Michael Medved
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Michael Medved (born October 1948) is an American nationally syndicated conservative radio talk show host, film critic and author. He is also an Orthodox Jew (although Medved describes himself as an "Observant Jew").
Medved was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, but raised in San Diego, California. Medved graduated with honors from Yale and then attended Yale Law School (he left before graduating). Some of Medved's classmates included Bill Clinton, Hillary Rodham Clinton and John Kerry. At the time Medved was a Democrat and opposed to the Vietnam War. Medved worked for Robert Kennedy's presidential campaign, until Kennedy's assassination. Medved later worked briefly for Congressman Ron Dellums of Berkeley, California—and credits that experience in pushing him permanently away from the Democratic Party. Medved is now a vocal supporter of the Republican Party and of conservative principles in general.
Medved reviewed movies for CNN, and later for the New York Post. He also served for twelve years as co-host of Sneak Previews, a nationally televised weekly movie review show on PBS public television. [1] (http://www.michaelmedved.com/pg/jsp/general/biography.jsp?JSESSIONID=C1E1MTCDNpzPxqG1M1sJxR1P7iAf2sHRWzb9JXUpxPUUpUrsC2Kg!-857605295) Medved is on the board of contributors to USA Today and occasionally does op-ed pieces for the Wall Street Journal.
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Movie reviews
Medved is notable as the best-known socially conservative film critic. His approach to reviewing films differs from the rest of the film critic community in that he judges a given film's merits based on his impression of the degree of morality in its "message."
Medved has been an outspoken critic of how religion is portrayed by mainstream Hollywood. He was one of the Jewish voices in America that praised Mel Gibson's controversial movie, The Passion of the Christ (2004). Medved was also a historical consultant on the movie Luther (2004), about the life of Martin Luther. As an observant Jew, Medved has said he has more in common with observant Christians than he does with some secular Jews in Hollywood who he has stated have abandoned their faith and the underlying moral principles of Judaism. One of Medved's religious mentors is Rabbi Daniel Lapin, an Orthodox Rabbi and founder of Toward Tradition, a group that supports stronger ties between observant Christian and Jewish conservatives.
In 2005, Medved drew ire from many in the film critic community for revealing the ending of the film Million Dollar Baby (2004) in both the newspaper USA Today and on the television show The 700 Club, without warning, because he did not agree with the film's "message." While not going into detail about the plot, Medved disclosed the ending of the film (without disclosing which characters were involved) and pointed out it was not the boxing film that most film viewers would anticipate. Defending his actions, Medved said in USA Today that "There are competing moral demands that come into the job of a movie critic. We have a moral and fairness obligation to not spoil movies. On the other hand, our primary moral obligation is to tell the truth."
Medved also stated in an op-ed response in the Wall Street Journal that: "My main objection to Million Dollar Baby always centered on its misleading marketing, and effort by Warner Brothers to sell it as a movie about a female Rocky, with barely a hint of the pitch-dark substance that led Andrew Sarris of the New York Observer (hardly a right-winger) to declare that "no movie in my memory has depressed me more than Million Dollar Baby.'" [2] (http://www.opinionjournal.com/la/?id=110006305) On a similar subject, Medved was a supporter of Terri Schiavo's parents quest to keep their daughter alive.
Medved has criticized Hollywood's obsession with dark and pessimistic subject matter in the name of "art" over uplifting and optimistic works that the vast majority of the public actually want (demonstrated by box office success of films such as The Incredibles). Medved has suggested this focus on dark depressing subject matter is contributing to lower box office turnouts. At the same time, Medved has also noted that just being a "family" or "values" oriented movie will not necessarily mean it is any good. Medved has also praised movies for their artistic value even though he disagrees with the underlying political message (i.e., The Motorcycle Diaries about the early life of Che Guevara). Medved has criticized Sean Penn and Tim Robbins' politics, while praising their works as actors and directors.
Talk radio and political commentary
Medved does a daily three-hour talk radio program based out of Seattle, Washington. [3] (http://www.ktth.com/) The show reaches more than 2 million listeners in 140 markets, coast to coast. Medved has been listed by Talkers Magazine as one of their “Heavy Hundred” most important American talk show hosts. [4] (http://www.talkers.com/heavy.html) Medved started his radio show in 1996 after a series of guest hostings on Rush Limbaugh's radio show. Medved credits Limbaugh for giving him his start in talk radio.
Medved describes himself as a "cultural crusader on politics and pop culture" and the show focuses on that intersection between current events, politics, and the entertainment industry. Medved's radio show also deals with issues involving the film industry and recent movies he has reviewed. Medved's radio show often focuses on listeners calling in and debating issues with its host, welcoming in particular callers who strongly disagree with the host. The show welcomes dissenting voices as guests to debate with Medved and he has had on Noam Chomsky and Al Franken, among many others. Medved also has guests who he agrees with on certain subjects (i.e., Robert Spencer, etc.) and conservative voices from politics and pop culture. Medved has supported other conservatives when they have been criticized such as Limbaugh and Dr. Laura Schlessinger.
Medved is a self-described conservative on most issues, although he has some environmental sympathies. On environmental issues, he prefers to call himself a conservationist, in the tradition of Teddy Roosevelt. Medved is a very vocal critic of roadside debris and trash. Medved is also open to the possibility that Bigfoot may actually exist in the Pacific Northwest and has discussed that topic on his radio show.
Medved has been criticized for giving pejorative names to political candidates he disagrees with (e.g., labeling U.S. Democratic Presidential Candidates Wes Clark "Weaselly" Clark, John Edwards as John "Shyster," etc.). Medved (who openly admits he is partisan) justifies this based on a long tradition in United States politics of such name-calling, but drops the pejorative if the person is no longer running for office. Medved is also highly critical of the Libertarian Party which he mockingly calls "Losertarians," for what he considers to be their focus on narrow political issues at the expense of any political relevancy or effectiveness.
Non-fiction author
Medved recently published an autobiography called Right Turns: Unconventional Lessons from a Controversial Life (2005) explaining his gradual conversion from being a liberal-Democrat to conservative-Republican.
Medved wrote the national bestseller What Really Happened to the Class of '65 (the basis for a popular TV series on NBC). Medved also wrote a historical book on the White House chiefs of staff, The Shadow Presidents. Medved also wrote a best-selling indictment of the entertainment industry, Hollywood vs. America. In 1980, Medved published The Golden Turkey Awards (1980), which he co-wrote with his younger brother Harry Medved, and which spawned several sequels. Medved collaborated with his wife, Dr. Diane Medved, a clinical psychologist and author in her own right, on Saving Childhood: Protecting Our Children from the National Assault on Innocence. Medved also produces and narrates a series of audio tapes, mostly on American history.
External links
- Official website (http://www.michaelmedved.com/)
- Toward Tradition Rabbi Daniel Lapin (http://www.towardtradition.org/)
- The Passion and the Prejudice February 24, 2004 (http://www.michaelmedved.com/site/product?pid=19008)
- A Movie With Legs January 27, 2005 commentary on the Passion of the Christ (http://www.michaelmedved.com/site/product?pid=20002)
- Film Critic Roger Ebert's critique of Medved's actions regarding Million Dollar Baby (http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050129/ESSAYS/501290301/)
- Michael Medved encounter with Al Franken (http://www.thenationaldebate.com/blog/archives/2005/02/franken_explode_1.html)
- New York Times February 13, 2005 review of Right Turns (http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9802E4DD103BF930A25751C0A9639C8B63)
- Medved's Wall Street Journal Op-Ed February 17, 2005 regarding Million Dollar Baby (http://www.opinionjournal.com/la/?id=110006305)