BRYCE ON POLITICS
– Was Truman Capote correct?
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The liberals in Hollywood are panicking over the anti-abortion bills as put forth by states such as Missouri, Alabama, Louisiana, and Georgia, which will inevitably lead to a challenge of Roe vs. Wade. So much so, they are resorting to blackmail politics, telling these states, particularly Georgia, they will not film in their states if the law is implemented starting in the new year. Both Netflix and Disney have indicated they will pull out if the bill is implemented. Disney is no longer the simple film studio and amusement park we grew up with. Now it is a conglomerate consisting of Star Wars, Marvel, and Pixar movies, and amusement parks, hotels and ocean cruises around the world.
Disney CEO Bob Iger said, “I think many people who work for us will not want to work there, and we will have to heed their wishes in that regard. Right now we are watching it very carefully.” He want on to say, “I don’t see how it’s practical for us to continue to shoot there.”
I wonder what Walt Disney would have to say about this if he were alive today, probably nothing as he was “old-school” in Hollywood, and knew such discussion would lead to lost revenues at the box office and viewership on television. Like many other studios, Disney thrived on “wholesome” entertainment and avoided controversy like the plague. Not so anymore as the language has become rougher and the situations more risque. We saw this at entertainment giant MGM who also pushed a “wholesome” agenda. Motion picture stars used to understand this, which explains why most of them kept their politics to themselves throughout the first half of the 20th century. Stars like Henry Fonda and John Wayne were political opposites, yet they found a way to work together on film. They knew that politics in entertainment was just bad business for everyone. Period.
This all changed in the second half of the 20th century, particularly in the 1960’s as the country dealt with the Viet Nam war and civil rights. Entertainers came out of the closet in terms of expressing their political beliefs, a practice which has accelerated in this century. Understand this, I don’t have a problem with someone holding an opposing opinion, but when it turns to extortion, it is time to take the kid gloves off. This was all caused by the growing militancy of the far-left among the Democrats. As I mentioned recently, the party is rapidly turning to the left and alienating moderates.
Hollywood’s liberal agenda has turned a lot of people off as evidenced of declining viewership at award ceremonies. People are simply tired of the political rhetoric at these events. If the Hollywood establishment is prepared to pull the plug on doing business in states such as Georgia, they should also be prepared to have the public back away from their partisan entertainment. After all, what is good for the goose, should be good for the gander, right? As for me, the entertainment industry, particularly Hollywood, lost me a long time ago when it became apparent they were only interested in comic-book stories implemented by computers. God forbid, someone in Hollywood should learn to write an intelligent script with an inventive plot and interesting dialog. Their recent actions in the southern states only confirms my suspicions that they do not maintain a fair and balanced approach for the general public.
It has also confirmed to me the liberal entertainers are not the smartest bulbs in the pack. Actress Alyssa Milano recently called Jon Voight a “has been” actor. As we all know, Voight has an impressively long list of movie and television accomplishments to his credit, including an Academy Award for Best Actor and four Golden Glob Awards. Milano has done well with such organizations as the Young Artist Awards, Kids’ Choice Awards, and Teen Choice Awards, which are hardly the caliber of what Voight has earned. No, Ms. Milano’s criticism of Mr. Voight was triggered by his conservative leanings which are polar opposite of hers. Interestingly, when he was much younger, Mr. Voight also followed a liberal agenda, but over the years switched over to conservatism. I wonder if this same fate awaits Ms. Milano.
Years ago in an interview, author Truman Capote made the observation that actors and entertainers weren’t especially intelligent. He recounted his relationship with actors Sir Lawrence Olivier and Sir John Gielgud, two excellent and well recognized actors of his generation. According to Capote, both were nice guys, but he hardly considered them intellectual heavyweights. Both could memorize a script, but lacked problem-solving skills. I suspect a lot of entertainers today fall into this category as well. This includes actor Robert De Niro who has tried to provoke President Trump with foul mouthed oratory. There is no doubt Mr. De Niro is a fine actor, but an intellectual? Hardly, as he dropped out of high school at age 16 to pursue acting. As Capote suggests, actors can memorize lines and act, but they are not necessarily the brightest.
The reason why the Hollywood types are so boisterous, they are well aware their personalities can sell products, such as in television commercials for automobiles, trucks, beer, wine, soft drinks, travel, snack foods, pet foods, you name it. Politics is just an extension of all this. They may be able to handle a well scripted TV commercial, but don’t expect any eloquent discourse defending their position.
Plain and simple, Capote was correct.
Keep the Faith!
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Tim Bryce is a writer and the Managing Director of M&JB Investment Company (M&JB) of Palm Harbor, Florida and has over 40 years of experience in the management consulting field. He can be reached at [email protected]
For Tim’s columns, see: timbryce.com
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