Why is Hollywood’s Approval Rating In the Toilet?
by Lawrence MeyersOn April 18, the Pew Research Center released the results of a recurring survey centered around people’s trust in government. In order to assess the results of several institutions, Pew asks the following question: “Is [insert item] having a positive or negative effect on the way things are going in the country these days.”
Only 33% said the entertainment industry was having a positive effect. 51% said it was having a negative effect. What I don’t understand is why the entertainment industry didn’t blow the lid off the survey on the positive side. It’s entertainment. Doesn’t everyone want to be entertained? Since Pew only asked a single question, we can’t effectively drill into this result to learn any hard and fast truths. However, by examining other studies, there are some inferences we may be able to draw.
The entertainment industry was but one of thirteen institutions the Pew survey mentioned, so it seems reasonable to conclude that respondents were very well aware what they were being asked. The question was not, “what is your opinion about the quality of entertainment you see from Hollywood?” The question was about the industry’s influence on the trajectory of the country, in the gestalt. Apparently, just over half the respondents think that Hollywood is, simply put, a bad influence. If the comments left for Big Hollywood articles are of any indication, people don’t feel Hollywood represents their values, morals, ethics, political views, religious views, or much of anything else. People fail to identify with the characters they see on the screen. They don’t care for dramatic or comedic situations presented. They don’t agree with what Tom Hanks or James Cameron or Sean Penn or Roger Ebert have to say about a wide variety of topics.
Are these assertions valid? It’s impossible to say without a scientific survey. The anecdotal evidence, however, seems to suggest as much. A 2008 survey commissioned by the Anti-Defamation League found that 59% of Americans believe “that the people who run the TV networks and the major movie studios do not share the religious and moral values of most Americans.” Before anyone raises a claim of bias in the survey, it was conducted by Marttila Communications Group, run by John Marttila, a senior advisor to John Kerry’s presidential campaign.
Let’s go one step further. The 1998 book Hollywood’s America: Social and Political Themes in Motion Pictures, is essentially an exhaustive scientific study of this issue. Among many conclusions, the authors found that, “Hollywood…ideology is generally left-leaning and highly critical of traditional features of modern society”.
The study’s blockbuster results, however, seem to support much of the reason for Big Hollywood’s very existence. Have a look at this:
“We tapped the movie elite’s views on trends in their own medium of expression…67% agreed that movies should promote social reform…81% disagreed that movies were too critical of traditional values…76% disagreed that there was too much sex in the movies—a statistic that shows just how differently this group views its art from the way in which the general public, which has consistently expressed concern over the issue, sees it”.
There’s more, and I quote at length here because it really explains the Pew results.
“Prindle and Endersby (1993)…indicate that Hollywood remains more liberal than the American public on a wide range of issues…raising taxes, less admiring of American business, more favorably inclined towards government regulation of business, and less suspicious of labor unions than is the public in general…the authors also argued that it was virtually impossible to measure traditionally conservative attitudes among the Hollywood elite, as they could find few, if any, representatives of such attitudes.”
Further, it stands to reason that, if 51% of people feel the entertainment industry is having a negative effect on the country, then we would expect them to avoid consumption of media content produced by Hollywood. Unquestionably, this would appear to be the case. Television viewership is sharply declining and box office admissions have been flat to down for the past several years. The MPAA reported that in 2009, 32% of Americans simply did not go to the movies, compared to 26% in 2006 and 24% in 2004. The trend suggests further support for the hypothesis that ideology is driving audiences away. Again, however, the data is not strictly scientific. After all, one might just as easily point to the rise of on-demand internet content as being the primary driver of this trend.
Nevertheless, while the reasons behind Pew’s results are unexplored, the anecdotal evidence seems to provide an explanation. Admittedly, my conclusions are not scientific and should not be relied upon as such. But as the saying goes, when you hear hoofbeats, look for horses, not zebras.
This leads us to an inevitable query: does Hollywood’s apparent left-leaning ideology impact revenues? I’ll examine that issue in my next article.
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491 Comments
Enter text right here!It's all related to the fact that people don't like to be sucker punched in the gut. If there was a movie that came out and argued the virtues of socialism through a compelling story but also admitted past failures with socialism and communism, people wouldn't be entirely opposed to watching it. But if, instead, you lace that same story with anti-capitalism and anti-American messages, deciding to instead say socialism is good because capitalism is so evil or communism is good because look how evil the democratic America is, then people are not going to watch, they're going to have a negative opinion of the people putting that message out and they're going to spend their money elsewhere. Any conservative I've talked with doesn't mind the debate of ideas, it's the framing of conservatives as mindless buffoons or evil criminals that gets our feathers ruffled.
And that doesn't even include the fact that Hollywood works exceptionally hard at keeping conservative values from being shown in a good light, otherwise the inevitable result being support (i.e. The Blind Side).
My husband and I were avid movie goers. Now it is a rare occasion to find anything we would pay to see. We like good stories that are well acted. I must confess that we do boycot many actors because of their political views or their public behavior. We don't care what their opinions are just as they don't care what our opinions are. Is it too much to ask for entertainment that just entertains? Can't watch much TV because of the same issue.
Just a wild guess here but maybe people don't want to pay 10 bucks to have their values and beliefs trashed?
I haven't gone to the movies since Braveheart. I am sure there has been many good movies since then but for me,nada.
As a conservative and libertarian light, I don’t care about a persons politics, STFU and make a good movie. For example: anti war is one thing, anti-American is quite another. Some of the greatest movies of the past fifty years were anti-war, Dr. Strangelove, MASH, Catch 22, Apocalypse Now, Full Metal Jacket, Saving Private Ryan, etc. But since 9-11, Hollywood has gone blatantly anti-American, and most Americans don’t like that. Especially getting a lecture from some spoiled Hollywood twit whose completely devoid of reality. This is the greatest country since the dawning of civilization, and we Americans know it – - you want to retain your address in Malibu, keep that in mind!
The role of the artist in culture traditionally is to attack, either subtly or overtly, mainstream mores, values and preconceptions. Art can play a great role in advancing culture, at the very least it can expand ways of thinking about things. But art has become commercialized, and worse, politicized. The combination of commercialism and politics is a toxic mix that makes creativity suffer and die. The artists themselves are mainstream elites holding enormous power, and they still operate as though they are outsiders "speaking truth to power". The problem is they ARE the real power. They ARE the mainstream thought, and they can't seem to recognize that they are the ones they should at this point, be fighting against.
"Team America" makes this point very well. Parker and Stone used all the trappings of Hollywood, the musical prompts, the formulaic characters and story lines, and managed to have marionettes convey roles as well as superstar Hollywood actors. Team America took on the conceit that an actor can "save the world" by his acting. There was the obligatory sex scene (disguised as love) and plenty of violence…only this time the violence happened to big-name actors instead of lowly extras who we aren't supposed to care about. The film portrayed the Hollywood elites as de facto world leaders and devastated them. This film is the most conceptually creative thing to come out of Hollywood in decades.
While I'm not sure that you can blame all of the people not going to the movies on culture, I do think you can certainly blame movies pushing the edge of good taste and what people find acceptable for the lackluster performance of the R-rated superhero movies Watchmen and Kick-Ass as well as the raunchy comedy version of Land of the Lost. I saw Watchmen on an airplane with, I presume, much of the explicit visual material edited out, and it was fine. Kick-Ass was made the way it was despite many studios it was pitched to asking them to make it as a PG-13 movie, which might have actually, well, made a lot of money. And Land of the Lost, the original with dinosaurs, a good young female lead, and Sleestak, should have been able to print money if it was made as a serious PG rated movie for kids instead of a raunchy comedy for adults.
Mr. Meyer's article is interesting but the claim that 'tv viewership is sharply declining' isn't true. Viewership has its ups and downs, but generally speaking, it has been rising for years.
What has been sharply declining it viewership of the old networks. I suspect this is because cable has really stepped up its game, offering great shows like Monk, The Wire, The Sopranos, Mad Men and Justified.
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Although broadcast ratings have been eroding for years, TV viewing overall has been steadily rising for decades. So even though there are fewer primetime hits on the major networks, people aren't using their TVs any less.
Read more: http://www.nypost.com/p/news/business/turn_that_t...
————————————————————————————————————–
Mr. Meyer's article is interesting but the claim that 'tv viewership is sharply declining' isn't true. Viewership has its ups and downs, but generally speaking, it has been rising for years.
What has been sharply declining it viewership of the old networks. I suspect this is because cable has really stepped up its game, offering great shows like Monk, The Wire, The Sopranos, Mad Men and Justified.
———————————————————————————————–
Although broadcast ratings have been eroding for years, TV viewing overall has been steadily rising for decades. So even though there are fewer primetime hits on the major networks, people aren't using their TVs any less.
Read more: http://www.nypost.com/p/news/business/turn_that_t...
————————————————————————————————————–
I think it's also worth asking, "Why does the entertainment industry attract left-leaning types? What about the industry is so attractive to folks of that persuasion?"
Example: I'm taking improv classes at the Upright Citizens Brigade Theater in NYC. Lots of fun, good group of people, etc. A lot of people who have attended UCB have gone on to write for SNL, Conan, 30 Rock, Funny or Die, etc. Not to mention many familiar faces who show up in TV shows and movies.
I went to lunch with a few of my fellow classmates and while the subject of politics didn't come up, I could pretty much guess which direction they leaned in from bits and pieces of conversation.
I realize I'm beating a dead horse by saying more people in the middle and the right should get involved with this stuff but it's like, this wasn't intentional. Nobody planned on having a bunch of improv students together, many of whom probably lean to the left. UCB didn't put out flyers, there's no quota system, etc. So on one hand, when Funny or Die releases some video singing the praises of Obama or when SNL does a Palin joke while ignoring Obama's latest faux pas, why should anyone expect anything different?
On the other hand, if no one from a conservative or libertarian persuasion is signing up for this stuff, it's not like there's anyone to blame. (I realize I'm oversimplifying this a lot.)
My husband and I often would go for an afternoon of movies….Back to back features. Not any more. My list of actors that I refuse to see grows longer by the day . They certainly have a right to say or think anything they want, and I have a right to spend my money any way I want. We got sick of the bad behavior and moronic thinking a long time ago. TV is also out for the most part. It looks like these people would eventually get a clue. At least this gives us more time for gardening, reading, cooking, talking, etc.
When George Clooney made Syriana he was trying to inflame Islamic hatred against the United States as our troops were about to start action there, he wanted to get more American kids killed.
He is not a stupid man and had to know the result of his movie about America "stealing" Arab oil would be the deaths of more American kids.
This deliberate act of treason to undermine our efforts and harm our troops was quite different than those who only expressed thier Anti-war positions vocally.
I haven't looked an Hollywood the same way since.
Why left-leaning types? I've found that most creative people continue to live as teenagers: they know it all and can't be bothered to find out that they really know so little. They never grow out of this snotty adolescence. Add to that that they're always trying to make a living in what amounts to a fantasy land.
Another problem for Hollywood – one or two bad movies and it's very easy to get out of the habit of going to the movies. I used to like going to the movies, but it's a rare occassion now. I rarely even thinking about movies when I'm looking to be entertained.
Why is Hollywood’s Approval Rating In the Toilet?
Hollywood is like that friend you had that you thought you were really close to. You did lots of things together and enjoyed each other's company. Then you find out it was really one-way street. In fact, Hollywood couldn't care less about you (except your money…maybe) and is ready to bad-mouth you in public when it's not stabbing you in the back. Friends like that, who needs?
Why is Hollywood’s Approval Rating In the Toilet? Because Hollywood itself is a toilet.
Ding Ding Ding, We have a winner here!!!
I am also in a niche area of the entertainment industry and have been for decades. All my actor friends, almost to a man/woman lean left. My musician friends are mostly left but significantly more are libertairian/conservative. It could be a left/brain right brain thing. Actors dwell in feelings and taking on roles. The actor "feels the pain" of oppressed groups, he identifies with the character and takes on their emotions. The actor's extraordinary abilities in these areas cloud his thinking…if he even IS thinking….
The movie elite's views = Obama and his administration. The big difference is — you can choose not to pay for Hollywood's crap.
Ding! Ding! Ding! As someone who is very active in multiple theatre groups, I believe that your statement, "… most creative people continue to live as teenagers: they know it all and can't be bothered to find out that they really know so little. They never grow out of this snotty adolescence." is dead-on!
Fortunately, there is no particular "blackballing" going on in our local theatre that I'm aware of, but the few of us who lean right DO know that we are drastically outnumbered and tend to "speak in whispers" to keep from causing contention. Sounds cowardly, but sometimes you just don't want to disrupt the on-stage chemistry.
Why don't they ever feel the pain of me having to listen to them?
I would add that original ideas are too few and far between. Studios are remaking movies and adding the gimmicks and CGI. I would guess that 95% of these remakes are inferior products compared to the originals.
Did Nightmare on Elm Street really need to be remade? Did Friday the 13th?
Forrest Gump was my last one.
They're hoping at long last that when there's nothing but left leaning opinion, then left leaning opinion will be high earning!
Kind of like Avatar. Everyone love to talk about how its the highest earning movie in history…forgetting that it actually had low attendance comparably to many films, but ticket prices had increased so much even these were enough to earn it money.
If all you have is one choice, you meant to make that 'choice'…right?
I mean…left?
I think another component of this is a feeling of betrayal.
I used to love Tom Hanks. He could do it all. He starred in movies that actually made me proud to be an American (Apollo 13, Saving Private Ryan).
I knew he was liberal but was grateful he stayed on the sidelines when it came to being vocal. Then he accuses American soldiers in the Pacific of being racists. It was as if one of my favorite people ran over my dog on purpose. It was a stab in back. Everything I thought I knew about this guy was apparently false.
Hollywood in general is guilty of this betrayal, and I don't know if I can ever forgive them.
Its the Radical views of our entertainers….they donot reflect American, period. I no longer watch any actor..director who is for a stronger communist…go green America, they should move to Cuba and make movies.
The point about viewers choosing not to watch things that offend their values and mores isn't necessarily shot down by your point though. Cable offers many different choices for viewing and there are a decent number of shows that do not politicize or attack values and culture in any overt and irritating way. People may be opting for those shows.
I don't watch a lot of television anymore partly because the politics have made it so boring and predictable. The other day I was at my in-laws and my father-in-law was trying to convince me to start watching some crime drama that he thought was marvelous. He put on two episodes from his DVR and the experience went something like this:
First episode, five minutes in it is hinted that the young teen female victim had a hidden secret. I point to the religious acquaintance we have met and say to my father-in-law "the victim was a lesbian and the religious person killed her". BINGO! No surprising twist at the end for me.
Second episode took a little bit longer as most of the early story was about investigating the Native American victim who had been rehabilitating his life. It took twenty minutes before we were introduced to the straight-talking-gun-toting-midwestern-accented minor character. I raised my eyebrow at my FIL, pointed at the seemingly minor character and said "he's the one". BINGO!
As long as it continues to be always the capitalist / CEO / republican / religious leader / white / heterosexual / southerner / seemingly-normal-but-actually-disfunctional-nuclear-family / Palin-supporter…etc it is not only insulting propaganda but also mind-numbingly predictable and boring. Count me out.
I absolutely agree. Actors are supposed to be artists. Actors, to be able to do their best work, need to remain a blank slate. They can't bring their own personalities into their roles, or impart too strongly to the public some aspect of their private thoughts without eroding their ability to connect with people through their roles.We, as audience, have to be willing to suspend disbelief.
So these people are better called out on the fact that they are betraying their art and themselves as artists for the indulgence of making a cheap political point rather than decrying their politics. It's quite a shame for someone who considers himself an "artist" to demean his art so easily.
I stopped going to movies a couple of years ago. I got sick of the hypocrisy and just plain idiocy of Hollywood. I can amuse myself doing better things then blowing money of brainwashing lunacy. I cancelled my HBO and now only have basic cable. I never watch the big three networks either.
Gee… Hollywood depicts men as idiots, Christians as psychos, and patriots as toothless, inbred rednecks… what's the problem, America?
I prefer musical entertainment.
$10 bucks to look at and contribute to some arrogant, self-absorbed jerk or a $10 cover to see a live band and dance the night away.
The choice is easy.
Furthermore, there's so few actors I find captivating, unlike the old days. And I can't stand the incessant foul language, violence, and sex scenes.
Without a doubt, Hollywood has a negative affect on culture. .
Hollywood, or the entertainment industry, used to be about keeping me entertained. At some point along the line, they lost the entertainment aspect and instead decided that their purpose was to preach their own values and beliefs through their medium. I think they thought we wouldn't notice, or that they would be so good that we would all "see the light" without realizing it. The problem is that we see through the act. Movies and TV shows cease to become entertaining and start to become vaguely hostile. No one who works all day wants to come home to a hostile evening of "entertainment."
Tom Hanks is like a box of old stale chocolates.
You never know when he's gonna give you the runs.
Unfortunately our celebrity and entertainment elite are fully insulated against anything as prosaic as "approval." Sadly, enough of us will cough up the $10.00 for the movie ticket, the fifty bucks for the concert seat or the five buck DVD rental fee to keep these people in Rolex watches, oceanfront property and high end (imported) automobiles. It's our own fault because we are as hooked on entertainment as any junkie is on smack. (For the benefit of the green crowd I will amend that last sentence to "….as hooked on entertainment as our over-consuming, enviromentally destructive nation is hooked on oil.")
Modern portable technology allows us to be encased in entertainment 24/7 if we want. Somebody has to be providing fodder for all those screens and ear buds.
Part1:
We should take the elites rantings and pontification on morals from a group where many have the values of a batch of sewer rats in heat on a drug induced drunken bender from celebrating the morals of such leaders of the past and present who advocate for the destruction of people via violent revolution to impose dictatorships on the very people they were elected to represent? All the while doubling down on a decadent lifestyle of obscene excesses fueled by the production of entertainment vilifying the very system that allows a few dollars per week or month for entertainment. Why would we support the continual defiling of people of morals for the benefit of such a disgusting cesspool who allow and pay honor to such vile creatures? Quite frankly the masses of so many no longer will allow the homage to be paid and we will withhold our ticket prices from those who continue to mock us.
Hollywood doesn't care what its approval rating is as long as the money keeps rolling in. Instead of complaining about Hollywood on a blog, just stop going to see their movies – any of their movies.
Part 2:
Carry on Hollywood, your demise just like MSM comes at your own hands. Your passing will not be mourned by the majority of our society. You have as a collection of lunatics crapped all over the buyers of your product but we have now said NO MORE ! And now we as a cohesive group can honestly say PISS ON YOU and YOUR WICKEDNESS there are many more interesting ways to amuse ourselves.
I look forward to your next article. For the life of me I can't figure out why the laws of free market economics haven't driven these scoundrels bankrupt already.
America.. F#CK YEAH!
Yeah well, high profile loudmouth morons will do that to the ratings of just about anything. See congress… and the president.
Hollywood makes 75% of the movies for 1/3 of the population that is liberal, and produces 25% for the population that is conservative. If I made a product that only 1/3 of the population wanted to watch I would start making movies that 2/3 of the population wanted to watch. Simple assuming these people are only concerned with profit and not ideology.
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Let me take the guess out of it for you. For $100 (admission, drinks, snacks, dinner afterward) I expect some return on investment.
I don't get it, I don't invest. Last movie we went to was the Lord of the Rings. Now that was entertainment.
Amazingly enough, I happen to be working on a film project right now (Independant of course) where the writers, producer, directors and most of the crew and talent are unapologetically conservative (myself included). It wasn't planned that way, it just happened. Of course we do have a few lefties in the bunch (cant escape that in film) but they are not the militant preachers one has come to expect.
Of course, this is an extreme low budget independant project so the "Left-boys-network" had been bypassed, and we are by far the excepetion and not the rule. However I am seeing more examples of this the furher from Hollywood a production is based. Steps are being taken in the right direction, we need to keep at it and understand that it will take time and perserverance.
And for the record, the film is a simple vampire action genre with no political messages and no pretentions. Just looking to entertain and hopefully earn a return when all is said and done.
Well lets tell the truth here..unpopular and un-PC as it may be. WHO runs Hollywood? Are they Presbyterians, Mormons, Baptists, Buddhists, Hindu….??? Guess not! Remember when Mel Gibson couldn't get any takers on his "Passion of Christ" movie so he went it alone and got CREAMED by the Hollywood elite? He made MILLIONS while they seethed at his audacity…..what religious group is consistently left-leaning, anti-gun, anti-patriot, always sneering at "flyover" americans? Which religious group votes over 80% democrat? Which religious group has sole ownership of the Federal Reserve membership??? Jews cannot BE who they are and then ESCAPE criticism for what they do….they have every right to do all the things mentioned above but NOT the right to point fingers at others and scream hysterically when fingers point back at them. Do you remember when Marlon Brando stated that Jews ran Hollywood and then was forced to publicly repent…by the JEWS who ran Hollywood who threatened to blacklist him…it would have been funny if it weren't so tragic….they CONTROL the MESSAGE and anyone who dissents is eviscerated publicly…and hacked to pieces if they happen to mention the Jewish CONNECTION! Now I can expect the ADL to list me and all the lefties to call me a racist…but they cannot disprove my statements…not one whit…and that is why they attack!
Fellow libertarian here, dittos.
There's nothing wrong with an anti-war movie because, let's face it, no matter how stupid the anti-war left is, no sane person wants war, least of all those who have to fight it. But that doesn't change the reality of the world we live in.
But anti-American? I'm supposed to be the bad guy? My money and I will go elsewhere. Free markets, baby, free markets!
When I see the the 'useful idiots' in hollyweird spout their ignorant rants, i remember who they are and NEVER go to see the movie or rent it if they are in it. I refuse to give my hard earned over taxed money to these morons or those that hire them.
As far a TV goes. More and more I see shows like Law and Order et al and many of the other highly rated shows spout complete Bovine excrement about America and the citizens who pay their salaries. They constantly denigrate our lives and our morals. When i watch a new TV show and see this type of attack, I stop watching. I'd rather spend my money on renting Bogey and John Wayne or Joel McCrae or any other classic.
When they start making movies that are taken from new novels and not making terrible remakes of the classics then and only then will I consider spending time and money at the theater!
Rolly
Agreed, team America is one of my favorite movies.
I read an interview with Parker & Stone, and they used puppets because they detest actors and wanted none of them near their project.
I will never forgive them for making that horrible remake of 'The Day the Earth Stood Still'.
Why left leaning types?
Because acting is easier than calculus, med school, or ditch digging.
They're not going to sparkle, are they? If they sparkle I will personally never speak to you again.
Thanks, you owe me a key board!
Of course as it was previously mentioned, that's because ticket prices have gone up, and the IMAX and/or 3-D versions are set at a 'premium' price.
The laws of economics say you could have tickets sold at $10,000 a pop and if enough people were foolish enough to buy them, it wouldn't matter if they would only fill a handful of theatres. As long as the producers made their bucks, we'll see an 'Avatar 23'.
"the old masters of the pre-revolutionary theatre were much better instructors than many of the young innovators who, while claiming that they were exposing the evils of old art, were in reality making use of pseudo-revolutionary phraseology to kill ideas and lead us to formalism, absurd stuntery and affectation."
Notes from a Soviet Actor by Nikolai Cherkasov
Honestly, my biggest problem with the entertainment industry nowadays isn't its left-wing politics. I'm sure there are some people in Hollywood who have actually thought deeply about these ideas, and while I heartily disagree with them, if they sincerely believe in their liberal policies, I can respect that. Paul Newman would be a good example. What I really hate is the pervasive shallowness, not only in the 90% of actors who mouth these leftist cliches without ever thinking about them, but in the quality of what passes for "entertainment." I'm thinking here not only of movies but of TV, with such cheapness as "The Girls Next Door," "Real Housewives of Blah-blah-blah," "Jersey Shore," etc. Is this trash what we've come to as a society? Do people (especially those my age) really watch this and think it's of any value? It really bothers me that shows like these might be how we're remembered fifty or a hundred years from now–the generation that found its inspiration in the toilet.
For me, the total exaggeration and hype in Hollywood movies ( everyone is gorgeous and young and rich, the men are always "powerful" and most of the "characters" are actually caricatures, and everything is so over the top, including the so-called "plots") has turned me off so much that I now watch European movies almost exclusively. At least there I can watch more realistic stories about people who at least look like they aren't made of plastic and could hold a conversation for longer than 2 minutes… and they can also make movies that aren't about international consipracies and/or crime.
If you want to see the difference between Euro and US movies, watch a remake– try watching the Norwegian version of "Insomnia" followed by the horrible American version. Granted, this is a few years old but you'll see the difference immediately.
Lots of reasons for Ho'wood to be in the tank —
Look at the male "stars": Hanks, Penn, Gyllanhaal, Damon. Where's the charisma? Where's the presence?
As far as the female stars, they're pretty much clones of some blonde Barbie pattern: I like Reese Witherspoon, but how can one tell her from Kate Hudson, Jennifer Aniston or any of the other bland blondes?
Look at the scripts. They're always written by the producer or the director with a few script doctoring writers thrown in. No continuity, little plot. Where are the films of best selling novels? Where is the movie of "Empire of Lies" or "No Prayers for the Assassin"? Novels generally are written by writers, not committees.
Then there's the propaganda. Leni did it better. Hollywood Propaganda films are best compared with those Stalin commissioned. And let's not go into "casting". Brad Pitt as Achilles! Until Big Hollywood, we couldn't even find a review we could trust. Add in being sucker punched, having our tradition and our country trashed
and you get why people don't go to the movies anymore.
And then there's the fact that our Marxist president has decimated the economy and movies cost more than many people can afford these days.
that a fourth of GI's believed their mission was to kill as many Japanese as possible.
I'm surprised its that low a percentage. I'm not criticizing GI's or anything like that, but the rules of war started changing after World War II, not before it.
Up until about 50 years or so ago, that was the goal, kill as many enemy as you can, and destroy as much as you can, to make them give up first.
It is precisely because of American exceptionalism that America has the power, the money, the brains and the compassion to turn the 10,000 year old rules of war on their head, and achieve victory by killing as few of the enemies as possible.
My sentiments exactly!
It should probably be noted that the entertainment industry isn't a necessary one. You could wipe Hollywood off of the face of the Earth and life would go on. Sure we'd probably be bored, but we wouldn't go without basic necessities because of it. And I bet most people working in Hollywood are very aware of that fact.
Chances are most actors end up actors because they lack the skills needed to work in the "real" world. I know this isn't true across the board, as Adam Baldwin and Gary Sinise ably demonstrate. I'm sure a lot of actors are decent people. But are they, by and large, intelligent, critical thinking individuals? I doubt it. They seem to be the crowd that crave approval and a spotlight. They seem more likely to be swayed by the opinions of those who are more powerful than them and the first to cave rather than stand up for anything that might be construed as dissent.
They are not a brave group of people. They pander to whomever they think will keep them working while contemptuously disregarding the audience. They live in a bubble and I think they'll do anything to preserve their illusions. I have no doubt that as the industry continues to hemorrhage money, you'll see them bitterly cling to their outdated values rather than adapt to the audience. Overall that's a losing game for them. I don't know how long it'll be before we seem some sanity return to the industry. Probably not until a whole new generation becomes entrenched.
I REALLY wanted to see "Land of the Lost" until I saw the previews. Will Farrell ruins just about any movie he's in. Of course, Ho'wood LOVES him so refuses to get the message that WE DON'T. Same with Penn. Him they understand. We don't like him, but he's like a dose of castor oil — he's "good for us", so they stick him in any film they can in a less than major role so if we went to see the movie, we have to put up with Penn's face in it. Used to work. Doesn't anymore. Now the dislike for Penn is great enough that no matter how good or promising the film is, if he's in it, spouse and I don't go.
I agree. Well said.
It's safe for the Elites to trash the heartlanders – what are the heartlanders going to do? Pray for them?
It's not so safe to trash the Arabs. You might get a Fatwah taken out against you. These are gutless wonders. It doesn't take guts to hate America. What really frosts me about them is when we then refuse to pay them to hate us, they scream CENSORSHIP!
"The role of the artist in culture traditionally is to attack, either subtly or overtly, mainstream mores, values and preconceptions."
Ummmmm…no.
What "mainstream mores, values and preconceptions" were attacked by Michaelangelo's "David"? By "Hamlet"? By any Ansel Adams photograph?
Art is meant to examine its subject and reveal its true nature. When it looks at man, true art shows the pain and struggle of his existence. It shows the beauty of courage and honesty, and the ugliness of cowardice and deceit. When it looks at nature, art is supposed to illuminate its beauty, whether it's the renewing vitality of Van Gogh's irises or the terrible ferocity of Blake's tiger.
Art–real art–transcends any political viewpoint. How is "The Old Man and the Sea" either liberal or conservative? It should speak to any human heart, regardless of politcal persuasion.
"The role of the artist in culture traditionally is to attack, either subtly or overtly, mainstream mores, values and preconceptions."
I disagree. For most of Western history, there were specific artistic niches for venting against the world – satire and comedy. It was never a "tradition" that ALL art was a form of criticism. In fact, most visual artists were long regarded as craftsmen who produced objects to entertain and flatter their patrons – not people whose job it was to "change the world." Literary artists offered a wide variety of commentary, criticism, reflection, boosterism, etc., just as they do today. Some wrote scurrilous satires, some wrong adoring hymns to the status quo. I think the Romantic movement is where the idea arose that the foremost duty of *each* artist – and art in general – is to criticize and/or subvert mainstream society and culture. The Romantics weren't just rebelling against earlier schools of Art. They were rebelling against the Enlightenment, the Industrial Revolution, and the contemporary world in general.
Exactly. I find myself thinking 'et tu Brute' whenever another "American hero' that Hollywood created comes out with anti-American rhetoric.
Don't forget Bill Cosby as well.
Haven't spent my money on crap films in 10 years. Even the cartoon films have to propagandize our children. When actors clean up, not disgrace themselves and start producing pro AMERICAN heroes, then I might go.
Which is not what you hear nowadays. Incidents like this occasionally make me stop, look around at the prestigious buildings on campus, and wonder, "Why am I here?" And then I remember that I'm a liberal arts student with no marketable skills, so I have to hang around for several more years of this polished drek. Oh well, this should be an effective antidote.
I think those are the reasons they are putting out crap alright. Do you think that a big part of the problem is that all writers and actors in Hollywood are unionized? I believe this stifles innovation. I mean when is the last time a teamster did anything innovative?
Well, I was being a little narrow in my statement. Of course you are right. I am talking about primarily what they are trying to do in Hollywood and confined to theater and comedy. Hollywood isn't producing works of art, it is almost incapable. Many movies are artistic in their own way, but the stories they are based upon weren't created in or by Hollywood (with some exceptions), and if they choose to make a film of "Old Man and the Sea" and remain true to the spirit of the story, well that's great, but the true source of the art was the book and the script.. The problem is, they are not doing this much, and when they do they are too often intent on putting their own political spin on it.
So your point about "art" in general is taken. Then again, no one is criticizing Hollywood for bringing us too much art of this kind. There is quite a lot that is good and brilliant, that we DO get from them, but then the actor has to spew his political opinions on stage at the award ceremony or in the magazine interview and taint his own and others artistic expression with base politics.
As a video store owner who specialized in the classic films from the Golden Age explained to me, during the time of the great studio system, films were crafted for the English speaking American audience who had a public school education that included a required reading list of top fiction; everyone was familiar with Hawthorne, Melville, Mark Twain, James Fenimore Cooper and the great 20th century authors. Many films were based on first rate short story fiction published in Colliers, Harpers & Saturday Evening Post.
With the demise of the studio system and the comic book literacy goal our public education, the entertainment industry supplies product pandering the lowest common denominators; sex, violence and death. When you thow in America-bashing, the whole world will go to the movies, so who cares what the rubes in fly-over country think!
I've stocked up on lots of oldies! The comic-book stuff is crap,even if it is in 3-D
I think he was referring to major network viewing – which is going down every year. I know. I work in the the TV biz and we have a smaller and smaller share every year.
Oh, your rant is my rant. I hate "reality tv." We've got a culture that rewards bad behavior– what the hell is up with that? The longer this crap is on the air the faster our society is going to decline. It's like Jerry Springer took over the television programming and we're all being held hostage. Make it go away!
I'm not "theater people" but I did hang on the periphery of that crowd for a few years. I found them difficult to put up with sometimes. Their politics weren't really evident – just their personalities. Narcissistic, exhibitionistic, high-maintenance, borderline personalities. If they had to choose between having real friends and having an "entourage," they'd choose the latter. You'd expect people who "become" other people on a regular basis to be emotionally wise and subtle. Yet emotionally, they are some of the most boorish, underdeveloped people I've ever met. And we're talking little theater folk here – not some Hollywood billionaires. Big fish in little ponds. I'm just as happy I'm not associated with them anymore. Trying to feed their huge, sucking, insecure egos was exhausting.
Well get used to it, Hollywood is never going to change, they all support Obama and give him Millions of dollars in donation's, get ready for more Homosexuality, lesbiean, blood guts gore vomit sex and more, they don't care about the 23% they insult, Hollywood hates morals and any kind of Christainity, one actor was heard to say that Conservetives are complete asshole's when Obama was running for president, My suggestion to you all is if you hate the new hollywood progressive movies, do what I am doing buying up all the old walt disney movies and old john wayne movies plus theirs alot of DVD Websites starting to offer the old pre 1960 movies for sale at low prices. Now they were good movies back then. It even looks like the James Bond movies have finally hit the end of the road, I am hearing that no studio wants to buy MGM or Columbia Pictures to produce anymore bond films!!!!!!!
Oh, Jerry Springer is the worst–next to Hugh Hefner, whom I personally loathe. What did this guy do to deserve his own talk show full of freaks? Then again, I did watch a bit of Maury Povich when I was younger, so maybe I don't have as much room to talk as I thought.
Okay, that makes me feel better. Sorry for the vehemence there, but I had to make sure. Stupid Twilight…
I was going to ask what gangbangers are doing in that list of otherwise supernatural figures, but I guess I'll wait for the movie to find out. (Same goes for the cute little baby.)
I couldn't agree more. It seems to me that the more crass, vulgar, and despicable you are, the more airtime you get. The shows you mention are of the lowest quality on every level. The "people" that star in them should be examples of how NOT to behave. They should be cautionary tales at best.
There is no more shame, there is no lowest common denominator anymore, there is only a race to see who can be the worst possible human being in front of a camera.
What, is he here?
The fact that they don't understand why their approval ratings are so low speaks volumes.
"Amazing Grace" did pretty well.
I've been hearing for years about the declining theater audiences. To speak for myself there was a a time when I used to go see movies with regularity. Now I never go, and a friend even gave me free passes over a year ago, nope haven't used them.
The reason, nothing interests me. I don't want to see a reboot of a favorite subject. I'm tired of movies telling me things are bad when they are not.
To make it worse the ticket prices keep going up, the product isn't even worth a stint on Mystery Science Theater 2000.
One night at the theaters is worth at least 2 months of Netflix, I get to choose the show, and put real butter on my popcorn.
They are wondering why audience numbers are down?
Right On Stan!! I only support people and companies who are pro American. I spread the word too. I do my research on who and what is pro American, Conservative. Srew those Hollyweirdo's. They could care less about the hard working American people.
Dances with Wolves was the last one I was dragged to. Does that mean I can also count Pocahontas and Avatar since they all have the same story?
I don't want to help these people by paying to see their movies. Hollywoods people didn't used to be as they are now. Better for them to have kept their mouths shut. Many were in WW11.
Perhaps some leader requires they be 'left' to get work. I stopped going to movies much when Sinatra hired the 'blacklisted' communist writers.
Did you mean run off at the mouth? He does that more and more now. If he had just kept him damn mouth shut, and just smiled and nodded during his interview, he would still rank up there with me in acting ability. Nothing like dissing your country to bring your popularity crashing down.
Rambo and Rambo II were on tv over the weekend. I reflected how much I liked those moves (to include Rocky, Missing in Action, etc etc) not so much because of the good acting, but the fact that they show who the real villains in the world are. You go through the whole movie hating the villain, knowing that he or she is going to get their due in the end. Now, if you compare that to current shows like Criminal Minds (which I don't mind so much), in the end the dirt bag is usually just caught, but God forbid he just get whacked. When that happens it's obvious that the creators of the show see this as a gross injustice. Me? In the end I would just like to see them blown away.
Great Article. I have to admit that I used to go to movies even if I knew that they leaned left politically. I went for simple entertainment and ignored all the leftist stuff. Anymore though it is TOO MUCH. I can't take it, they push it in their film , they push it on TV, they push it in their interviews. I just can't take it. Now I don't care if it leans only a little, I avoid it. If they push it in interviews or anywhere else I start boycotting that actor / actress. Thankfully Hollywood isn't putting anything out that is really good right now so boycotting is easy.
I would like to see a lot more independent stuff (even if it is low budget) and really think there is a huge market right now, everyone I know is flat tired of the hollywood agenda.
Their approval ratings are in the tank for one simple reason. They have been putting out mostly crap for years now.
Maybe if they make NEW movies, instead of trying to remake old ones…
Maybe if those movies had a positive, pro-American message…
Never mind. Ain't gonna happen.
It is affecting their bottom line. Studios are losing money all over the place. The only reason they can say they turn a profit is by raising the ticket prices and turning out one or two big movies each year. Take Avatar for example. Think of how much more money it would have made if it hadn't been some treehugging, leftist love letter, or how much less money it would have made had ticket prices remained the same as they were when TItanic came out, without the extra 3-D boost. Taking everything into account, Gone With The Wind is still the highest-grossing movie of all time. Avatar isn't even in the top three. Studio execs can complain about the internet all they want, but if they put out movies that people want to see, they'll go see them. They'll buy them on dvd later.
When Kevin Costner made "Field of Dreams" there was a line that strikes home….."if you build it, they will come". Hollywood refuses to learn, when they make pro-amercan value movies( Blind side) word spreads and the public takes it from there. When they continue to force negitive drivill on us we balk and the movie fails. We the people are excellent judges, with the price of movie tickets, we are not going to see somthing that tell us we are the bad guys of the world. James Cameron, Avatar….wasn't a slam against the military….you have got to be a fool if you can't see the fight was against the "human Military" The reason for the success was the 3D angle.
That's why they are in the 'branded entertainment' business rather than the movie-making business.
Most movies lose money. Franchise dollars go a long way with millions made in cross-promotions, etc.
I have better things to do with my money and time. Hollywood will never garner a penny from me – EVER.
It comes down to very simple answers:
The majority of the product being made is poorly written, badly acted and depends heavily on gimmicks or CGI.
A number of films/shows go out of the way to be heavy-handed in their anti-Americanism/anti-conservatism/anti-Christian viewpoint that the majority of people are insulted by this and will not see these films or tv shows.
Services such as On-Demand, TiVo, Netflix, etc, provide a wider selection and more convenience to the public, for a competitive (and some say better) price.
Oh, ok. So you were responding to "porchhounds" remarkably accurate comment.
It's called being shallow. If you go through life feeling instead of thinking it causes all kinds of problems… You think Nancy Pelosi is smart, you believe in man-made global warming, you think Obama is qualified to president, you think you can grow economies with government spending, you think America needs to change and be more like…. Greece!
You know the old joke; you can walk through an actor's mind and not get your feet wet.
Is it possible to take NATURAL BORN CITIZEN to an advanced stage? Come on folks there is a “code of silence” in play here in America with the participants being the democrats, republicans and the MSM with people like Breitbart, Beck, O’Reilly and so on being involved to prevent just a decent national discussion regarding Article 2 Section 1 and Obama never being qualified as a candidate to run for the Office of the President! We also need to start talking about who is behind this “code of silence” and why is this crime being perpetrated upon the American People. It’s time to take things to the next level please! Think about this. A religious group has standing in court when they express being offended by a christian religious symbol, but when American Citizens try to take to court their concern that there has been a genuine violation of A2S1 of the Constitution…the courts say they have no standing! I say that’s discrimination!
"Et tu, Nikki Finke?"
Seriously. I liked her schtick. When did she grow balls only to have them cut off? Nikki! Say you aren't just another freakin sell out loser. Please.
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