Sean Penn In Iran To Report On Elections

RainyDay · June-13th-2005, 03:03 PM

Sean Penn In Iran To Report On Elections

June 13 (ABC7) — Actor Sean Penn is on a brief assignment in Iran as a reporter for the San Francisco Chronicle.

Penn is covering the upcoming presidential elections.

On Friday, he observed prayer worshippers in Tehran, and he covered a woman's protest rally about gender inequalities this weekend.

In 2003, Penn went to Iraq after the US-led invasion and did reports for the Chronicle.

The actor says he decided to go to Iran because of the growing tensions between the US and Tehran. Copyright 2005, ABC7/KGO-TV/DT.

jesus marion joseph · June-13th-2005, 03:09 PM

Don't be fooled, he's there for the same reason I would be-Persian Gold!!

Gentle Giant · June-13th-2005, 03:18 PM

"That was my skull! I am so wasted!"

tippy · June-13th-2005, 03:29 PM

Growing tensions? Send Penn...

jesus marion joseph · June-13th-2005, 04:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gentle Giant

"That was my skull! I am so wasted!"

LOL!! I had completely forgotten about Fast Times at Ridgemont High!
Nice catch, GG.

Dr Dave · June-13th-2005, 04:37 PM

I hear he has the lead for the upcoming "The Dan Rather Story" and this is research for the role.

patricia · June-14th-2005, 12:16 PM

Would somebody please explain to me why it is somehow verboten for a high-profile person, with political convictions and concern for their fellow human beings to use their high profile to gain attention for their cause?

The reason I ask is that when Sean Penn went to Iraq, before the invasion, he was ridiculed, perhaps gently, but still ridiculed on this very board, apparently because he is an actor , so seemingly not credible.

It seems to me that a person who already has a recognizeable name would be doing good if they used that recognizeablity to bring facts to the fore.
How much less effective would it be if someone that nobody knows from Adam, such as myself, did and said the same things that Sean Penn did and said??
I think that it's admirable when someone uses their fame for good and not for evil , but, what do I know??

Dr Dave · June-14th-2005, 09:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by patricia

Would somebody please explain to me why it is somehow verboten for a high-profile person, with political convictions and concern for their fellow human beings to use their high profile to gain attention for their cause?

The reason I ask is that when Sean Penn went to Iraq, before the invasion, he was ridiculed, perhaps gently, but still ridiculed on this very board, apparently because he is an actor , so seemingly not credible.

It seems to me that a person who already has a recognizeable name would be doing good if they used that recognizeablity to bring facts to the fore.
How much less effective would it be if someone that nobody knows from Adam, such as myself, did and said the same things that Sean Penn did and said??
I think that it's admirable when someone uses their fame for good and not for evil , but, what do I know??

Because it is incredibly self-serving. Because Sean Penn is no more a reporter than you are. Because it is indecent to use the Iraq war to further your career in entertainment.

That's why.

patricia · June-14th-2005, 10:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dr Dave

Because it is incredibly self-serving. Because Sean Penn is no more a reporter than you are. Because it is indecent to use the Iraq war to further your career in entertainment.

That's why.

Not as indecent not to mention self-serving as it is for a President with no domestic agenda to use HIS Iraq war to totally define his Presidency. In addition, this President has furthered his career as Commander in Chief and self-proclaimed Wartime President at the expense of just over seventeen hundred dead American soldiers and who knows how many dead Iraqis.

But, heaven forbid that a mere ACTOR should voice, publicly, his opposition to this obscenity.

Captain Hate · June-14th-2005, 10:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dr Dave

Because it is incredibly self-serving. Because Sean Penn is no more a reporter than you are. Because it is indecent to use the Iraq war to further your career in entertainment.

That's why.

I find myself in 100% agreement with Dr Dave. Sean Penn is a useful idiot. He is as dumb as a fucking rock and has as much business reporting from Iran as I do. The San Francisco Chronicle should be embarrassed for not sending a real reporter, assuming they have any, instead of this clueless numbskull for ratings purposes. So much for the seriousness of the mainstream media. They shame themselves on a daily basis and are too clueless to realize it.

Why not Jenna Jameson?

patricia · June-14th-2005, 10:36 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Captain Hate

Why not Jenna Jameson?

Who????

And that's my point. Name recognition and ratings, advertising and sales are ALL that news, especially in the tabloid mentality U.S., is about these days.

June-14th-2005, 11:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by patricia

Who????

The one with the hat on:

patricia · June-15th-2005, 12:33 AM

Thank you Scott. Hard to keep up with the cupcakes raining down, fast and furious, from all directions on us.

jesus marion joseph · June-15th-2005, 12:45 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by patricia

Not as indecent not to mention self-serving as it is for a President with no domestic agenda to use HIS Iraq war to totally define his Presidency. In addition, this President has furthered his career as Commander in Chief and self-proclaimed Wartime President at the expense of just over seventeen hundred dead American soldiers and who knows how many dead Iraqis.

But, heaven forbid that a mere ACTOR should voice, publicly, his opposition to this obscenity.

So, how does Sean Penn's self-aggrandizement balance out GW Bush's?

crawjo · June-15th-2005, 12:52 AM

Just curious, Captain Hate: Do you know that Penn is an "idiot"? Have you read any of his articles? I haven't, that's why I'm asking.

Uli · June-15th-2005, 07:39 AM

Isn't it a bit ironic that their own, they elect as presidents and gobernators?

patricia · June-15th-2005, 07:43 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jesus marion joseph

So, how does Sean Penn's self-aggrandizement balance out GW Bush's?

I don't think that anybody's self-aggrandizement actually balances out anybody else's.
I just don't think that Sean Penn's acting career needs boosting, especially by heading over to Iran for the Chronicle. He's not going to Iran to act. Why not reserve judgement until he actually files his story?? Why assume he's a bust as a writer? Plenty of time to ridicule him after his stories appear, don't you think??
It's not as if Penn is the only person covering the events in Iran. I'm assuming, of course, that the San Francisco Chronicle is not the only source of foreign news coverage in the country, or even in San Francisco......is it??

Dr Dave · June-15th-2005, 07:49 AM

Patricia, he's an actor and not a journalist. No matter how you slice it, this is showboating.

As to whether Sean Penn is smart or dumb, I wouldn't know. It strikes me that this is a way for him to show us all that he's a serious person. Bad idea.

patricia · June-15th-2005, 08:03 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dr Dave

Patricia, he's an actor and not a journalist. No matter how you slice it, this is showboating.

As to whether Sean Penn is smart or dumb, I wouldn't know. It strikes me that this is a way for him to show us all that he's a serious person. Bad idea.

Of course you're right that Penn is not a journalist. However the coverage by the American press in the last almost five years in the Middle East has been tentative, to say the least. What harm would it do to get fresh eyes on the events??
The coverage by bona fide American journalists since the unpleasantness in the Middle East has unfolded has left a lot to be desired, when compared to the foreign press, including the press here.
Perhaps Penn will tip over onto his self-aggrandizing face and you will be right, he should stick to acting. OR perhaps he will do fine, even wonderfully. We don't know. . Haven't you ever actually been in attendance at an event that you don't recognize when you read a reporter's story about the same event the next day?? As I say, a fresh pair of eyes, even if they belong to an actor and not a journalist, can't hurt.

tippy · June-15th-2005, 08:34 AM

I don't think becoming a print reporter is how you boost a Hollywood career. This assumes that people really care about this topic. Making a video with Paris Hilton on the other hand...

patricia · June-15th-2005, 09:08 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tippy

I don't think becoming a print reporter is how you boost a Hollywood career. This assumes that people really care about this topic. Making a video with Paris Hilton on the other hand...

I agree that becoming a print reporter pre-supposes that the reporter, whether it's Sean Penn, or somebody else, can actually write. It also pre-supposes that the general public actually reads the newspaper, and that's not a given, judging by the "man on the street" interviews one sees on television. After all, there seems to be an inordinate number of folks who believe that Iraq and Afghanistan are linked, or even not that different. Of course, before September 11, 2001, how many people had read anything about that part of the world??

THERE'S the ticket!!! Paris Hilton, in one of those camisole things, masquerading as a blouse, maybe with some painted-on pants, to show Iranian women what they are missing. These days that's the combination that would be actually watched, just to see the reaction of the Iranian women, modestly covered, seeing Paris Hilton "act" like a total moron.
Love it!!!

Monte Smith · June-15th-2005, 09:09 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by patricia

Not as indecent not to mention self-serving as it is for a President with no domestic agenda to use HIS Iraq war to totally define his Presidency.

No domestic agenda? Oh, how quickly they forget their own grumbling over what they understand by their own lights to be the destruction of Social Security, abolishing taxes to enrich the wealthy, stupifying the next generation with No Child Left Behind, the opening of the Arctic paradise to environmental destruction by oil barons. There's the cruel and underhanded budget cuts designed to take out Amtrak and PBS! There's the Patriot Act, for God's sake--once and for all the shredding of the Constitution and the torturing of civil rights! And then the attack on the judiciary, the ban on stem cell research, the fight against a woman's right to choose, the legalization of assault rifles, the tacit funding and provocative approval given to faith-based organizations to do charity work...the mind reels. No domestic agenda, pshaw. How can you dispatch as nonexistent that which you spend so many syllables decrying?

patricia · June-15th-2005, 09:18 AM

Monte, you forgot the humanitarian aid sent to Africa to fight AIDS, with the provisio that abstinance and monogamy be stressed, along with the reduction, or holding back of funds to those clinics which provide abortion services. Meanwhile, 8,500 people die, every day!!! This is according to Geraldine Sealy, in her report, "An Epidemic Of Failure" in this week's Rolling Stone.
No, I don't think that we can compare Penn's inadequacy as a journalist with George W Bush's inadequacy as a President. It's not fair to Sean Penn.

Dan G · June-15th-2005, 10:45 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by patricia

I agree that becoming a print reporter pre-supposes that the reporter, whether it's Sean Penn, or somebody else, can actually write. It also pre-supposes that the general public actually reads the newspaper, and that's not a given, judging by the "man on the street" interviews one sees on television. After all, there seems to be an inordinate number of folks who believe that Iraq and Afghanistan are linked, or even not that different. Of course, before September 11, 2001, how many people had read anything about that part of the world??

Writing is the easy part of being a reporter*. Understanding the situation and being able to put it in context for the public is the difficult part. Many reporters now can't do that. They may be able to write, but they don't have an understanding of the situation they are writing about and can't make it make sense to people. I'd rather read something by Penn or another celebrity or non-celebrity who pays attention to world politics and history (Gere, Robbins, Bono) than some dipshit with who wrote for the high-school newspaper and thinks that 8 months education from a community college makes them qualified to explain the world to me.

*I'm a grad of a university journalism program and former (local, not international) reporter (now have better job in media relations at large university), who put up with many fellow students who couldn't understand why we had to take courses in history and political science...

jesus marion joseph · June-15th-2005, 01:03 PM

So, in order to upgrade the quality of reporting in Iraq, you send an actor to file datelines? Maybe it'll work, but I'm skeptical.

As far as Penn himself, he is an excellent actor, and I don't think he's stupid, and he probably has admirable reasons for going there when he clearly doesn't need to; at least not in this capacity. I can't help but think, however, that his reporting will hardly win any Pulitzers. Anyway, perhaps you're right, and we should wait and see before we jump all over the guy.

patricia · June-15th-2005, 01:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dan G

Writing is the easy part of being a reporter*. Understanding the situation and being able to put it in context for the public is the difficult part. Many reporters now can't do that. They may be able to write, but they don't have an understanding of the situation they are writing about and can't make it make sense to people. I'd rather read something by Penn or another celebrity or non-celebrity who pays attention to world politics and history (Gere, Robbins, Bono) than some dipshit with who wrote for the high-school newspaper and thinks that 8 months education from a community college makes them qualified to explain the world to me....

I agree Dan. If some of the naysayers would take the time to actually investigate the qualifications of some of the print and broadcasting reporters, I think that they would be surprised at HOW they gained their experience and, more importantly how actually knowing something about the area and culture is.
For example, Arthur Kent, who reported on the first Gulf War spent years travelling in the region, so was well qualified to tell us how the events affected the people and politics there.
And, to further bolster my point, if you want to learn about the Middle East, particularly Afghanistan, Iraq, Iran, India, Pakistan etc., read some of Gordon Sinclair's books. Interestingly, he had an eighth grade education and gained his remarkable knowledge and expertise from travelling, living in and reading about the region to deliberately compensate for his lack of formal education.
I don't think that Penn can be faulted for wanting to show the situation in Iran to the rest of the country, through his eyes. I say, good for him.