We need to talk about Robert De Niro
I feel something needs to be understood about Robert De Niro and his diatribes against Donald Trump at this critical moment in history.
What De Niro has done, using his influence as one of the most iconic figures in Hollywood, to poison peoples' minds against a democratically elected President, is a type of hate speech which historically has been seen as a crime against peace, in the traditions of Nuremberg and the ICC, because it turns entire societies against each other.
I believe that De Niro knows exactly what he is doing, because I don't think he is stupid enough to believe what he says. I know that, as a professional actor, it is easy for someone like him to play a role of being outraged. Unlike a movie role, his role of mock outrage may not involve direct financial remuneration. I believe his motivation is more likely to be pure malignant narcissism, which is not uncommon in Hollywood.
In this recent interview he reprises his role as hate monger, but with a pseudo-intellectual touch. In this performace he talks like a psychologist about how America has been in an "abusive relationship":
De Niro has been playing roles all his life. He pretended to be a gangster in many movies, and now he pretends to be a sincere humanitarian and an intellectual. Why should you believe one role over the other? You and I can see through it, and we are unimpressed. We tend to think most people also recognise this simple fact.
The fact that such an influential "communicator" can be harnessed for the purpose of political propaganda is a final indictment of Hollywood culture, but there are more pressing concerns about this than whether or not I'll go see the next movie featuring De Niro.
It is a difficult but necessary task, when you have become fully aware of the deceptions of the media, to put yourself in the shoes of somebody who has been subject to this type of propaganda and brainwashing without the benefit of a deeper education. There are millions who fall into this category. There is a tendency to diminish the importance of the ludicrous nonsense being preached by De Niro but the truth is that influence peddling by highly trained narcissists with a lifetime of playing make believe is extremely dangerous when democracy and rule of law hangs in the balance. Cognitive dissonance and confirmation bias are extremely powerful psychological forces which can drive entire societies off a cliff when people are programmed to hate by smooth talking, shrewd liars.
De Niro is progamming people to hate. He is dehumanising Trump using sophisticated intellectual-sounding language. It's even worse that this however, because he is also programming his audience to hate Trump supporters. He is legitimising malevolent forces in the human psyche which, when unleashed, lead to war and genocide.
I am not exaggerating in the slightest. That is exactly what is going on here and why it is so serious.
Finally, I feel there is a weird parallel here (which is probably lost on De Niro) with the movie "Joker". The movie shows how a loss of sincerity can lead society on a trajectory towards violence.
In the movie, De Niro's character becomes symbolic of the corruption of our value system. The subliminal message, which made the film so controversial, is that violence, mayhem and evil may ultimately be a just and necessary reaction to a world where everything is a lie.
In the final scene where De Niro's character is arguing with the Joker he looks about as convincing as the real De Niro does psycho-analysing Trump. It's as if real life is now mimicking a satirical black comedy.
This maybe a proof he is an actor and everything he expresses is a role playing.
Let me get this straight... people are listening to De Niro now? But I thought only a few months ago he was a crazy anti-vaxxer, promoting dangerous ideas about the documentary Vaxxed.
Edit:
Actually I may be wrong about that.
I can’t find an article where he was supporting the movement since 2016.
What I read a few months ago may have been an old article.
Yes, he backed the film initially when it was due to be shown at the Tribeca Film Festival, but he hasn't said anything since then as far as I know. I'm sure Del would have welcomed him on the Highwire show. I've heard one of his children has autism, and that may be why he is open to the vaccine connection.