The new fun-loving horror show was supposed to be Zombieland, the hilarious looking film that is sure to send Blackhawk scurrying for his gun safe and dispatch the rest of us to the cinema. After all, it’s hard to hate a zombie flick with a little Van Halen and Johnny Cash in the promotion.
But the real horror comedy comes from Christopher Hitchens. Hollywood and moral equivalence have always had a rather snug relationship, as evidenced by the recent Roman Polanski nonsense and illustrated by this Paul Shaffer (yes, that Paul Shaffer) quote Hitchens dug up regarding Phil Spector.
Once you begin to notice that special set of ethics known as Hollywood exceptionalism, you may find yourself seeing it everywhere. In a recent book titled We’ll Be Here for the Rest of Our Lives (and enticingly subtitled A Swingin’ Showbiz Saga), late-night music maestro Paul Shaffer feels that he perhaps ought to say something about Phil Spector’s conviction for the murder of another human being whose name most people can’t remember. So he does say something. “I regret all the tragedy that has surrounded Phil in recent years,” is what he chooses to say. Not really even a try, let alone a nice try.
I guess I could feel bad for all the tragedy surrounding the Bin Laden family, or O.J. or even Mike Nifong in recent years – but I won’t. Too bad no one feels bad for the victim, but Hitchens reminds us why: ” … another human being whose name most people can’t remember.” Which is why the Hollywood caste system honors rapists and murderers while blowing snot toward victims that have the temerity of being victims. Heck, that’s all they are famous for, if they are remembered at all.
Reminds me of the Mike Myers salute to Phil Hartman at the MTV Movie Awards a few years ago. Myers gave a nod to his former co-star, then made a point to mention Hartman’s wife as amongst the missed and the blessed. For those not remembering, Hartman’s wife gunned him down while he was in bed, then committed suicide. Maybe there is a time and place for wishing Mrs. Hartman the best, but I’d say it’s appropriate to wait a few moments to allow the body to cool. The audience went from exuberant to decidedly hushed in a moment. Apparently the gangs of 20-somethings MTV uses to fill out the stands weren’t quite up on how Hollywood relativism works.
Which makes the judgments Hollywood decrees the more hilarious. One recent director noted “Hollywood leading the world in compassion” as it relates to its support for Roman Polanski. No such benefits of doubt are given to victims and especially conservatives. Polanski is considered high-class and worthy of merit. Sarah Palin on the other hand, whose only crime committed at this point is being a Republican, is looked upon as Heath Ledger’s Joker.
For years, conservatives have lamented Hollywood – how do we take the beast down? Same could be said for the media, but the two are doing all the hard work for us – in spades.
We take the beast down by not buying anything they produce. Stop going to their movies, no matter what the subject…and I will repeat that…no matter what the subject, don’t give them money to fund the poison. Stop buying DVDs from any year after 1990 (or choose your year).
I really hate this kind of attitude. Please show me where ignoring and refusing to engage degenerates eventually causes the degenerates to get bored, go home, and not spread their degeneracy far and wide. Where, exactly, has that plan worked in the past?
We refuse to watch what’s on television … and get more “Reality” shows, Spring Break sex-fests, and dramas fantasizing over prosecuting political opponents over public policy differences (as seen on a recent Law & Order episode). And then we have the temerity to complain that popular entertainment doesn’t give us what we want.
We pull out of public education … and then wonder why students who can’t write, can’t add and don’t know American history, but who are chock full of self-esteem matriculate to our colleges and universities.
I got an idea, why don’t we all move into the Idaho backcountry (or pick the state that still has some wilderness) and pretend the rest of the world doesn’t exist. I’m sure everything will turn out just fine, Islamic terrorist will end, and America will once again know what limited, constitutional government is.
No reasonable person would suggest ignorance and a head-in-the-sand attitude when it comes to economics, politics or international affairs. But when it comes to what actually influences people on a day-to-day basis, namely American popular culture, so many want to play ostrich. One would think that after playing that game for some 50 odd years, folks would learn that it isn’t all that effective.
That “compassion” comment was courtesy Harvey Weinstein. Because, you know, Hollywood was first-responder for 9/11 and Katrina.
“For years, conservatives have lamented Hollywood – how do we take the beast down?”
You create alternatives that people actually want to see. You encourage young people who care about America and its foundational values to take up the arts & entertainment as a vocation. Give people someone other than the Weinstein’s, Moore’s, and Letterman’s to turn to and then you might actually start to make an impact.
Hollywood is a marketplace, meaning that if you don’t like the people or the products they produce, then encourage better people to produce a better products. The arts & entertainment are not endeavors amenable to political style jeremiads and activism. Conservatives have to stop looking at pop culture like it is something that one can “take down” in the next election cycle. One is no more likely to drive degenerates out of Hollywood with accounting after accounting of said degeneracy then one is likely to drive bastards sucking at the government tit out of Wall Street, by proclaiming the creative capacity of marketplace free of regulation.
If we don’t like what’s going on in Hollywood and New York, then writing about how bad things are is much less then 50% of the work that must to be done to correct the situation. The vast majority of the work is in supporting good people, creating alternatives, competing in the marketplace, and offering the public somewhere else to spend their time and hard earned money. Fox News did not get to where it is today by offering commentaries on how bad CNN, MSNBC and the rest of the alphabet news agencies are. They got to where they are today by offering a better product. What makes conservatives think that can’t work throughout the arts & entertainment industries?