Frankly Scarlett

For a moment there, I thought a breath of fresh air was finally flowing out of Hollywood. Unfortunately, the moment passed.
 
Saturday morning, it was reported that actress Scarlett Johansson was fed up with political correctness in American film making.

"I should be allowed to play any person," she said. "or any tree, or any animal because that is my job and the requirements of my job." She went on to say that, "art should be free of restrictions."

The comments gained power when one considered that Johansson has recently received more than her share of criticism for accepting the role of a transgender man in the yet-to-be created film, "Rub and Tug." She later declined the role after sometimes harsh feedback from the LGBT community.

She had earlier been criticized for her role as a cyber-enhanced woman, in the film "Ghost in the Shell," a role that first appeared in Japanese manga and therefore, in some people's eyes, should have gone to an Asian.

But, at least on Saturday morning, it appeared that Johansson was turning her back on such nonsense when she said she should be able to allowed to play any role she wished. It was, I believed, a perfectly logical statement, because I have news for everyone. When it comes to movies, IT'S ALL MAKE BELIEVE!  Linda Hunt wasn't really a man when she played Billy Kwan in "The Year of Living Dangerously" and Rod Steiger wasn't really an Italian dictator when he starred in "Last Days of Benito Mussolini."

Johansson seemed to be standing proud.

What a difference a day can make. By Sunday, she was apologizing. Speaking through a representative, Johansson was saying that her comments had been "edited for click bait," and "widely taken out of context."

She said, "I personally feel that, in an ideal world, any actor should be able to play anybody and art, in all forms, should be immune to political correctness" So far, so good. But then she went on to offer a mea culpa. "I recognize that in reality, there is widespread discrepancy amongst my industry that favors Caucasian, cis-gendered actors and that not every actor has been given the same opportunities that I have been privileged to."

Is that really how she speaks? I believe I sense the intrusion of handlers and agents.

But, none-the-less, she put her name to the statements, so let them stand on their own.

I still give Johansson partial credit for trying to make a stand against political correctness, that cancer that's eating away at art and freedom of expression. If she had left off the apologizes, I would have given her full credit.