Is Tarantino that rare creature, free of any political bones? Well, Tarantino did book a seat at the Democrat National Convention in 2008. “But he went to the Republican convention as well,” some might protest. Being in the same city does not mean he is attending the convention. Tarantino was scheduled to participate in a Creative Coalition fundraising event alongside Spike Lee, Susan Sarandon, and Barry Levinson. Last time I checked those folks were not exactly Republican supporters. Tarantino was also jury president at Canne Film Fest when it gave best picture award to Farhenheit 9/11. “Oh, but Quentin said he voted for it because it is a quality film. Its message had nothing to do with the award.” Riiiigghht. If you believe that, there’s a bridge over the Tacoma Narrows I’d like to sell you.

Goldstein’s attack against Klavan, by lumping him with conservatives who “either detest pop culture or have such inflexible rules about how it is supposed to be created” shows how ignorant Goldstein is of any view outside the liberal-left world he waddles around in. Klavan detests pop culture or has inflexible rules about how it should be created?!? Has ever bothered to read a single Klavan book? Or was Patrick to busy swallowing everything the LATimes shoveled into his gaping maw? How about Russell Kirk’s ghostly & gothic fiction? Or the speculative work of Gene Wolfe, James P. Blaylock, or John Ringo?

When it comes to Avatar conservatives critics are simply taking Cameron at his word that he was creating a dogmatically liberal film. Millions of people may be going to see the movie for the 3-D extravaganza, but that doesn’t mean Cameron wasn’t making a political movie. It just means that millions of people are ignoring Cameron’s hamfisted sermonizing on the evils of Western Civilization and are just staring at the big shiny blue box in which he delivered his message. Just as a lot of left-wing critics ignore the Biblical story in DeMille’s The Ten Commandments and just marvel at the cinematic spectacle.