Frank Miller: Occupy Wall Street 'Louts, Thieves & Rapists,' Comic Writer Says
Huffington Post
Frank Miller has spent much of his famed comic book writing career creating dark, urban dystopias, but the groundbreaking scribe has little regard for the chaos he says reigns at Zuccotti Park.
The man behind such famed comic series as "Batman: The Dark Knight Returns," "Sin City" and "300," in fact, is entirely against the Occupy Wall Street movement.
"'Occupy' is nothing but a pack of louts, thieves, and rapists, an unruly mob, fed by Woodstock-era nostalgia and putrid false righteousness," Miller wrote in a blog entry last week. "These clowns can do nothing but harm America."
Though, for the most part, the participants in the now-global Occupy moment have protested the imbalances of the economy, corporate fiscal abuses and government officials' close ties to Wall Street, Miller mentions the War on Terror in his slamming of the nascent movement.
"Wake up, pond scum. America is at war against a ruthless enemy," he later continues. "Maybe, between bouts of self-pity and all the other tasty tidbits of narcissism you've been served up in your sheltered, comfy little worlds, you've heard terms like al-Qaeda and Islamicism."
Miller then implores protestors to join the military, or otherwise, to go "back to your mommas' basements and play with your Lords Of Warcraft."
In his work, Miller's protagonists often face off against corrupt government officials. Batman, in both "The Dark Knight Returns" and "The Dark Knight Strikes Again" is faced with heavy governmental opposition, with the latter featuring an especially oppressive and corrupt government.
In 2006, Miller announced that he would have Batman take on Osama bin Laden in "Holy Terror, Batman!" but later dropped Batman from the book; it became "Holy Terror," and has been highly criticized for being hatefully anti-Islam.
In a blog entry on his own site posted in September, Miller calls the book "propaganda," a sort of throw-back to when Captain America punched Hitler, rips the news media as slanted propaganda in its own right, and says, "3000 of my neighbors were murdered. My country was, utterly unprovoked, savagely attacked. I wish all those responsible for the Atrocity of 9/11 to burn in hell."
Mr. Miller seems to embrace the art of misdirection. It's one thing to be against government corruption without paying attention to the folks who are corrupting them.
ReplyDeleteDoes anyone remember the footage of an intemperate Al Capp taking on John Lennon? This reminds me of that. Sad. I wonder how many among the "pond scum" contributed to Miller's success? Well, if a guy who sells pizza can run for president, why shouldn't a guy who writes funny books have his say? But it sure would be nice to get back to some reasoned dialogue. Yeah, right. What a show. What a shame.
ReplyDelete--Stephen Mertz
Miller is worse than Al Capp, way worse. He's a bloody idiot. It really takes a disordered mind to somehow conflate protecting the privilege of the rich with support for the war on terror, which has been an extravagant waste of money anyway. I suspect Miller is just scared his taxes might go up if the OWS movement has any impact on domestic legislation.
ReplyDeleteSF writer David Brin wrote an excellent takedown on Miller's "300" here:
http://open.salon.com/blog/david_brin/2011/11/13/move_over_frank_miller_or_why_the_occupy_wall_street_kids
Dennis Hopper: The Wild Ride of a Hollywood Rebel
Its a real shame that Clint Eastwood has decided to besmirch his own good name by making a film about one of the most loathsome faggots of the 20th century.
ReplyDeleteMiller's a little too full of himself. He's basically been writing the same story since "The Dark Knight Returns", in my opinion.
ReplyDeleteMaybe he should stick to doing something he does well, like filmmaking. Oh, wait...
Jeff P.