Charlton Heston and the NRA

As most of you probably know, Charlton Heston passed away last Saturday night, April 5th. Regardless of your particular stance on his private life, he is widely regarded as one of the biggest cinema stars of the 20th century. He became famous in his first breakthrough role - portraying Moses in "The Ten Commandments." I read an obituary for Mr. Heston in the NY Times (the link is provided below) which got me thinking about his role as the spokesman and president of the NRA.

The author cites Vincent Canby, who called "The Ten Commandments “a gaudy, grandiloquent Hollywood classic,” and went on to describe Mr. Heston's Moses “the rugged American frontiersman of myth.” It is interesting to connect this quote with our discussions on masculinity and the myth of the American west as depicted by John Wayne. Moreover, the article states that this "rugged American frontiersman" is what made Mr. Heston an effective spokesman, specifically for the NRA. It goes on to say: "In Mr. Heston, the N.R.A. found its embodiment of pioneer values — pride, independence and valor."

This connection between celebrities and their political causes is one that has also been discussed in class, most recently with Paul Robeson (and even Arnold Schwarzenegger a bit). What I found so interesting, though, is that in Charlton Heston's case, it was his on-screen characters that made him fitting for his off-screen activism. This is different from other celebrities in that the characters came first and brought upon his fitting role as an activist. For example, Angelina Jolie's global awareness motivated her to make a film like "A Mighty Heart" - the character in "A Mighty Heart" did not make her a perfect candidate to represent the UN. Heston's ability to take the characteristic's of his movie roles and turn them into a powerful political platform is unique and incredibly effective. After all, I don't think he would be as great a representative for the NRA if his filmography consisted of different roles. Think about Jimmy Stewart or Marlin Brando, I hardly think they would be fitting in Heston's role! It's interesting to see how much a person's movie roles can affect their personal life - rather than their personal life affecting their movie roles as we have discussed.

I encourage you all to read the article. I never knew much about Heston other than Moses, Ben-Hur, and the NRA but he was actually incredibly involved in politics and the arts, acting as the president of SAG and the co-chairman of the President’s Task Force on the Arts and Humanities. His life and story are much more interesting than I had realized!

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/06/movies/06heston.html