no offense to the Harry bashers, but here is something I am going to call In Defense of Harry

Ever since Harry Knowles has become famous, he has become too powerful for his own good. Hollywood has become afraid of him, because he sometimes has the power to destroy and create a good movie. Up to this point, Hollywood had the power to dictate to us, what we wanted to see and what we couldn't, and Harry broke that mold. He had taken Hollywood movie activism to its grass-roots. You could say you liked or didn't like a movie, and have a million people hear it. Now that's power. Harry Knowles is a microcosm of what is actually happening to the rest of the world. The power of the super-empowered individual (a term I borrow from Friedman of the New York Times). It has long been talked about, and now it is here. Matt Drudge is one example, so is Michael Moore and heck even Bill Gates and every single independent filmmaker. There was a time when only a few held power and the rest supported the structure. But now it is different. There have always been super-empowered individuals, but now there is a potential of having more, because of the internet. Before you had to write a book, which costs money, or make a movie, which also costs money. Now all you have to do is log unto the internet and create a website, which costs almost no money at all. (or its even cheaper substitute, the egroup). Now this also creates problems (like Friedman said) coz there will be good super-empowered individuals and bad super-empowered individuals. We may see death and destruction on a grander scale than ever before yet we will see glory and grandeur more than we have ever seen before. The point is to remain vigilant to keep the balance. Anyway, going back to Harry and the super-empowered individual. Harry has been the recepient of an onslaught of negative media. And surprise, surprise! a lot from rival entertainment-news magazines and tv shows. But that is okay, because every hero needs an enemy (another thing I picked up from another book, Organizing Genius). Besides we need both, to provide that balance.

Anyway, let me bring up, point by point, the destruction they bring upon Harry.

They say Harry is opinionated.

Heck, why not? Its his website. How come when Dennis Rodman says something or Madonna or some drug lord, its freedom of speech, but when someone says a good thing, he is biased. And don't say that Harry is a representative of the media, coz so is Howard Stern. And we are witnessing the birth of a new kind of journalism, first person point of view journalism. We never had it before, coz we never had websites before, but it doesn't make it less valuable. When our grandmother tells us about the war, our mother tells us about we are born, they are not journalists, but they have a right to an opinion of how it happened. And besides, we trust em. And I trust Harry. The broadsheets, the newspapers, CNN et al. we still need em. But we also need the first-person journalists, like Harry, like Drudge, and hell, of course they will be opinionated.

Harry is egotistical.

Of course, he is. Its his website. If I write a diary and all I write about is me, would that be egotistical? Heck, no. It's my journal.

Harry Knowles writes in a roundabout manner.

Of course, he does. Its a journal! Who says it has to follow the King's English rules of grammar.

Harry's lack of verifying sources may hurt people.

Yes it may, but who cares, its just movies anyway. Drudge has to be a bit more careful coz he bashes real people, but most of the time they are politicians anyway ;D. Okay, fine, fine, it is always good not to besmirch a person's reputation knowingly. But Harry has a good heart. And he won't destroy anyone just for fun. (Freddy Prinze deserves it! ;D) Which brings us back to the point, we trust the big oak, like some of you trust your mother.

Harry says make better movies, but it is not that simple.

Yes it is that simple. Make better movies, and people will come and Harry will support you.

Fine, fine, fine, its a journal, but he still doesn't have the right to do it.

Freedom of speech, ba-bee! If you let Howard Stern on air, you better damn well let Harry write.

And so why did Entertainment Weekly bash Harry?

Coz they hate his guts. But they don't realize that all they have to do is find their own Harry, give him his own website, and their conglomerate will survive.

People who I think are pupu heads.

Ron Wells
Entertainment Weekly (though I'll still read em)
Premiere Mag for bashing Arnold Schwarzenegger (but besides that slip-up, I will still read em voraciously)