It’s an amusing and entertaining thing. Ender’s Game, the movie based upon the novel of that name penned by author Orson Scott Card, brought in $28 million for its opening weekend. At a conservative estimate of an average ticket price (matinees and evening) of $10 a ticket, then that means 2.8 million people paid to see the movie. However, if you go by the complaints of Card’s stance on gay marriage, you would believe no one went to the movie, or if they did, it’s only because they support Card’s personal views and not because they were looking to be entertained for a couple of hours.

However, when you read the articles relating to the planned boycotts, numbers of “tens of thousands of people across the country” boycotted Ender’s Game. The disconnect in numbers is significant if you do a quick proportion of number of moviegoers vs. boycotters, compared to number of articles actually about the movie vs. the number of articles about boycotting the movie. There is no logical proportionality. The sample populations are skewed.

Before you say, “Steve, if you saw the movie that means you support Card’s vocal lambasting of gay marriage,” I say to you… “Don’t be so intellectually lazy.” My choice to see Ender’s Game is based upon a story I read in 1985 and the fondness I have for that story. It’s just that simple with no agenda on my part, and for sure no agenda influencing my decision.

Let’s speak of another successful children’s book author. Roald Dahl, of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory fame, was exceptionally vocal about his distaste for Israel, yet I didn’t hear of “tens of thousands” of Americans of Israeli descent calling for a nationwide boycott of Tim Burton’s film. Why? Because a distinction is made between the writer’s artistic merit and the writer’s personal views that are separate from his artistic merit. Tim Burton did not produce Charlie and the Chocolate Factory as a rallying cry to denounce Israel. In the same vein, Ender’s Game was not produced to sway gay men from their (according to Card) erosion of family values, or even to define as metaphoric propaganda what those family values are. Ender’s Game does not influence people to think like Card thinks, to believe what Card believes.

Is it understandable that there will be those upset enough that the distinction is not possible for them? Sure. Solution? Be in the “tens of thousands” who chose not to go to the movie. And to let you know that I don’t just make this distinction for a book I enjoyed in my earlier years and the author or this book, I’ll share that the politics of many of my favorite artists (such as Green Day) are explicitly reflected in the lyrics of their songs, and these politics aren’t always in line with my (sort of libertarian but not entirely) personal political views. Heck, even my favorite band Madness preached politics that were completely contrary to my views. However, I can still enjoy their music, lyrics and all, because I don’t feel I’m comprising any principles nor am I tacitly complicit and supportive of their political views. Honestly, how many kids do you think even have any idea at all what the concept album “American Idiot” was about? Probably the same number of my peers at that age who understood what Dave Wakeling’s “Two Swords” or Madness’ “Blue-Skinned Beast” lyrically represented. I wasn’t influenced by Madness or The English Beat politically. The only they influenced me was in the way I dressed in high school.

I can make the distinction and I can enjoy the stories and songs. I watched Ender’s Game and there was no part of the movie where I said, “Shit, the guy who came up with this sure doesn’t like guys marrying guys.” It’s not part of the dialog. It wasn’t even a consideration. Had the movie integrated an objectionable (to me) theme of political recruitment, I would give the movie a pass. I walked out on Avatar for this reason. And if you know how much I love special effects, you must know how hard the decision was for me to step out on a movie so visually beautiful.

My innate skill for political view centrifuging is what keeps me out of the sensationalized news as one of the “tens of thousands.” Cool beans. I’m a fortunate kind of guy who won’t have to miss out on living life because of the limits of acceptability I self-impose on my life. That for me I will the same for you. Ender’s Game is a totally bitchin’ flick. And that’s what I have to say on that.