Many years ago, I recall a film that poked fun at sports media in part by having its main character report on a game by watching it on TV rather than in person. No one apparently knew the difference. 

At least that reporter watched the game before writing about it. 

As Karen wrote earlier, The Cabot Theater in Massachusetts has spent the last couple of days apologizing profusely for comments made by actor Richard Dreyfuss at a screening/retrospective of Jaws. During the event, Dreyfuss began to weigh in on some hot-button topics: trans ideology, #MeToo, diversity mandates, and civics education. Apparently, the only topic on which Massachusetts' citizenry can stomach debate is, ironically, civics education.

So what did Dreyfuss say that created such outrage? 

Well, that is an interesting question. Interesting, that is, to most people but apparently not The Hollywood Reporter. THR reporters Kevin Dolak and Carly Thomas report that Dreyfuss' comments were "allegedly sexist and homophobic," and included "his bigoted perspective on trans youth, the Academy Awards’ inclusion rules and then on to trans kids affirming their gender."

Wow! Sounds interesting, if not grounds for cancellation, at least according to Hollywood rules. But what did he actually say? 

THR offers this outrageous statement as its only direct quote from Dreyfuss:

“It’s about the fact that 50 years ago, without telling anybody, they took civics out of the curriculum of all public schools in America, which means we have no knowledge of who the hell we are,” Dreyfuss said of the work. “And if we don’t get it back soon, we’re all going to die. Make sure your kids are not the last generation of Americans. And you know exactly what I’m talking about.”

Huh? There's nothing about LGBTQIA++ issues there. That says nothing about #MeToo or even Barbra Streisand. In fact, it's not even a quote from this event. The reporters dug this up from a YouTube of another Dreyfuss appearance and stuffed it into this report, even though it has no relation to the outrage they're reporting. THR doesn't bother to give one direct quote of Dreyfuss' remarks; instead, they stuff their story with outraged reactions on Twitter/X, and trolled YouTube for some extra content.

Imagine reporting a baseball game based on reactions from social media and YouTube highlights from the previous season, and you can begin to see what THR does here.

THR provides the worst example of reporting, but the Boston Globe doesn't cover itself in glory either. The event took place in their backyard, but reporter Sabrina Shankman doesn't appear to have been any closer to it than the THR team. Once again, we hear characterization of Dreyfuss' remarks second-hand, although Shankman actually interviewed some of the critics directly. 

And that's how we finally get to something that approximates a quote of Dreyfuss' remarks (via Vulture, which seemed less than impressed with the performative outrage):

“He said that the parents of trans youth, allowing them to transition, was bad parenting and that someday those kids might change their minds,” said Diane Wolf, of Salem, who was in the audience. She said Monday that the event is all she’s been able to think about since Saturday.

In one comment that was captured on video, Dreyfuss said, “It’s not okay because when the kid’s 15, she’s going to say, ‘I’m an octopus.’ ” The crowd can be heard shouting at him.

That's it? Pointing out the risk of detransitioning and regret for pediatric sex changes -- a very real and growing phenomenon -- is too much for the eyes and ears of the Commonwealth? Based on the level of performative outrage, it sounded as though Dreyfuss had suggested that trans people should be treated like, oh, how Hamas treats Israelis. I don't see these same critics applying this level of scrutiny to the rhetoric at Harvard or MIT.

That's one reason to take their gripes about politicization with heaping servings of laughter and ridicule. The Left, and especially the LGBTQIA++ activists, politicize everything. If Dreyfuss had endorsed pediatric sex-changes at The Cabot, they'd still be singing his praises through Labor Day. Instead, they suddenly discover that they don't like the panties hanging on the rod. (IYKYK.)

On the other hand, it's kinda awesome to see progressives scream about politicization of entertainment while joining Laura Ingraham's 'Shut Up and Sing' movement. 

That spin and manipulation isn't surprising to see from activists and true believers. However, the media is supposed to actually report the news, not troll Twitter/X for outrage and then amplify it without clarity, context, and first-person factual reporting. We've come to expect that failure too, but the THR report seems especially egregious for its sheer laziness and the targeting of someone who has spent his life in Hollywood making quality films. 

That's not to say they should avoid reporting on Dreyfuss when warranted, but reporting is not what this was today. THR played a game of Gossip Telephone. They reported on the World Series by reading tweets from spring training. They did that to trash Dreyfuss without offering even the courtesy of using his own words to condemn him.  

Still think we overdo the media criticism and mistrust? 

To paraphrase the film that Dreyfuss promoted at The Cabot: We're gonna need a bigger boat to hate the media enough. And we do have that boat -- and you can help make it bigger, too. Become a HotAir VIP member today and use promo code FAKENEWS to receive a 50% discount on your membership.

One last word on Richard Dreyfuss, who does what many won't these days: he engages. Dreyfuss is an old-school liberal, but thirteen years ago, he showed up to CPAC to engage conservatives in his Dreyfuss Civics Initiative effort to promote civics education in K-12 public schools. He was clearly uncomfortable entering the 'lions den,' so to speak, but was eager to engage. I doubt we agree on much, politically speaking, but he went to where the debate was and acquitted himself quite well. THR and the Boston Globe torpedoed someone who can defend himself, which I think was the point.

Here's the video of my interview, thirteen years and maybe 100 pounds ago. (Ugh.) Watch this and wonder why THR and the Globe didn't bother to get some actual quotes before trolling Twitter for clicks.