Ebert: Why Attack A Film That Raises Real Issues?

A storm of criticism has enveloped the new film, Million Dollar Baby, with right-wing commentators and disabled activists calling for critics to reveal (and condemn) the movie’s controversial surprise plot twist. But Roger Ebert says that such demands miss the point of both the film and a critic’s role in the cultural sphere: “Most movies have no issues and inspire no thought. A movie like this forces you to think about its issues. If you leave it and discuss what Maggie should have done, what you would do, and what you would wish for your loved ones, then the movie has served a purpose, whether you agree with it or not. A movie is not good or bad because of its content, but because of how it handles its content.”