Nelson Mandela, Now with Kung-Fu Grip!
Sarah Vowell's new book, "Assassination Vacation" is now on the best-seller list and we're not jealous or anything. She's a good liberal who wrote the book, she said, to cope with her anger at the current president and his policies, particularly the war in Iraq. Yay, liberals! Especially the conscientious ones with a real grasp of history -- such as Vowell, who recently explained to writer Nick Hornby exactly how she arrived at the difficult decision to (vocally) star in the hit film "The Incredibles":
It was a job she was prepared to turn down, she told Hornby, until she learned it was a Pixar movie. ''They're the best at what they do, the most universally culturally revered. It's like if Nelson Mandela showed up asking for your help to fight racism. Maybe fighting racism isn't normally your thing. Maybe you're more of an armchair racism hater. But if Mandela was standing at your door asking you to get on the bus, you'd just start putting on your shoes, right?''
Yeah, being asked to star in a Pixar film isexactlylike being asked to fight racism! Because, yeah, it's really hard. And you're risking your life. And you're fighting against a powerful status quo. And because the only compensation you need is the simple knowledge that you are doing the right thing. That, and a cut of the merch.
Inside the List [NYT]