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. (more…)






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