The American Spectator

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On Directing Film , Mamet likewise excoriated filmmakers who indulge in overwrought shot set-ups, likening it to useless counterculture architecture and zinging, "And to you lovely enthusiasts who will aver the purpose of modern art is not to be liked, I respond, 'oh, grow up.'"

Nevertheless, the conspiracy theory of Mamet as a closeted conservative can be easily dispelled. Perusing Bambi vs. Godzilla and you will find a comparison of the fights between "Acting President Reagan," as Mamet was fond of calling him in the 1980s, and organized labor to the Pharaoh's treatment of the Israelites ("Capital, if it cannot call Labor 'Reds,' will call it 'Thugs,'" Mamet adds). To be fair, this union love probably has its roots in the fact that Mamet's father was a hard-charging lawyer for United Steelworkers Union and the AFL-CIO, but that hardly explains Mamet's praise of Michael Moore's Fahrenheit 9/11 as a film in which "the unsayable is said and which, thus, for a moment, breaks the corrosive cycle of oppression."

p> Contra the Guardian 's Billington, Mamet has always insisted that political interpretations of his work were a case of ignoring his dramatic intent, which necessitates creating conflict, in favor of adopting a convenient political takeaway message. Worse, such literary lecturing was predictable -- a high crime in Mamet's mind. Here's how he put it in a 1994 interview with Playboy: br> /p>

I've noticed over the past thirty years that a lot of what passes in the theater is not drama but, rather, a morality tale. "Go thou now and do likewise." When you leave the theater and you say, "Oh, now I get it. Women are people, too." Or, "Now I get it, handicapped people have rights," then you feel very soothed for the amount of time it takes you to get to your car. Then you forget about the play.

br> Even with regard to Exhibit A in the conservative case for Mametfest Destiny, the 1992 play Oleanna , the playwright told Playboy

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