There is a lot of bad stuff going on in the world right now. The US is at war with Iran, gas prices and electricity bills are skyrocketing like crazy, AI is cutting people’s jobs at an alarming rate, Access Hollywood just got cancelled, the government is covering up creepy people right in front of your eyes thinking that nobody is noticing, and we are just one bubble burst away from a global recession like we’ve never seen before. However, instead of having a serious conversation on anyone one of these deadly serious topics (especially in regards to Access Hollywood being cancelled), we are throwing a fit over what Hollywood actor Timothée Chalamet recently just said in regards to ballet and opera. Not only has this statement gone so haywire, it has caused so much controversy that it might just cost Mr. Chalamet an Academy Award for his star-turning role in Marty Supreme at the Oscars this Sunday. And let me tell you, this is all dumb as s**t!
In case you don’t know what I’m talking about, Timothée Chalamet recently made a comment in regards to ballet and opera and how he believes that’s an art form that “no one cares about anymore”. A few weeks ago, he sat down in a interview with CNN and Variety with Matthew McConaughey (who he co-starred with in 2014’s Interstellar, the second major film he ever stared in). In that discussion about preserving cinema as an art form, Mr. Chalamet and McConaughey talked about the importance of keeping the theatrical experience alive, which the former has done with recent box office smash hits such as Wonka, Dune/Dune: Part Two, and Marty Supreme.
He was quoted saying, “I admire people, and I’ve done it myself, who go on a talk show and say, ‘Hey, we’ve got to keep movie theaters alive, we’ve gotta keep this genre alive,’ and another part of me feels like if people want to see it, like Barbie, like Oppenheimer, they’re going to go see it and go out of their way to be loud and proud about it.”
However, it’s the very next comment that Chalamet chose to follow up on that has got on everyone’s nerves. He then compared trying to save the theatrical experience of film and cinema to that of trying to save the theatrical experience of ballet and opera.
The Academy Award nominee went on to say, “I don’t want to be working in ballet or opera where it’s like, ‘Hey! Keep this thing alive, even though no one cares about this anymore,’” he says with a laugh. “All respect to the ballet and opera people out there … I just lost 14 cents in viewership. I’m taking shots for no reason.”
And that has caused everyone and their mother to initiate outrage culture like no other mainstream related thing in recent memory, at least since Mr. Tarantino decided to take shots at Paul Dino and Matthew Lillard for no reason (Seriously, WTF Quentin?!?! Shut up and make your final film already!).
Never mind the fact that he IMMEDIATELY followed up that comment with a jab at himself, knowing he spoke a bit too harshly there. Never mind the fact that Mr. Chalamet has come from a dance family (his mother and sister went to the School of American Ballet), grew up in Manhatten Plaza (a special residence for artists and dancers), and probably knows more about ballet and opera than over half the people on the internet. Never mind the fact about at least 75% of folks that are triggered by this can’t even recall the last time they have ever sat through a ballet or opera from beginning to end. Never mind the fact that there are MANY others issues going on right now in the entertainment industry and real world that are worth having serious discussions over. It’s this one distinct moment that has everyone stepping up to the plate in the hopes of hitting enough dingers to take down Timothée Chalamet’s time of fame and possibly his Oscar along with him. And I can’t not believe we are all making one big effing deal out of all of this!
I will say straight up front that I don’t love what Timothée said here. It’s not wise to take poke fun at another art form when the art form that you are a part of is currently struggling mightily with a future that is very clouded. While I do appreciate he took a jab at himself for making comments that he had to have known would get blown out WAY of proportions, it’s not smart to insert juicy, click-bating quotes like that in this day and age that we live in, especially when you are in the middle of Oscar season. However, I still can’t say he’s 100% in the wrong here.
Don’t get me wrong, I have NOTHING against ballet and opera! It makes for a very fine art form and for very fine entertainment when you need to take your mind off the rest of the world. And it’s not even that it’s on life support in the same way the film industry is. It’s just not as relevant to our mainstream culture has it once was. Before tomatoes get thrown at me, let me explain.
Outside of big film adaptions of theater such as Hamilton or In The Heights, can anyone tell me the last time that ballet and opera have existed in the same bubble as film and television? When was the last time that both of these particular art forms have existed side-by-side and was view directly under it’s own merits as oppose to each other? When was the last time that both of these art forms were held to the exact same standards about preserving their futures? And most importantly, when was the last time that one of these art forms was seen as more alive than other or even considered alive and well at all? I don’t think I know the answer to these questions and I don’t think YOU do either.
There is a lot of compare and contrasting about the niche appeal of ballet and opera and film and cinema. While we tend to see a popular clip or two of either one of these art forms in the realms of TikTok and Twitter along with plenty of well-informed insiders and elite perceptions of these two particular mediums, it’s very hard to tell how each one of these art forms can exist in it’s own vacuums now in the same way they were able to in the past. Ballet and opera and film and cinema need to thrive in ways that only they themselves can for these art forms to evolve and not in ways that can compliment one another. And I think Chalamet knows this.
As I mentioned before, Timothée comes from a dance family. He has a mother and sister that went to ballet school, he grew up in a plaza that is very complimentary of artists, talent, and dancers, and he probably has plenty of experience of his own in this particular art form. I am certain he knows the ins and outs of that industry and how different it is compared to the film industry. He knows how he can help one art form preserve in troubled times and not so much the other. Because of that, he is taking upon himself to help uplift the art form that only he can do and NOT the art form which he can’t.
Ballet and opera is thriving under it’s own sphere. And if Chalamet’s background is any indication, I’m pretty confident he believes so too. However, just like many traditional media forms over the past decade such as film, television, and radio, it is NOT what it used to be and Timothée has taken notice of it. Not in the sense that he’s trying to be rude but is trying to be brutally honest. And as we’ve seen from time to time, the truth can sting quite a bit, especially when we hear it out loud.
If you disagree with what Timothée Chalamet said, you are welcome to disagree! However, it is NOT worth the outrage that it has gather over the past couple of weeks. We have far bigger issues to deal with in terms of entertainment and quite frankly the world that we should be able to move on from what was a rather tone-deaf quote and put the focus on something that actually matters.
And if you really believe ballet and opera is thriving in ways that I or Mr. Chalamet can’t see, then feel free to spread the word on how amazing the art form is. Go to as many different showings as you can, tell your friends and family about it, spread the word on social media, and have this motivate you to make ballet and opera the best and most well-known art form that it can possibly be. Make every hater eat their words and make them look like the most foolish people ever!
That being said, this is NOT worth all the discourse it has gotten over one guy’s opinion of the state of ballet and opera. And as much as I loved Michael B Jordan in Sinners, if this really ends up costing Timothée the Academy Award on Sunday, then all actors might need to just not a say a single word during awards season. Because ANYTHING you say can be held against you in the court of the Academy! And unfortunately, you will NOT have the right to attorney in this case!
And here’s the full video of the interview:
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