I would agree that Hollywood can be salvaged. There're still a lot of talented people there, and as long as they're not forced to spread the modern era's uniquely soulless brand of groupthink politics, they can still create wonderful things (Weapons, for example).
The media ecosystem on the other hand… I can barely look at the news right now. Every online activist and "journalist" who cheered on cancellations and deplatformings for the last several years is suddenly engaged in self-righteous preening about the freedom of speech, and it really is unbearable. When I'm foolish enough to check the news, I read articles or see clips of people who told us it was great that the New York Post was thrown off all of social media for publishing a factual Hunter Biden story now complaining that corporations like ABC shouldn't have the power to get rid of employees like Jimmy Kimmel. These people are completely shameless and hypocritical to a degree that makes you wonder how they're able to function in day-to-day life.
I think I'm going to detox this weekend with some good old American cinema. Maybe Glory, my favorite Denzel movie, or Amadeus. I pray that movies like these become the norm again.
I sure hope you’re right, but I think Hollywood is too far gone due to their workforce. I believe they don’t want “chuds” to enjoy their work, so they deliberately try to upset them.
I honestly don't know whether Hollywood can be saved or not. But I do think there is a segment of the audience that isn't coming back, and I don't think it divides neatly down political lines. That's part of it for sure, but I also think young people don't consume media the way people our age did. And I'm pretty sure it's that demo that Hollywood is constantly after. Hell, I don't even think that is exclusive to young people. I can't tell you how many times I will be watching something on tubi or some other streaming service with commercials, and as soon as an ad starts, I'm muting the tv and scrolling on YouTube. Half the time I forget I was watching a movie and have to rewind. My mother and mother-in-law scroll endlessly on their phones when they visit and we put on a movie to watch. You add to that this whole AI thing, and I just think Hollywood picked a very bad time to ignore what kind of entertainment people want.
A huge problem is most artists lean left because (a) they tend to be the sensitive types (b) they usually don't make any money and success is a real matter of luck (c) the arts are lousy careers for family life because of their long hours and uncertainty so they tend not to start families until relatively late or at all. So they might have trouble recruiting, I don't know.
That said there's a huge appetite for more right-leaning art, so I wouldn't be surprised if they make a few hits.
Nitpick: as of the 80s companies were supposed to serve shareholders, not customers. Of course now that those are mostly Vanguard and Fidelity index funds it may not make much of a difference. You might think if you piss off your customers enough they'd leave, but if you have a monopoly that's not necessarily the case. Given we're talking about entertainment, though, we have seen that with the shift to manga and anime.
If Larry Ellison does make his bid for Warner Bros Discovery he'd own Warner Bros, of course, but also HBO and DC Studios, as well as Turner Broadcasting, which has Cartoon Network and CNN. Would be surreal to think of CNN being a conservative network!
HBO's prestige audience leans left, so I'm not sure what they're going to do. WB of course owns all the Warner Bros characters (Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, etc.), and DC owns Batman, Superman, and a bunch of more obscure superheroes. It would be interesting to see if they try to take back some animation territory from Japan by appealing to young boys again--they have the properties.
I would agree that Hollywood can be salvaged. There're still a lot of talented people there, and as long as they're not forced to spread the modern era's uniquely soulless brand of groupthink politics, they can still create wonderful things (Weapons, for example).
The media ecosystem on the other hand… I can barely look at the news right now. Every online activist and "journalist" who cheered on cancellations and deplatformings for the last several years is suddenly engaged in self-righteous preening about the freedom of speech, and it really is unbearable. When I'm foolish enough to check the news, I read articles or see clips of people who told us it was great that the New York Post was thrown off all of social media for publishing a factual Hunter Biden story now complaining that corporations like ABC shouldn't have the power to get rid of employees like Jimmy Kimmel. These people are completely shameless and hypocritical to a degree that makes you wonder how they're able to function in day-to-day life.
I think I'm going to detox this weekend with some good old American cinema. Maybe Glory, my favorite Denzel movie, or Amadeus. I pray that movies like these become the norm again.
Yes. Those timeless movies will always be great and I think the Hollywood bosses will bring us more, in time
I sure hope you’re right, but I think Hollywood is too far gone due to their workforce. I believe they don’t want “chuds” to enjoy their work, so they deliberately try to upset them.
I honestly don't know whether Hollywood can be saved or not. But I do think there is a segment of the audience that isn't coming back, and I don't think it divides neatly down political lines. That's part of it for sure, but I also think young people don't consume media the way people our age did. And I'm pretty sure it's that demo that Hollywood is constantly after. Hell, I don't even think that is exclusive to young people. I can't tell you how many times I will be watching something on tubi or some other streaming service with commercials, and as soon as an ad starts, I'm muting the tv and scrolling on YouTube. Half the time I forget I was watching a movie and have to rewind. My mother and mother-in-law scroll endlessly on their phones when they visit and we put on a movie to watch. You add to that this whole AI thing, and I just think Hollywood picked a very bad time to ignore what kind of entertainment people want.
Great post. 🏆🏆🏆
“gay race communism” 😂😂😂🏆
The more I hear about and look into Fink the more I think he's a Fabian.
What a fascinating article!
A huge problem is most artists lean left because (a) they tend to be the sensitive types (b) they usually don't make any money and success is a real matter of luck (c) the arts are lousy careers for family life because of their long hours and uncertainty so they tend not to start families until relatively late or at all. So they might have trouble recruiting, I don't know.
That said there's a huge appetite for more right-leaning art, so I wouldn't be surprised if they make a few hits.
Nitpick: as of the 80s companies were supposed to serve shareholders, not customers. Of course now that those are mostly Vanguard and Fidelity index funds it may not make much of a difference. You might think if you piss off your customers enough they'd leave, but if you have a monopoly that's not necessarily the case. Given we're talking about entertainment, though, we have seen that with the shift to manga and anime.
If Larry Ellison does make his bid for Warner Bros Discovery he'd own Warner Bros, of course, but also HBO and DC Studios, as well as Turner Broadcasting, which has Cartoon Network and CNN. Would be surreal to think of CNN being a conservative network!
HBO's prestige audience leans left, so I'm not sure what they're going to do. WB of course owns all the Warner Bros characters (Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, etc.), and DC owns Batman, Superman, and a bunch of more obscure superheroes. It would be interesting to see if they try to take back some animation territory from Japan by appealing to young boys again--they have the properties.
Interesting post, thanks for the shout-out!
I think you're too generous to old Hollywood.