H'WOOD MORONS

[Fischkoepfin 1]

Unfortunately, such labels as Hollyweird stick. There's such a strong network of conservative talk shows that keep spewing out this kind of trash and their listeners gobble it up as the gospel truth. And as Charles noted earlier, he as many of them believe their stereotypical view of Hollywood has an agenda with the whole world as their stage. Karl Rove is a genius at getting people to feel their values are under attack. They're convinced there's a war going on in this country over values and they're the ones under attack (War on Christmas, War on marriage, war against patriotism, etc).

I just read an article on that. If I remember where it was, I'll post it. But your comment reminds me of something else which is becoming increasingly obvious in the wake of the Lieberman-defeat. Namely, the people most disconcerted about the whole thing are conservatives who otherwise consider the word Democrat a slur. It sometimes appears to me that there's a lot of fear among hard-core conservatives (or neo-cons if you will) that their time is coming to an end. Why else would they up their ranting and raving at moments which signal that the real "silent" majority is not too happy with the way things are? Or come up with a new "war on whatever" any time an election approaches?

[Ban Hammer 13,345]

Unfortunately, such labels as Hollyweird stick. There's such a strong network of conservative talk shows that keep spewing out this kind of trash and their listeners gobble it up as the gospel truth. And as Charles noted earlier, he as many of them believe their stereotypical view of Hollywood has an agenda with the whole world as their stage. Karl Rove is a genius at getting people to feel their values are under attack. They're convinced there's a war going on in this country over values and they're the ones under attack (War on Christmas, War on marriage, war against patriotism, etc).

charles stated that celebrities should stick to doing what they do to make money rather than being involved in politics. that is a nonpartisan statement.

[one...two...tree 2,762]

Unfortunately, such labels as Hollyweird stick. There's such a strong network of conservative talk shows that keep spewing out this kind of trash and their listeners gobble it up as the gospel truth. And as Charles noted earlier, he as many of them believe their stereotypical view of Hollywood has an agenda with the whole world as their stage. Karl Rove is a genius at getting people to feel their values are under attack. They're convinced there's a war going on in this country over values and they're the ones under attack (War on Christmas, War on marriage, war against patriotism, etc).

charles stated that celebrities should stick to doing what they do to make money rather than being involved in politics. that is a nonpartisan statement.

Point taken...however your outrage is hardly nonpartisan.

[Trumplestiltskin 5,791]

Unfortunately, such labels as Hollyweird stick. There's such a strong network of conservative talk shows that keep spewing out this kind of trash and their listeners gobble it up as the gospel truth. And as Charles noted earlier, he as many of them believe their stereotypical view of Hollywood has an agenda with the whole world as their stage. Karl Rove is a genius at getting people to feel their values are under attack. They're convinced there's a war going on in this country over values and they're the ones under attack (War on Christmas, War on marriage, war against patriotism, etc).

charles stated that celebrities should stick to doing what they do to make money rather than being involved in politics. that is a nonpartisan statement.

Point taken...however your outrage is hardly nonpartisan.

Neither is the original article

[Ban Hammer 13,345]

Unfortunately, such labels as Hollyweird stick. There's such a strong network of conservative talk shows that keep spewing out this kind of trash and their listeners gobble it up as the gospel truth. And as Charles noted earlier, he as many of them believe their stereotypical view of Hollywood has an agenda with the whole world as their stage. Karl Rove is a genius at getting people to feel their values are under attack. They're convinced there's a war going on in this country over values and they're the ones under attack (War on Christmas, War on marriage, war against patriotism, etc).

charles stated that celebrities should stick to doing what they do to make money rather than being involved in politics. that is a nonpartisan statement.

Point taken...however your outrage is hardly nonpartisan.

i request that you take more care in attributing statements to me in the future, steve. i'm outraged that a bunch of actors and musicians try to influence politics through their popularity. to me that's pimping one's beliefs on their fans.

Unfortunately, such labels as Hollyweird stick. There's such a strong network of conservative talk shows that keep spewing out this kind of trash and their listeners gobble it up as the gospel truth. And as Charles noted earlier, he as many of them believe their stereotypical view of Hollywood has an agenda with the whole world as their stage. Karl Rove is a genius at getting people to feel their values are under attack. They're convinced there's a war going on in this country over values and they're the ones under attack (War on Christmas, War on marriage, war against patriotism, etc).

charles stated that celebrities should stick to doing what they do to make money rather than being involved in politics. that is a nonpartisan statement.

Point taken...however your outrage is hardly nonpartisan.

Neither is the original article

it was not meant to be - it was meant to be controversial and something to discuss. as are some of your posts, erekose.

[w¡n9Nµ7 §£@¥€r 123]

Why is it assumed that just because some freak (most celebrities are freaks) tells Americans what their opinions are, that most Americans will fall in line?

[Trumplestiltskin 5,791]

i'm outraged that a bunch of actors and musicians try to influence politics through their popularity. to me that's pimping one's beliefs on their fans.

I guess the question is to what extent celebrities influence politics and the views of 'average Joe' (if he exists). The implication being that people cannot think for themselves. Is there any evidence of this?

Why is it assumed that just because some freak (most celebrities are freaks) tells Americans what their opinions are, that most Americans will fall in line?

You got there before me.

I doubt it - otherwise the Church of Scientology would probably have more followers than it currently does.

[one...two...tree 2,762]

i'm outraged that a bunch of actors and musicians try to influence politics through their popularity. to me that's pimping one's beliefs on their fans.

I guess the question is to what extent celebrities influence politics and the views of 'average Joe' (if he exists). The implication being that people cannot think for themselves. Is there any evidence of this?

Why is it assumed that just because some freak (most celebrities are freaks) tells Americans what their opinions are, that most Americans will fall in line?

You got there before me.

I doubt it - otherwise the Church of Scientology would probably have more followers than it currently does.

I think that films can have a profound effect on the populace and even define specific attitudes and ideas, however, I would never suggest censorship, nor should it remove the responsibility of adults to think for themselves.

The argument that Hollywood has a liberal bent or some unified agenda that it's trying to hoodwink the masses with is ridiculous. When Brokeback Mountain was released, Conservative pundits pounded their fists using that movie as an example of Hollywood shoving it's godless views down American's throats.

Edited August 14, 2006 by Steven_and_Jinky

[Trumplestiltskin 5,791]

i'm outraged that a bunch of actors and musicians try to influence politics through their popularity. to me that's pimping one's beliefs on their fans.

I guess the question is to what extent celebrities influence politics and the views of 'average Joe' (if he exists). The implication being that people cannot think for themselves. Is there any evidence of this?

Why is it assumed that just because some freak (most celebrities are freaks) tells Americans what their opinions are, that most Americans will fall in line?

You got there before me.

I doubt it - otherwise the Church of Scientology would probably have more followers than it currently does.

I think that films can have a profound effect on the populace and even define specific attitudes and ideas, however, I would never suggest censorship, nor should it remove the responsibility of adults to think for themselves.

The argument that Hollywood has a liberal bent or some unified agenda that it's trying to hoodwink the masses with is ridiculous. When Brokeback Mountain was released, Conservative pundits pounded their fists using that movie as an example of Hollywood shoving it's godless views down American's throats.

Hmmm... I think they do have a point, but that point often gets missed by focussing on the politics of Hollywood actors rather than the views of Hollywood screen-writers (who are as political as anyone else).

If you look at individual movies, Hollywood has a definite problem with regards to political views creeping into its output - of which The Island, Kingdom of Heaven and V For Vendetta are good (recent) examples.

They also have a profound problem when it comes to the depiction of historical events. Braveheart was completely historically inaccurate (down to the costumes and architecture), but that didn't stop it being a movie about "freedom" - which does not necessarily reflect the actual events.

Similarly U-571 took a historical event that was carried out by the British and rewrote the entire story to suggest that the victory was an American one (when the Americans got around to capturing an Enigma machine, it was old news).

[ual777 0]

Why would anyone take political advice from a bunch of college drop-outs, drug addicts, and media whores? I despise celebrities (for the most part).

[Trumplestiltskin 5,791]

Why would anyone take political advice from a bunch of college drop-outs, drug addicts, and media whores? I despise celebrities (for the most part).

I don't know - the ones I've met seemed quite pleasant.

[Fischkoepfin 1]

i'm outraged that a bunch of actors and musicians try to influence politics through their popularity. to me that's pimping one's beliefs on their fans.

I guess the question is to what extent celebrities influence politics and the views of 'average Joe' (if he exists). The implication being that people cannot think for themselves. Is there any evidence of this?

Why is it assumed that just because some freak (most celebrities are freaks) tells Americans what their opinions are, that most Americans will fall in line?

You got there before me.

I doubt it - otherwise the Church of Scientology would probably have more followers than it currently does.

I think that films can have a profound effect on the populace and even define specific attitudes and ideas, however, I would never suggest censorship, nor should it remove the responsibility of adults to think for themselves.

The argument that Hollywood has a liberal bent or some unified agenda that it's trying to hoodwink the masses with is ridiculous. When Brokeback Mountain was released, Conservative pundits pounded their fists using that movie as an example of Hollywood shoving it's godless views down American's throats.

Everything published or release has some sort of political bend, regardless who publishes it. What is particularly interesting about Hollywood is that while most of the movies reaffirm social values held by a wide range of Americans and are almost overwhelmingly not "liberal" in their depiction of society, the actors at times have opinions that can be characterized as liberal or even left (in very rare cases).

What that shows is of course that Hollywood film producers are much more concerned about providing presumably non-offensive entertainment - which has been guaranteed by written and unwritten movie codes since the early 1930s - because they want to make money. In contrast, the actors - particularly once they're famous - voice their opinions because they view their public persona as a way to reach out to people. That has always happened and has nothing to do with Hollywood politics because the movie companies would probably prefer if their stars kept their opinions to themselves.

Because of the visibility of film stars it is very easy to condemn an entire industry for being liberal or America-hating, but besides the fact that that is a gross over-generalization typical for a certain type of political extremism, it makes me wonder whether those, who point their finger at Hollywood, do not go to or watch movies? If the degree of indoctrination from Hollywood (or wherever else they make mainstream movies) is that big then how do you prevent getting caught up in it and how do you know you're not a victim yourself? And finally, since many Hollywood movies reach the majority of Americans eventually, how can it be that the majority of Americans are supposedly conservative (which I doubt)?

[Trompe le Monde 1,107]

I really don't see the difference between a Hollywood actor voicing their opinions and using their celebrity to some political end and the numerous talk radio types (Limbaugh, Hannity, Laura Ingraham) who do the same thing -- both groups are nothing more than entertainers though I would argue that the former take themselves a lot less seriously than the latter.

[Trumplestiltskin 5,791]

I really don't see the difference between a Hollywood actor voicing their opinions and using their celebrity to some political end and the numerous talk radio types (Limbaugh, Hannity, Laura Ingraham) who do the same thing -- both groups are nothing more than entertainers though I would argue that the former take themselves a lot less seriously than the latter.

Also true.

[*Robert* 2]

It seems like some people would like you to believe that most Americans are mindless sheep that don't have the ability to think for themselves, or make up their own minds.

Conversely, are popular or famous people not allowed to exress their views? Do they have to give up their freedom of speech as a result of their fame? They certainly have to give up their privacy... no reason why a gag order can't be placed on them as well, so they don't unfairly influence the week minded.