Aaron Sorkin Blasts Tim Cook for Calling Steve Jobs Films 'Opportunistic'

[MH01]

I think even this is missing why Sorkin's response is childish.

Sorkin responded to a criticism (being called an opportunist) with another criticism ("well you're an opportunist too!"). It's like a child responding to an insult by throwing the same insult back. It doesn't make the criticism wrong.

The fact that his response is pretty weak and arguably untrue is beside the point that it's just a childish response in the first place.

So what you are saying is that's it's okay to criticise someone, though that party is not allowed to point out the hypocrisy of the position you both share?

Childish is the insults on this thread thrown at sorkin...

Excellent click bait article though . Working a treat .

 

[Michael Goff]

To Apple fans maybe....

How is it only to Apple fans?

 

[Michael Goff]

So what you are saying is that's it's okay to criticise someone, though that party is not allowed to point out the hypocrisy of the position you both share?

Childish is the insults on this thread thrown at sorkin...

Excellent click bait article though . Working a treat .

There is a classy way to respond to criticism. Using a lie is not classy.

 

[MH01]

Well, I can tell you a reliable fact. Sorkin is both childish and ignorant. I live in China and Foxconn is the factory that I wanted to go in. But I failed. Because I failed the entrance test. Foxconn averagely pays 4000RMB a month, which is 627USD. And normal work hours is 8 hours/day. And you work 5 days a week. So for one day, you get 4000/20days=200RMB/day. And 200RMB/8hours=25RMB/hours, which is 3.9USD/hours. In China we consider it is good pay already. And the best part is most people proactively ask for more and more extra work. Because if you work one additional hour you get twice as much as your regular salary! And Foxconn has movie theater and ball rooms and swimming pools and libraries and lots of good stuff for its employees! Come on, Americans! Chinese controlled media and news agencies basically hate America over your attitude toward Taiwan an Japan. So they try as hard as they could to black mouth American companies and if Sorkin's words are true, it will be all over the Chinese media and Apple will face serious lawsuit in China. Today, in China most people except for famers are well paid. Sorkin doesn't have the slightest idea about China, yet he make unfounded claims not based on facts. Only Americans he can fool!

Can I ask how many Apple products you own?

 

[StoneJack]

Both Sorkin and Tim are businessmen. Everybody earns money they way they can, including assemblers at the assembly line of Foxconn.There is no need to call names.

 

[MH01]

There is a classy way to respond to criticism. Using a lie is not classy.

Of course it was not based on facts . It was a smackdown. Why are people treating this like it was factual ? Love how people are themselves making up facts to counter his smackdown ...

Simple fact is, Apple does not exploit kids, not are wages 17 cents. Though used in a smackdown... It works!

Lucky people on here don't hear what is said on sporting fields...

 

[MacFather]

Deleted.

 

[MH01]

How is it only to Apple fans?

It was a smackdown at Apple...

 

[John Mcgregor]

The whole point of this discussion is that Sorkin did answer with lies and not with facts.

Apple has never "exploited child labour" - Apple has for at least the last eight years done what they can to detect and punish violations of Chinese labour laws, and made companies pay compensation to victims.

And he claimed numbers for wages that are just absolutely totally ridiculous.

He is a writer. It was a hyperbole, but i think it sums it up very well. I have seen way too many factories in India as well as Bangladesh where its all nice and good only until audit clears, but then manager comes back and tells all slaves go back to work and slavery continues and laws are being ignored again.

There are only so many option for Cook. He is either living in a dream, ignoring reality or just plain ok with it. Sorkin was spot on.

 

[Michael Goff]

Of course it was not based on facts . It was a smackdown. Why are people treating this like it was factual ? Love how people are themselves making up facts to counter his smackdown ...

Simple fact is, Apple does not exploit kids, not are wages 17 cents. Though used in a smackdown... It works!

Lucky people on here don't hear what is said on sporting fields...

It was a smackdown at Apple...

Actually, it was potentially libel.

 

[StoneJack]

I guess there were some tensions between Apple and Sorkin. For example, Apple never was enthusiastic about the movie and probably didn't cooperate at all. Sorkin so had some grievances about that. So Apple as a company never was or intented to be his target audience. With this phrase, however, he created a lot of enemies in the largest by valuation company on Earth, which I think, was a pretty stupid from Mr. Sorkin. His movies and plays will never again receive any sponsorship or product placement, because, simply said, he lied in public about exploitation of child labor which Apple never endorsed, supported or permitted at its contracts.

 

[MH01]

Actually, it was potentially libel.

As this has offended so many apple fans, how about this.

Sorkin gives his movie free to all apple fans that were offended

Cook gives all the offended fans a free iPhone.

So.... Who more concerned about $$$?

FYI: the reason i see this as comical is cause Cook has not even seen the movie...

And it's not libel, cause apple has cut ties with 3rd parties who used underage kids as a result of audits, and no doubt will continue to... You cannot say that kids have no or not working in apple sponsored factories at the moment.

 

[Adithya007]

I have no problem with what Cook said.

If someone makes a movie about your friend and they misrepresented him would you not say something about it?
Or will you just let the movie slander your friend.

its obvious that Cook and many others WHO ACTUALLY KNEW STEVE JOBS don't like the movie and don't think it reflects Jobs true self fairly.

Well Said!

 

[thasan]

He is a writer. It was a hyperbole, but i think it sums it up very well. I have seen way too many factories in India as well as Bangladesh where its all nice and good only until audit clears, but then manager comes back and tells all slaves go back to work and slavery continues and laws are being ignored again.

There are only so many option for Cook. He is either living in a dream, ignoring reality or just plain ok with it. Sorkin was spot on.

Funny. I'm from Bangladesh and I can tell you most garments 1) have living wage better than any other jobs they can get 2) have helped improved lives of millions of female workers 3) improved their social standing as well improve their family living standard.
Safety is something that they the owners inadequately address but telling everyone that they are being exploited is probably not the right thing. Sure they could get higher salary but that would mean 1) they won't be able to compete with China and Vietnam and the likes 2) losing job and they will end up having nothing, rely on their husbands and consequently, lose their freedom and voice. The factories are slowly but surely improving safety, addressing child labour Issues and their wage. But it takes time. The margin for the owners is extremely tight and definitely not like what sorkins movie margins.

Which one of the top two options do you want? The reality is always very different from media sensationalism.

 

[John Mcgregor]

Funny. I'm from Bangladesh and I can tell you most garments 1) have living wage better than any other jobs they can get 2) have helped improved lives of millions of female workers 3) improved their social standing as well improve their family living standard.
Safety is something that they the owners inadequately address but telling everyone that they are being exploited is probably not the right thing. Sure they could get higher salary but that would mean 1) they won't be able to compete with China and Vietnam and the likes 2) losing job and they will end up having nothing, rely on their husbands and consequently, lose their freedom and voice. The factories are slowly but surely improving safety, addressing child labour Issues and their wage. But it takes time. The margin for the owners is extremely tight and definitely not like what sorkins movie margins.

Which one of the top two options do you want? The reality is always very different from media sensationalism.

I have been to Factories supplying H&M 13 times over last 4 years. I know what i see.

 

[StoneJack]

Any job is better than no jobs.
Foxconn jobs are not worse and are actually better than many alternatives at Chinese factories.
What may shocked Sorkin actually made happier a million Chinese.

 

[SHNXX]

You are making the huge mistake of believing Sorkin's nonsense. 17 cents per hour is not "the best option available", it is totally out of reality. Salaries and cost of living are lower in China, but 17 cents per hour in China would be like McDonald's offering 50 cents an hour to a burger flipper in New York. Real salaries are 20 times higher.

Yeah, my bad.
I'm actually in China and should've known that 17 cents per hour made no sense even for migrant workers working in factories.

 

[SkydiveGuy]

While I don't care either way if they are being opportunistic about Steve Jobs' death... for once I find myself disagreeing with Tim Cook.
Doesn't iTunes immediately put collections into the iTunes store when actors/directors/artists die?
Recently we saw them put up a "Robin Williams Collection" when he passed away as well as a couple weeks ago the "Wes Craven Collection".
Its extremely hypocritical to complain about someone trying to profit off the death of someone when they use the same tactic.

 

[MacGizmo]

Apple owns a factory in China? News to me. And Apple.

 

[inkswamp]

Sorkin responded to a criticism (being called an opportunist) with another criticism ("well you're an opportunist too!"). It's like a child responding to an insult by throwing the same insult back. It doesn't make the criticism wrong.

Hit the nail on the head. In the formal study of logic and rhetoric, that kind of fallacy is called tu quoque (Latin for "you're another.") You can't defend your own wrongdoing by pointing out the wrongdoing of someone else. It's one of the most childish of the logical fallacies, right down there with ad hominem in terms of sophistication. It makes me think Sorkin is sort of immature or hasn't learned how to get around his own bloated ego.

 

[AlifTheUnseen]

They are opportunistic. Anything done for money is opportunistic.

"The Morgans fear what may not be purchased, for a trader cannot understand a thing that is priceless"

In that sense, movie-making, as any profession always has an artistic angle. Art may not be the most important dimension, others could be quality as a documentary, or monetary potential, but whatever the reason, I agree that Tim has a lot of nerves calling them opportunistic. Steve Jobs doesn't belong to Tim, nor to Apple. I understand that Apple wants to control the public image of Steve because of its market value and the reality distortion field. Some 'independent artists' pose a risk to that...

 

[apple_iBoy]

Ironically, Aaron Sorkin's response sounds like a reply Donald Trump would make. Very 8th grader-ish.

I probably am 90+% in alignment with the political views of Sorkin's TV shows, but I absolutely cannot stand to watch them. He's just so hamfisted and clumsy in his hyperbole. I literally sat cringing through the first several episodes of Newsroom before I finally couldn't take any more. Sorkin excels at shooting fish in barrels, and then beating dead horses with them.

If Sorkin has somehow managed to overcome that in this Jobs picture, I imagine it's probably because of Fassbender's superior skills as an actor.

 

[samcraig]

They both are "right" and entitled to their opinion. However, Tim shouldn't "judge" a movie without seeing it. I'm sure he wouldn't like people commenting on a new iPhone before using it themselves and referring to Apple as opportunistic.

Sorkin just goes in for the kill.

 

[AFDoc]

Jobs was a much bigger a hole than any of these movies portrays. They ought to be happy they are painting him in the same light the hipsters with their Apple Stickers on their VW Clean Diesel TDI's do rather than the way he actually was. The story of him denying the paternity of his daughter for as long as he did along with not being a part of her life for a long time is much closer to reality than the image some people like to keep.

Exactly! I personally thought the guy was a douche, a brilliant douche, but a douche. I've heard too many stories about him being a total jerk to people to believe him to be the supper human some think he was.

They both are "right" and entitled to their opinion. However, Tim shouldn't "judge" a movie without seeing it. I'm sure he wouldn't like people commenting on a new iPhone before using it themselves and referring to Apple as opportunistic.

Sorkin just goes in for the kill.

Why can't he judge it without seeing it? You don't think he knows the content of the movie through reviews, friends, anyone else in the world? Come on now.

 

[hpaulh]

Who's in charge of the word "opportunistic?" I claim ownership of the word -- everybody in about every situation could be called opportunistic. I like to be opportunistic. Even Sorkin is being opportunistic in calling Cook opportunistic -- look at all the coverage he's getting for his opportunistic movie about Jobs!