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I have always believed in the right of free expression. People should be able to express an opinion without being punished for it. The exceptions to that rule are using an opinion to defame without cause, slander someone or attack their ethnicity. That goes far beyond the fair expression of an opinion. Could the current slump in movie ticket sales be the result of Hollywood's war against traditional values? Have liberal actors gone too far in their political expressions to remain marketable?
Many of this years films feature some of Hollywoods most liberal and outspoken actors. Most of the plots, it can be argued, have a decidedly liberal and even anti-conservative slant. It may be that liberals were encouraged with the financial success of Michael Moores film, Fahrenheit 9/11. However, that was during an election year when people were hungry to hear both sides of the issue. That hunger, it seems, has subsided.
Can be it that the liberals in Hollywood have become so philosophically disconnected from the average American that they no longer care about what their audiences really want to see? Almost every film released features characters that are divorced, separated or single with children. Traditional mothers, fathers and couples are portrayed as bored, worn out, soulless people who live meaningless lives. Todays villains are the CEOs of greedy corporations. Didnt anyone in Tinsel Town notice the popularity of The Apprentice?
I have been on this Earth for forty some years. During that time, many things have changed. The one thing that has not is that people go to the movies to escape. They dont want their superheroes trying to teach them a series of liberal social values. They do not want The Godfather trying to save the whales. They dont want every coming of age film to automatically include a gay or lesbian character. They want to be entertained. When films become dreary morality lessons and cease to entertain, people stop going to the movies.
With America going in a decidedly conservative direction, it does not seem unreasonable to ask for more films where people who dont leave, get a sex change operation or reveal they are gay get some credit. There are a lot of moms and dads out there working very hard to keep their family together. Many of them do not see their lives are empty, wasted or meaningless. Not all teenagers are joyriding, smoking pot or having relations with everything that moves. Some actually have some respect for themselves and know better.
There was a time when many Americans allowed Hollywood liberals to tell them how to think. They made the films and we were expected to simply show up at theaters because entertainment
choices were limited. Thats no longer the case. With a zillion cable channels, an ever-growing volume of independent conservative films and portable media that fits in our pocket, we can now select our own entertainment.
One would have thought that this years lackluster ratings for The Academy Awards television broadcast would have sent a strong message to liberal filmmakers. With the vast majority of nominations having gone to dreary films that extol the perceived benefits of a liberal utopia, millions of viewers tuned out. They just didnt watch. Now, it seems, the same thing is happening at the box office. People arent watching by the millions. Those who do cant stomach the morality lessons enough for a second viewing.
Apart from liberal themes, there are the liberal actors. Sean Penn recently traveled to Iran to observe and report on the elections there for a major American Newspaper. One wonders why? Perhaps he hoped to find another dictatorial utopia for America to leave alone? He and many of his liberal friends seemed to feel that Saddam Hussein had created some sort of socialist Muslim heaven on earth that America had no right to disturb.
Liberal actors, musicians and artists all joined together in the past couple of years for what they were sure would be a successful effort to prevent the War with Iraq and keep President Bush from serving a second term. Most were devastated when these efforts failed miserably. Perhaps they felt that what they were doing was akin to the Hollywood Canteen and War Bond drives of World War II fame? If thats the case, they were wrong.
Bad mouthing the President and trashing our troops is not the way to win the hearts and minds of most Americans. Holding tyrannical dictators like Castro and Saddam up as socialist miracle workers is crazy. Creating entertainments that trash values held dear by any faction of Americans is wrong, counter productive and irritating. People dont go to the movies to be irritated.
What will it all come to? King Kong gets a non-traditional marriage to Godzilla and adopts Mothra who saves the whales from Republican Fishermen? Liberals have every right to share their vision of what America should be. Its no crime and never should be for them to express their frustration at prejudice faced by those living in non-traditional situations. Its also just as fair for those who beg to differ with their views to avoid entertainment venues that extol liberal values.
About the Author
A native New Yorker now living in Arizona, Bill Knell is a forty-something guy with a wealth of knowledge and experience. He's written hundreds of articles offer advice on a wide variety of subjects.
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