Well, I’m of a somewhat different opinion.

Frank Rich is full of it, ok. Duh!

But regarding the decline of music and the movies, although I completely agree that popular music has become of no account, I think the movies are in a golden age. Just consider the proportion of movies since 1990 that are in the top 250 of all time, according to IMDB.com. Even granted that people are likely to rate more highly that which has come more recently, still it’s undeniable that many movies of very high quality and of wide variety are still being produced every year.

Yes, the formulaic approach looms as a danger, but when has it not? There are a number of very original recent movies in the list, such as Schindler’s List, City of God, and Memento.

I don’t agree with the politification of all things Hollywood (which is a direct consequence of the establishment of the New Religion in the ’60′s) but the movie industry is IMHO very much alive and well. It’s a great time to be alive.