Joseph Gordon-Levitt says ‘a lot of pop culture is pornographic – we put labels on people and objectify them’
Actor, who rose to fame as a child star in films such as ‘A River Runs Through It’ and ‘3rd Rock from the Sun’, says modern culture often only examines people on a surface level
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Joseph Gordon-Levitt has suggested that the way much of pop culture only portrays the surface level of its subject is “pornographic”.
In an interview with The Sunday Times, the actor discussed a number of topics including his latest projects and his views on US president Donald Trump.
Referring to a comment he made when he was 14 and on the press tour for 3rd Rock from the Sun, seemingly about the vapidness of everything outside of the film itself, he commented: “A lot of pop culture is pornographic.”
“We don’t see people as people,” he continued. “We see them as things, and when we watch pornography we don’t see the people in the video as people either. We don’t think about who they are or what their lives are like. We just see them as a thing.
“We do that to each other in general. We put labels on people and objectify them, rather than trying to understand them as a whole person.”
Gordon-Levitt also said he was “guarded about not putting myself out there for that sort of consumption of objectification”.
Earlier on in the interview, he had spoken about his understanding that the public can react negatively when entertainers comment on political or social issues.
Referring to Trump's background as an entertainer from The Apprentice, he pointed out that the US president “is not good at any of the things a president is supposed to be good at”.
Gordon-Levitt’s latest project, 7500, is available to stream from Friday 19 June on Amazon Prime Video
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments