No sign of British wit in responses to Clooney

It's like Clooney's co-star in “The Monuments Men” Matt Damon said in the London premiere: The usual argument in such cases is “He's an American, he doesn't understand”.

George Clooney has taken it upon himself to bring the Parthenon Marbles to an international audience (and Greek reporters are doing their best to keep him talking about it), so the ball was placed on the British court. The British Museum responded in kind, by essentially calling Mr. Clooney an ignorant American who doesn't understand the complexities of an age old issue.

“Everyone is entitled to their opinion, but the curators have been absolutely clear about the benefits of the Marbles stay in our museum, to be viewed as part of an international collection”, mentions the British Museum's announcement. According to the Museum's representative, “there is danger of oversimplification when it comes to the Elgin Marbles and Mr. Clooney can't dictate American policy”. At the same time, The Times wrote “It's all Greek to Clooney.”

The British government had no official response other than to say that it supports the British Museum's call, but Labour shadow Culture minister Helen Goodman who, after agreeing with her government's stance that the Museum has taken excellent care of the Marbles, added with scorn: “How would George Clooney feel if his American films were only screened in American theaters?”.

One wonders if all this noise has anything to do with The Guardian website's poll, where 71% of the international participants supported the return of the Marbles to Athens.