Story of Two Filmmakers: Empathy (Hollywood Style)

by Michael McGruther

The far left values you see hammered into your children’s heads in film and TV, the constant “stupid American” portrayal of people like you and your neighbors in popular entertainment, the overly-sexual teen shows you find on afternoon programming, the awful role models young stars and starlets make by having their debauchery seem invitingly glamorous, and the endless supply of celebrities willing to mock “flyover country” and proclaim them all mental —  all these cultural dividends, and more, can be tied back to one extremely powerful and focused force working within show business that seems absolutely unstoppable for now — empathy (Hollywood style.)

Let me explain. Empathy is the ability to understand and share the feelings of another. Most of us experience it every day through our basic interactions as we go about our business, and it causes us to act or react a certain way with other individuals. I see a pregnant woman who needs a seat on the subway. I get up and offer mine, first out of empathy, followed by kindness. Empathy informs the kindness on the most basic human level.

But that’s not how empathy works in modern day, leftist dominated Hollywood.

In Hollywood, empathy’s literally the life-blood those in powerful positions dole out to like-minded up and comers in order to keep the dream factories making entertainment that supports and promotes their world view. Here’s just one example of how it works. Imagine a young filmmaker makes some noise at the festivals with a short film he wrote and directed. He gets calls from agents, managers and producers; they all want to meet and see what else he’s working on, sign him, etc.

The young filmmaker is thrilled. This could be his big break. He goes to L.A. for the ”dog and pony show” (back to back meetings for a week), and feels as though he’s met every single person at every single company in town. In these meetings, which take place on famous studio lots or ultra-modern office bungalows, they serve coffee or water and the mood is decidedly “chill” with plenty of movie nostalgia around to excite the dreamers. Our young filmmaker pitches his next project and the execs start calling out names of stars they can “get,” making it all seem very easy, and this over-the-top reception makes the young filmmaker feel comfortable. It’s as if he’s suddenly in the company of new best friends…

Yet, little does the young filmmaker know that the meetings were no longer about the work once it was established he could do good work. Instead, the focus is on carefully uncovering what he thinks and believes about issues vital to liberals. And only the naive reveal themselves honestly, expecting to be treated fairly. So let’s pretend our young filmmaker is naive (honest) and was asked if he would consider directing a romantic comedy with abortion being the central part of the story. It’s something the young liberal producer has been developing for a while and feels the young filmmaker is just the right guy to pull it off. The title is “He’s Gotta Go!” Our young filmmaker flinches and declines the offer because he’s pro-life and could never do a good job with a project like that. Instead, he pitches some other ideas, but for some reason none of them seem to stick…

So when these same execs and agents meet a second young filmmaker (this one discovered at a Hollywood party, not a film festival) and find he’s on board with the town’s political point of view, the execs naturally feel more empathy towards this one. They look at this young, struggling person who has revenge in his heart against his small town childhood church, American institutions, parents, peers or any number of issues that will bind this person to forever attacking conservative values and thought  — and they see themselves.

So while the talented conservative is politely shunned, the young liberal filmmaker lands work on a big-budget film with a like-minded producer attached and together they begin to shape something that could easily edify a pro-American world view into just another dull expensive snoozer filled with liberal themes. (”Superman Returns” is the perfect example.)

Keep in mind that nearly everyone in town these young filmmakers met with know each other well. They party together and steer Hollywood further away from American audiences together. Agents and managers connect talent to junior producers and the assistants at companies who read screenplays and decide what to forward to their bosses — so even young personal assistants have the power to skillfully steer material and people into a pipeline that supports the liberal world view; while steering everything else into the trash can.

It must be truly intoxicating to shape pop culture to reflect your out of mainstream values while enjoying every human vice imaginable … and then using film to tell us we’re the problem.

Let’s never forget it was the conservative, pro-American Hollywood that gave us the finest actors, a majority of the classics, and a realistic portrayal of life in America (not to mention support for our troops without question in times of war).

Corrupting or casting aside a whole generation of conservative entertainers who might just connect with audiences in a way that threatens the liberals’ ability to work and hold powerful positions in town… That’s what the left/right turf war in Hollywood is really about.

No wonder it’s so ugly.


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Posted Aug 3rd 2009 at 7:38 am in Culture, Entertainment, Politics | 52 Comments