In an attempt to turn the state of Wisconsin blue in time for November, some of the cast from Rob Reiner’s 1987 classic, The Princess Bride, are reuniting to do a script-reading fundraiser for the Democratic Party in the badger state. Reiner, speaking for the group, confessed that the driving force for the reunion was the concern he and the other cast members share over the prospect of another four years of Trump in office. 

According to a study from the Pew Research Center in 2017 on partisan gaps in the United States over how far the country has come on gender equality, Democrats consistently applaud the disappearance of traditional sex roles in both the family and the work place as being a praise-worthy move and one consistent with idea of progress. However, the loss of mothers out of the American home and into the work place, in those cases when it is not necessary, is kind of like losing your stomach. You may be able to stand up and brag that you’re ten pounds lighter, but no one is listening to what you’re saying. We’re all just watching that strange color move in around your eyes and noticing you wobbling pretty hard back and forth. 

What’s inconsistent with this news about the reunion, of course, is that William Goldman’s story is one that follows the traditional plot of a woman falling into the hands of wicked men and being rescued by a man of integrity who uses power for the cause of truth and goodness. Marriage is central to the story and is a kind of finish line that both the antagonist and protagonist are striving toward. The villain, in fact, Prince Humperdinck, is framed as a man who fails to live up to the shape of a good and strong man who rescues a beautiful and virtuous woman. Without this traditional plot . . . one in which the highest kind of love is qualified with the moral absolute of truth . . . there would be no smash hit, no fame for the actors, and no leverage for a reunion tour against Trump. So . . . what would we call this thing that Cary Elwes, Robin Wright, Wallace Shawn, Mandy Patinkin, and the rest are doing on this reunion tour? Let’s ask the Cambridge Dictionary:

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Meaning of cultural appropriation in English

cultural appropriation

noun [ U ]   disapproving

US  /ˌkʌl.tʃɚ.əl əˌproʊ.priˈeɪ.ʃən/ UK  /ˌkʌl.tʃər.əl əˌprəʊ.priˈeɪ.ʃən/

the act of taking or using things from a culture that is not your own, especially without showing that you understand or respect this culture:

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I am one of the countless people for whom The Princess Bride has always been considered a classic. I loved the book and I loved the movie. I had my kids read the book and watch the film and they loved it as well. I felt like I was giving them something fun and smart and something with staying power. In some ways, I still think that.

I used to love listening to Iris Dement’s album, Lifeline, until I read the liner notes. There is a kind of knowledge that can’t be unknown. When you learn that the person singing about the love of God in Jesus Christ doesn’t believe any of it, the singer loses ethos. It used to be that ethos as an important part of a communicator’s believability. Iris Dement’s voice is incredible. It’s unique. But if she’s not a person trusting in the blood of Jesus to take her home to Heaven . . . and yet this is what she’s singing about . . . then what is she? She is an actor.

Actors are under the impression that as long as they get the story told, they are doing good work. The problem is that they can so easily stay ideologically homeless. Success is determined by the stretchability of the brand and, so, the successful actor is one who can be all things to all people. Liberals are gloating. They get Westley and Buttercup. But not exactly. Conservatives who value traditional sex roles get Westley and Buttercup. Liberals get Cary and Robin, remembering back 37 years ago to that time when they pretended to be worthy of applause. And that’s the real issue. Westley and Buttercup are who we cheered for as kids. We simply conflated them with the ones who were impersonating them. Maybe we should read the book instead. Maybe this is the year America becomes disillusioned with film and the country begins reading again. Maybe someone will reinvent film, and this time build it around the virtues instead of the vices. If that were to happen, we would have the Wisconsin Democratic party, at least partly, to thank for it.