The Death Of Hollywood Is Mostly Its Own Fault

Ed says in reply:

Not me – I want to click on a Website showing which movies are playing in nearby cities and be overwhelmed with choices that I can’t wait to see on a big screen. But that hasn’t been the case since Covid shut down the moviegoing experience, and afterwards, Hollywood decided to roll over and DEI rather than churn out watchable content for mass audiences. Will that ever happen again?

Sadly, Ed has a point. There’s been nothing worth watching coming out of Hollywood for years, and as far as I’m concerned, that trend started long before COVID and lockdowns.

The first problem is Hollywood itself.

I made a week-long business-related visit out to the L.A. area in the early 90s, and during free time, visited Hollywood itself while there. Checked out all the usual stops. Given I spent the day blissfully lost and exploring by sheer chance, I was pleased to find most of the places I was looking for. I was disappointed to find most of them more deserted than I had even thought they would be. I recall standing on the fabled corner of Hollywood and Vine, checking out the Walk of Fame, the way too expensive shops, the Capitol Records building over by Yucca Street, the Whisky A-Go-Go, which I think I’ve mentioned before, and just the general vibe of the area.

Part of the vibe that I hadn’t expected was how comparatively deserted the place was. Granted, this was in May when I was there, so it was not exactly summer vacation season. Still, I felt rather like a song that B.J. Thomas sang some years ago, written by the Bachrach-David team. I’ll bet only a small number of you will recall it:

Where have the people gone
Seems like there's no one hangin' on
Look through the window
The houses are empty
Hey, everybody's out of town
Seems like I'm the only one around

All of the streets are bare
No traffic tie-ups anywhere
Don't have to wait for a seat at the movie
Hey, everybody's out of town
Seems like I'm the only one around

Oh, admittedly, once I got back to the 415, I found the legendary traffic again. But right down in Hollywood? Not so much.

I wandered around the area until well after dark, and I even wandered into the Brentwood/Westwood area to see how the other half lives. A beautiful area, but I must admit didn’t see any other tourists all day. Actually, since I was there until nearly midnight, I was amazed I didn’t manage to get accosted by the police. Come to think, I don't believe I ever saw any Los Angeles County cops at all.

I finally shook my head, gave up, and went back to my hotel, over between the runways at LAX. The overall impression was that the place wasn’t as important as it used to be, and left me wondering if it ever had been, as we’d always been led to believe. If it ever was, there was certainly some loss of momentum by that point in the ‘90s. Somehow, I doubt that’s much changed. Indeed, given the anti-business climate in California and the cost of living, I don’t doubt that’s causing a good deal of the draining off of the mystique of the place. It’s taken on the aura of an old amusement park, long since fallen on hard times, a place that was magical once, but is no more.

It used to be a kind of Mecca for moviegoers, the place where it all happens. The place everyone wants to experience. It has occurred to me since that by that point, there weren’t quite as many moviegoers anymore. Which in turn would explain my own Hollywood experience. I’m betting if it’s changed at all out there, it’s gotten worse.

Is that an indication of the weight, or rather the lack of it, that Hollywood has in our society today? I suspect that’s at least part of it.

In thinking about this, I suggest that the problems Hollywood faces are of its own making. I expect the virtue signaling we see coming out of the place anymore is another major part of the loss. I’ll be blessed if I’m going to spend $60 or more to take a date to a movie to be preached at all evening. So much of the content coming out of Hollywood anymore is little more than this. Perhaps you’ll recall the Obamas receiving an Oscar nomination for a documentary their company did called American Factory. (Aside: I seem to recall Matt doing a piece on that award, but it doesn’t seem to be online anymore.) It’s always been a huge turn-off for Joe and Jane Average and accounts for a large part of Hollywood’s downturn.

Hollywood’s habit of sending mixed messages in order to protect itself to the degree possible is another huge turn-off. As an example, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences was quick to give Harvey Weinstein the boot, and yet kept Roman Polanski as a member.

Thomas Sowell wrote at Townhall, back in 2006 (Again, apparently unavailable, but I found a copy here), of what has to be another turnoff:

It is not really news that Hollywood is still producing anti-business movies, but there is a certain irony in it nevertheless.

Although these movies tap a certain envy and resentment of corporate wealth, that large corporate wealth comes from far more modest individual amounts of money from about half the population of the United States, which owns stocks and bonds — either directly or because money paid into pension funds or other financial intermediaries are used to buy stocks and bonds.

Then, of course, we saw Steven Spielberg slamming Hollywood for not supporting John Kerry’s presidential bid. Way to pick a winner, Steve. Kerry was such an obvious disaster that I can’t imagine his little temper tantrum wasn’t a turn-off in Hollywood in general for a lot of people who might otherwise have put money in his pocket by way of the box office.

It’s not limited to that, of course. It’s nearly axiomatic that the hate Hollywood demonstrably has for mainstream Americans, particularly those more conservative and freedom-oriented than say, Fidel Castro, is also part of the problem they face today. Spielberg is just one example.

Am I going to pay however much they want for a movie today to be derided for my values? Ummmm, no. Somehow, I think not.

I mean, maybe it’s just me, but when I see the Hollywood elite telling me I should be giving up my car, taking the bus living in tiny houses and eating bugs, while they fly private jets are eating Wagyu beef steaks, it’s not exactly an incentive to spend a date night spending money and time supporting their latest project, which will doubtless allow them to push more of their nonsense on me.

Then, there’s the issue of technology, which is the sole thing in this discussion we can't blame Hollywood for. With that tech, we have the ability as Americans to get a near cinematic experience, less than 20 steps away from our own kitchen. HD-HDR/4k-16k screens, Dolby surround sound, and more, all without some clown’s phone conversation, some crying kid, and the smell of the guy behind you that hasn’t showered since the Carter presidency, interrupting your movie experience. That’s certainly another motivation to stay home, and that lessens Hollywood's societal weight.

The frequent enough strikes /work stoppages to satisfy one union or another are ample evidence all to themselves that Hollywood simply isn’t that important anymore. Think, every time there was a strike, do you recall anyone ever actually being worried about it?

And yes, there's more to this equation than just film. I note with interest Chris Queen speaking of disillusionment with music stars, a point which I've pretty much ignored in this piece, but that runs as a fair enough parallel and is perhaps even of greater import, since we listen to music more often than we go to the movies.  

So, yeah, Hollywood and watching movies as a pastime are just about over, and Hollywood itself carries most of the blame. It's sad, certainly, that the era has passed, sacrificed on the altar of political correctness. But in the end, it doesn't really affect us all that much.