Propagandist David Futrelle went on a binge of feigned outrage that Jack Barnes and I suggested he was threatening Cassie Jaye’s career and her reputation.
“[O]ne of A Voice for Men’s most energetic attack dogs (Jack Barnes), popped into my Twitter mentions with a link to an AVFM post accusing me of … threatening Cassie Jaye, director of the upcoming documentary The Red Pill, in the open letter I wrote to her the other day,” he sniffed from his blog, as though he was shocked and offended that anyone interpreted his threats as threats. That was yesterday.
And today he started following through with his promise to punish her for being an uppity female filmmaker who doesn’t know she’s supposed to surrender creative control of her projects to her betters.
What is he afraid of? Is it that if we allow her artistic freedom she will end up wanting to think for herself all the time? Even worse, might she end up talking straight about the brand of fire alarm feminism that crucifies anyone with a dissenting opinion?
How much are feminists willing to do to silence her? How many people are they willing to harm? By the looks of Futrelle’s latest attempt to blog-flog a free-thinking heretic, there are no limits.
He now questions whether or not Cassie Jaye’s film awards are authentic, specifically the one from a Cannes Festival. Bringing this up requires a brief digression.
In my writings that described Cassie Jaye’s career, I made reference a few times to her Best Documentary Award from the Cannes Film Festival. And that is true, she won Best Documentary Film at Cannes Independent Film Festival, as reported in the International Business Times.
What I did not know at the time was that I was confusing this title with that of Festival de Cannes, the more prestigious and widely recognized standard for “independent” films.
What I did not know about film festivals at the time was, shall we say, considerable. In fact, I am sure I never heard the term “Festival de Cannes” until last night. I just saw Cannes winner on an internet page and went with what seemed obvious to this neophyte. My bad, with apologies to Ms. Jaye who never represented herself as a Festival de Cannes winner to me, nor have I seen any such claim posted online from her or anyone else.
In fact, I never said she won Festival de Cannes. I said Cannes, and I did think it was the big one – out of ignorance, not deception.
That brings us to the allegation (let’s call it what it is) from Futrelle, that the Cannes International Film Festival was a “fake” award. Sure, it’s fake, David. And the Golden Globes are fake because they are not the Oscars. The American Music Awards are fake because they are not the Grammys. I’d go on, but I don’t want David to die from eye-rolling his way around facts.
At the 2010 Cannes Independent Film Festival (CIFF), over 40 feature Indie films along with 90 shorts from around the world participated. Are those filmmakers frauds, too? Do the countless hours of work and love they pour into their projects also get reduced to a smirk from a professional liar with a hateful vendetta?
This is where David Futrelle proves himself ignorant (as I was) of the filmmaking world. By attacking CIFF as a “fake” film festival, he takes aim at the very heart of independent filmmaking and puts a cheap smear on all of them.
Indeed, as I have recently learned, while larger festivals like Sundance, et al, do have independent categories, most of the films you see there have some form of Hollywood backing. Truly independent festivals are the ones hosting films produced on blood, sweat, and tears by passionate creators doing what they do for the love of it. They are low budget projects offered by those with dreams of carrying their work to a wider audience; by proving their capabilities with sacrifice on a shoestring budget.
Frauds, all of them, says David Futrelle. Scam artists and charlatans.
As much as I would love to think that Futrelle actually thinks this way, I really don’t. It is far, far worse than that. David Futrelle doesn’t really think these determined artists are fakes. Nor does he think the places they congregate to compare notes and compete are less than authentic. He is just willing to throw them all under the bus because Cassie Jaye made a movie he fears will resonate with viewers. He is willing to stain the name of every real independent filmmaker and festival out there so he can target one woman who would not do what he wanted her to do. To put it more succinctly, he is a disgusting human being, the very worst kind.
Others of his ilk are about to join him.
Soon there will be write-ups from other elements of the feminist media. They will echo Futrelle’s talking points to the letter. They will attack Cassie as not being a serious filmmaker. They will attack the awards she has won, casually tossing sewage on her and anyone else like her with a camera and a dream. They will spit on the heart of creative ambition then pat each other on the back for a job well done. All in the name of a sisterhood that is now hallmarked by crushing the voices of women who dare to think for themselves.
It is coming soon, to a social justice platform near you.
When it happens, there is something I would like to ask you to do. When they tell you she is not a real filmmaker, that she is a rank amateur; a hack seeking to give hate groups a platform, please watch this video. Make note of the production value; the quality of the work, the editing and the impact she was able to deliver in 8 minutes. Watch it a couple of times and ask yourself if this possibly explains why they are so afraid of her and want to run her down before this thing goes live.
Then toss some more money into her tip jar. Help her reach whatever goal she needs to reach and give these goddam bullies a bloody nose.
