When Hollywood imitates real life — “Bowfinger” versus Elizabeth Warren

Despite any actual evidence, Elizabeth Warren sticks resolutely to her claim that she is 1/32 Native American.

This is how crazy people think.  Do you know how I know that?  Because I just watched Bowfinger with the kids.

Bowfinger, which was made in 1999, when one could still be at least a little bit un-PC, is a very silly movie.  The premise is that a down-and-out producer (Steve Martin) puts together an “aliens are attacking” action-adventure film by having his little team of amateurs act around the unwitting Kit Ramsey (Eddie Murphy), a famous action movie star, who also happens to be ravingly paranoid.

Kit’s manic delusions are established in his very first scene, when he complains that all the great lines (e.g., “Hasta la vista, baby”) go to non black actors, proving a conspiracy.  From that start, he counts all the “Ks” in a script, points out that the resulting number is perfectly divisible by three, raves about the “KKK” conspiracy he’s just proven, and transmutes “Shakespeare” into the racist “Spear Chucker.”  No surprise, then, that the next step is to Elizabeth Warren-land:

Here’s the key language (starting at 2:00):

Kit: And I suppose Teddy Kennedy ain’t 1/16th black, eh?

Agent: Teddy Kennedy?

Kit: He’s not like the other Kennedys. Look at him. He’s different!

(I toyed with the idea of calling this post “When real life imitates Hollywood,” because Warren’s staunch defense of her minority status came to light in 2012, while Bowfinger dates back to 1999. I decided in favor of “Hollywood imitates real life,” though, because Warren started claiming Native American status long before 1999.)