Dear Hollywood,
Movies have been a source of entertainment and escape for
many people since the first film on the big screen. For me, it is roughly 2
hours (or more) to imagine living in another place and time. To learn about
civilizations and peoples long since gone. You’re human and a citizen with the
same responsibility that I do. While I love to learn new things, I do not go to
the movies to be lectured. You’re allowed to have your beliefs and opinions.
However, sometimes your comments show how out of touch you are with the rest of
us. Your hypocrisy, bias and lack of open conservation with those who disagree
with you shows that you do not practice what you preach. Even an “insider” saw
this and called you out on it!
One of the biggest complaints is the hypocrisy. Many actors
preach, lecture and scold about various topics, the most current one being
climate change, and then do the exact thing they were just ranting against.
It’s the “Do as I say and not as I do” attitude. If you want change, then lead
by example. Jane Fonda’s Oscar choice to wear an old gown is a start. She wore
a gown that she also wore to Cannes in 2014 to combat climate change (Apatoff,
2020). Unfortunately, her efforts did not leave the public very impressed. Some
of the comments I found online were less than impressed and dripping with
sarcasm. One commenter wrote, “wearing the same dress 2 times in 6 years. What
a sacrifice and role model. Let’s give her an award!” Another commenter wrote,
“I swear the same clothes once a week, every week. Nobody in the media is
writing about my eco friendly habits.” While some commenters tried to defend
her actions and applauding her efforts, others weren’t having it. One response
was “WOW! What a pioneer!! Just imagine wearing clothes more than once!! What a
rebel!!” But to be fair and play devil’s advocate, maybe Ms. Fonda’s statement
was aimed at her fellow actors and Hollywood’s standards that you must wear
new, never-before-seen fashion. Maybe? Wishful thinking?
Hollywood has become notorious for extreme bias. Yelling
from the rooftops about tolerance, diversity and acceptance and yet someone one
has a differing viewpoint, you shut them down. Actor Kevin Sorbo has been
essentially blacklisted for being a Christian conservative and liberals proudly
boast about banning him from fan-based conferences (Stossel, 2019). Many actors
have come out to rail against the gender pay gap and how it is unfair to women.
In 2018, actor Benedict Cumberbatch made the commitment to refuse any project
where his female co-starts will be paid less them him (Deb, 2020). Did any
other male Hollywood actor say anything in agreement? Or made a similar
commitment? I hadn’t heard of anyone. Though, again, a few from the public were
not impressed and commented that the gesture is all talk and aren’t holding
their breath to see if he follows through. I think many view Hollywood as a lot
of talk and not enough walk. Let’s see a little more action and maybe we’ll
start listening.
Many people in the public applauded Ricky Gervais, despite
being a stanch liberal, roasted, blasted and called out many in Hollywood for
their hypocrisy and inflated ego. In his monologue at this year’s Golden
Globes, he said, “You’re in no position to lecture the public about anything.
You know nothing about the real world.” One commenter, I read online, stated,
“he wasted the Hollywood hypocrites and they deserved every word.” He even
called out his own hypocrisy while shamelessly promoting his Netflix’s show, Afterlife.
“His speech ended up being a phenomenal takedown of an overly political and
absurdly left-wing Hollywood that’s become obsessed with self-righteous
crusades” (Stepman, 2020). Your audiences don’t like being scolded and lectured
to like disobedient children. If you have a cause you want to pursue, that’s
fine but forcing people to accept it by shoving it in our faces and down our
throats is not the way to do it. I feel many in Hollywood have been a part of
the Ivory Tower for far too long that they forget what the real world feels
like.
I think Hollywood that your heart is the right place. To
educate people. To broaden their horizons about people and places we’ll never
meet or see. I applaud your desire to shine lights the issues you hold dear. However,
it is the “righteous statements of incoherent idealism” (Deb, 2020) that many
people are fed up with. It is the “Do as I say and not as I do” mentality that
get people’s goat. It doesn’t work with children and it won’t work with adults.
Everyone can fall prey to hypocrisy. I know I do, and I work hard to avoid it.
However, Hollywood, if you were to admit your faults and shortcomings and have
an honest dialogue with us instead of lecturing them, maybe we would be more
open to listening.
Sincerely,
A fan
References
