Richard Linklater made Slacker, one of my favorite films, and spoke highly of George W. Bush, one of my least-favorite politicians. And until this very moment I forgot that I interviewed him years ago and he was a really forthright and honest subject. Linklater just did an Ask Me Anything on Reddit. A few exchanges follow.

________________________

Question:

In Slacker, it seems that you highlighted the “recent” rise of American Libertarianism and juxtaposed it with true anarchism (the Ron Paul ad and the old man being robbed). What side to you fall on, or were you trying to highlight the pros and cons of each philosophy?

Richard Linklater:

Glad you picked up on the nod to Ron Paul in Slacker. I’m with the Libertarian ideology on the freedom front… but I’m kind of a safety net guy, too — don’t like ideologies when they result in cruelty. There is a way in our world, given all of our resources, to have both.

________________________

 Question:

What do you think about the “childization” of movies these days? It seems that Hollywood marketing has successfully turned us all into children. Do you think we are as dumb as the movies we watch, or are we playing dumb in order to enjoy what is commercially available to us?