.

Meow...
That's his opinion! I would not care less about that. What about yours?
Well, I have heard people out side US said that they would like US even more if Iraq is still 'a nation' today or Palestine is 'a peaceful' country today and there're no innocent American Armies died unnecessarily in other countries...(they might be your loves one? they might be an owner to some cat?)...
But again freedom of speech...
Meow

I have finally thought of something positive to say about Bush! I'm so proud of myself. Wanna hear it?

He'll be gone in a little over a year. :flash: :afrorainb

It diden't bother me at all - he's entitled to his opinion

Well let me tell tou (speaking as a non-american). Johnny Depp would still be able to feed his family without the help from the american audience. I think he makes some money on the European audience too.