It’s one of the most famous quotes ever about the realities of working in Hollywood. That quote: “If you want to send a message, try Western Union.”
Of course, the Tinseltown giant who said that was Frank “It’s a Wonderful Life” Capra, a hero of ordinary people in the heartland. So what would he know about working with the woke powers that be on the left coast, these days?
I bring this up because of a fascinating New York Times lament that ran the other day with this headline: “After #MeToo Reckoning, a Fear Hollywood Is Regressing.” Apparently, progressives in Hollywood are very, very upset with the American people — think heartland folks, again — about some nasty recent returns in ratings and at the box office. Some “message” flicks are bombing.
Here’s the thesis statement: “The takeaway, at least to some agents and studio executives: We tried — these ‘woke’ projects don’t work.”
What does religion have to do with this? Very little, according to the Times (but we will get to that).
It’s clear that, to the team that produced this Times sermon, Middle America simply does not share the concerns of woke artists about systematic racism, sexual abuse and the whole diversity project in general.
Now, you can forget that “Black Panther” juggernaut in multiplexes nationwide, including red zip codes. Stunning, well-crafted Black superhero tales don’t count. Americans just aren’t lining up to watch the morality tales that Hollywood wants them to embrace. But what’s interesting — at least to me — is the degree to which the movies and big-ticket streamed TV series at the heart of this debate often contain content about religious and moral issues that, yes, are LINKED to diversity issues.
In other words, is this a new news story or the latest chapter in an old story about Hollywood’s struggles to understand the more religious and culturally conservative half of the American marketplace?
Let’s start where the Times has chosen to start — with Hollywood’s efforts to clean up its act in the wake of the Harvey Weinstein scandal, etc. Here’s the thesis about the #MeToo aftermath:
The movement led to increased diversity and representation in the entertainment industry, but now there is worry that executives have turned their attention elsewhere.
What happened?
In recent months, however, Hollywood’s business culture has started to regress in subtle ways.
New problems — widespread cost-cutting as the box office continues to struggle, coming union contract negotiations that producers worry will result in a filming shutdown — have become a higher priority. Fearing blowback, media companies that were vocal about #MeToo and Black Lives Matter have been quieter on more recent political debates over cultural issues.
As you can see, the big issues are supposed to be racism and sexism. Again.
The Times team says that Hollywood players continue to say the right things on the record — “we remain staunchly committed,” yada, yada — but the tune changes when the interviews are done in private and off the record. Some of the big shots even “revert to sexist and racist language. Certainly, much of the fervor is gone.”
This article is based on interviews with more than two dozen industry leaders — including top studio executives, agents, activists, marketers and producers — who spoke on condition of anonymity to candidly discuss the current state of the entertainment business. They varied in age, race, ethnicity and gender.
“For three years, we hired nothing but women and people of color,” said a senior film executive, who like many leaders in the industry is a white male. He added that he did not think some of them were able to do the jobs they got.
In hushed conversations over lunch at Toscana Brentwood and cocktails at the San Vicente Bungalows, some powerful producers and agents have started to question the commercial viability of inclusion-minded films and shows.
OK, now it’s time to look at what is happening with some of these specific “inclusion-minded films and shows.” Ready?
They point to terrible ticket sales for films like “Bros,” the first gay rom-com from a major studio, and “Easter Sunday,” a comedy positioned as a watershed moment for Filipino representation. “Ms. Marvel,” a critically adored Disney+ series about a teenage Muslim superhero, was lightly viewed, according to Nielsen’s measurements.
Actually, “Easter Sunday” was more popular with audiences than with critics. Then we are dealing with a bright-blue piece of gay niche culture and a diversity superhero story that, yes, included crucial content about gender and religion. In other words, many potential viewers in Middle America may have had moral and-or religious questions about these works.
Let’s read on.
In August, Warner Bros. Discovery shelved “Batgirl,” a nearly finished movie starring a Latina actress, featuring a transgender actress in a supporting role, written by a woman, produced by women and directed by two Muslim men. Warner Bros. Discovery never publicly explained its decision, but signaled that it found “Batgirl” to be creatively lacking.
Yes, you know that many potential ticket buyers in red zip codes would have thought to themselves, “Oh great, yet another attempt to mix woke ingredients into a weak superhero effort.” Gender issues? Yes. And other things.
Let’s read on.
Examples include “Blonde,” the Netflix drama about Marilyn Monroe that has been derided by critics as exploitative and misogynistic. (It features an aborted fetus that talks.) Paramount Pictures is working on a live-action musical comedy about slave trade reparations; it comes from Trey Parker and Matt Stone, the politically incorrect creative forces behind “South Park” and “The Book of Mormon.”
There’s all kinds of things going on in there including that NC-17 rating for “Blonde,” a movie that — for political reasons — offended the left as much as the right. My point, again, is that these Hollywood offerings would, for many people, raise moral and religious questions.
So where is the Times content about these moral and religious issues? I totally understand that race and #MeToo issues have played a role in this Tinseltown crisis. But are they the only issues worth discussing if the emphasis is on potential appearance appeal?
Apparently so.
After all, it’s clear that the New York Times team is known for having its finger on the pulse of ordinary women and men in the American heartland. Right?
FIRST IMAGE: Social-media image featured with “Hollywood Goes Hollywoke — And Pays The Price” report at the website of the Association of Mature American Citizens.