On Balance, Filmmaker Gave Us Less Than He Took From Others

As a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and someone whose life was profoundly affected by the events of the McCarthy era, I wish to protest the decision of the academy to honor Elia Kazan.

I certainly do not claim to be unbiased in this matter, nor do I

think anyone should be. It was a time in our history that demands judgment, analysis and passion. Nor do I accept the notion that none of us should judge the actions of another under those circumstances; who better to judge Kazan than those he harmed?

The idea that we should forgive and forget is simply trivial. As all the world is grappling with the demons left by the end of the Cold War, so must we. McCarthy was our tyranny and we must face him. In that sense, I am grateful for the opportunity to discuss the issue even under these odd circumstances.

What I cannot understand is the idea that we should honor Kazan for the art he created and leave his other acts unconsidered. What about the art that he made impossible by those acts? The innumerable scripts, films, performances that we were prevented from enjoying by the actions of Kazan and his fellows. The writers, directors and actors whose careers, and in some cases lives, were taken from us by people who thought, “It’s only a name, they know it already anyway, I have so much to offer.” Well, those others had so much to offer and we have missed it all.

I cannot appreciate what Kazan gave us without comparing it to what he took. I believe, as an artist who was deprived of the products of blacklisted artists, as a witness to the lives that were wrecked and as a person with a conscience, that when we weigh what Elia Kazan created against what he destroyed, he will be found wanting.

Robin Bartlett, a veteran stage, TV and film actress, plays Debbie Buchman on “Mad About You” and has a leading role in “The Old Neighborhood,” currently at the Geffen Playhouse.