POV: Dan, Dakota, and Morality

[Steve]

"Elvine Elvine" <elvine78 at ...> wrote:
> Elvine/ Christin:
>
> I'm European, from Scandinavia. I read the messages
> about how "inappropriate" ... it would be for Dan to 
> appear naked. And I realize, more and more, how different 
> our cultures are even though we are also very much alike.
> 
> Steve, any one presenting views even close to yours 
> *would* be considered a prude ... here. .... Most 
> people wouldn't ... think ... it ... "inappropriate" ...
> to appear naked on stage. The only way Dan might 
> embarrass himself is, ... if he's not up to the task. 
> I understand it's a very demanding role. ...
> 
> If he ... manages to spread a little European tolerance 
> to nakedness to his American fans, then all the better. 
> I just don't see why any actor should base his choice of 
> roles on how it might be perceived by other people, as 
> long as she or he is all right with it her/himself. ....
> 
> Christin

bboyminn:

I'm going to stray slightly from the central topic of 
this group while I rant a bit, but I hope to bring it 
back on or close to the appropriate topic by the end.

First, Christin, keep in my that I wasn't expressing my 
personal opinion, but what I preceived to be the opinion 
of the American public at large. Also, keep in mind that 
there is a radical contingent here in the USA that thinks 
Harry Potter is the Spawn of the Devil and the prelude to 
the second coming (maybe sligtly over stated).

The problem here in the USA, a country which I dearly love, 
is that we let fanatics and fundimentalist force an 'all 
or nothing' context to politics. For example, in our zeal 
to protect children we frequently go to extremes. I can 
think of once case where a guy was prosecuted for video 
taping a child's birthday party, but because the video tape 
tended to show all the children photographed from the neck 
down, they we sure he was thinking dirty thoughts. So, they 
called his poorly made but innocent video tape 'child 
pornography'. Now, I never heard whether the prosecution 
was successful. I can't imagine that it was. But it shows 
how extreme things can get here. 

Also, note that he doesn't need to be convicted to be 
punished. The accusation destroyed his reputation, 
inhibited his ability to get a job, and cost him a small 
fortune in legal bills. That's the beauty of fundamentalist 
thinking in cases like this, even if they lose, they win.

The problem is there are fanatics and fundimentalist who 
think they can legislate, prosecute, and punish what I am 
thinking, or more accurately, what THEY THINK I am thinking. 
We will have reach a sorry state of affairs when we allow 
people to be prosecuted for what someone else thinks they 
might be thinking. When we finally have the 'thought police', 
we will have truly reached '1984'.

While the fanatics and hyper-rationalized fundamentalists 
have a lot of influence here, most Americans are far more 
open minded and level headed. 

Back to Dan, a part of me wonders if he isn't trying to 
prove something primarily to himself. He did a wonderful 
job in 'David Copperfield', which I believe was his first 
major role. But the role wasn't too demanding. Though in 
one scene where his step-father yelled at him at the dinner 
table, I swear Dan was really close to tears.

Other than that, Dan has been playing Harry Potter, a nice 
squeaky clean hero role. While the movie have been good, 
they are a bit shallow. The real meat and heart of the roles 
has been softened tremendously by lack of time. So, I think 
Dan is wondering himself whether he is just Harry Potter, or 
if he is really Dan Radclifffe - talented actor. This role 
in Equus, I suspect will push him to his limit. The emotional 
range is very demanding, and there will be no movie magic to 
make up of any lacking in the characters. He seems very  
'matter of fact' about the nude part. He said something like 
'it's in the script, so it must be done' and 'to do otherwise
 wouldn't really be playing the role, it would be a watered 
down version'. 

He's taken on a very demanding role, and even if he falls a 
bit short in it, he still will have grown tremendously by 
having played it. Even if his current talent and skill aren't 
up to it 100%, I hope at least his acting potential shows 
through, and he gets credit for that. 

As a side note, I've been thinking about the direction of 
the careers of Dan and Rupert after Harry Potter, and I 
think stage roles and independant film are both excellent 
place to prove themselves as genuine actors with range and 
depth. This is especially true of stage roles. It will help 
them grow tremendously as actors.

That's partly why I'm not as fussed about Dan's role on stage 
as I am about Dakota Fanning play her role on the screen. In 
the case of Dakota Fanning, it seems to be more about winning 
an Oscar than it is about proving herself as a serious actress. 

Just a few more thoughts.

Steve/bboyminn