| 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"). He has been an outspoken supporter of the Iraq War. {Link without Title} EARLY LIFE Medved was born in 1948 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania , but moved to San Diego, California while still a child when his father got a job as a scientist for the defense contractor, Convair . Medved attended Yale as an undergraduate, graduating with honors, and then went on to Yale Law School. During his undergraduate years, he held a job at a Jewish middle-school in order to maintain exemption from the Vietnam draft. After his first year at Yale Law, he took time off to serve as a campaign consultant on Democratic senatorial races, and never returned to finish his degree. Some of Medved's classmates at Yale included Bill Clinton , Hillary Rodham Clinton , George W. Bush , Howard Dean 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, of which Medved himself was a witness. Medved later worked briefly for Congressman Ron Dellums of Berkeley, California —and credits that experience with pushing him permanently away from the Democratic Party. Michael Medved's first experience with conservative politics was his decision to work for the election of Ronald Reagan in 1980. He is now a vocal supporter of the Republican Party and of conservative principles in general. Medved reviewed movies for '' and occasionally writes op-ed pieces for the '' Wall Street Journal '' and the '' King County Journal.'' MOVIE REVIEWS Medved is notable as the best-known socially conservative film critic. He 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 Christian s than he does with some secular Jews in Hollywood who he has stated have abandoned their faith and the underlying moral principles of Judaism. Pro– and anti–Judeo-Christian films Medved has criticized what he perceives as Hollywood's obsession with dark and pessimistic subject matter in the name of art over uplifting and optimistic works that he claims the vast majority of the public actually want. He claims that this is demonstrated by box office success of pro–Judeo-Christian films (such as '' The Ten Commandments '' and '' Chariots Of Fire ''), and films that promote traditional values such as '' The Incredibles ''. Medved also praised '' March Of The Penguins '' for what he claimed was a pro-family message. (The film's director has denied any such message. {Link without Title} ) Medved was criticized for giving away the ending of '' Million Dollar Baby . '' Medved countered that the movie promotions were very misleading to the dark subject matter of that film. He wrote that, rather than a '' Rocky -''esqe film about boxing, it was essentially a film arguing in favor for the right to die. {Link without Title} Medved pointed out that he did not disclose the entire plot, just enough information that his listeners could make an informed choice about that movie. Medved has suggested this focus on dark and depressing subject matter is contributing to lower box office turnouts, and particularly the failure of films such as '' King David ''. 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. He has also praised movies for their artistic value even though he disagrees with the underlying political message (e.g., '' The Motorcycle Diaries '' about the early life of Che Guevara ), and has criticized Sean Penn and Tim Robbins ' politics, while praising their works as Actor s and Directors . He has also long been an especially outspoken critic of what he characterizes as inappropriate entertainment for or about children, including The Simpsons , Beavis And Butt-head , and South Park . He has criticized Disney movies such as '' Pocahontas '' for "dark and politically correct preaching about persecution of Native Americans", and Mulan as well as Bugs Bunny for promoting "the liberating impact of cross-dressing". {Link without Title} TALK RADIO AND POLITICAL COMMENTARY Medved does a daily three-hour talk radio program based out of 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 , Michael Moore , John Shelby Spong , George Galloway , and Al Franken , among many others. Medved also has guests who he agrees with on certain subjects (i.e., Robert Spencer , Christopher Hitchens , 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, and has often been seen cleaning up the debris left near his home in Mercer Island, WA . Another common theme of Medved's political and cultural commentary is the labeling of certain political forces, political candidates, and movies with facetious nicknames. Examples of these nicknames include:
He also refers to Hollywood as "Hollyweird," as he firmly believes that the Hollywood film industry is deeply out of touch with the American public. Medved has also been criticized for describing the United States as "the greatest nation on God's green earth" and using this statement as a slogan for his radio show. BOOKS
"CELEBRITY BASTARD PARENTS" Medved advocates the stigmatization of wealthy and famous men and women who have illegitimate children, by referring to them as " Celebrity Bastard Parents ". He will often name specific male and female celebrities who have newborn illegitimate children on his radio show and in public speeches. Medved says he uses this term because they are ultimately responsible for the actions that caused an out-of-wedlock pregnancy to occur in the first place, and that it would be unfair to label illegitimate children as "bastards" because they did not do anything wrong. Moreover, he argues that given the high profile in society of these celebrities, many people will copy their lifestyle choices, and thus there is an even greater onus on them to try to model better behavior. TRIVIA
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