“Let me make the songs of a nation, and I care not who makes its laws.” Plato
Today's special is Mediterranean Gem salad. Gathered around the table, at The Fig and Olive is a monthly, informal lunch meeting of the chairmen and directors of powerful Hollywood associations, the Motion Pictures Association (MPA), the Directors Guild of America (DGA) and the Entertainment Software Association (ESA) and Producers Guild. They meet regularly to talk about the issues of their industry and how to improve things.
Wayne La Pierre's friend, David Mackenzie (See the previous post), was late to take a seat in the trendy restaurant in Los Angeles. Someone asked, "Did you get your gun toting friend off to sea?
"Yeah, what a mess," he said. "No one can defend for one moment the horrible shootings that are happening, but I honor the second amendment. The NRA's in a tough spot."
"No offense but I hope your boat sinks and your gun toting buddy goes the way of those slaughtered by gun violence," said one of his lunch companions.
"We had an interesting conversation this morning," said Mackenzie, "I think he's had an epiphany, but not in the way one might think. He saw that oped in the LA Times that says that most mass shooters experienced early childhood trauma and exposure to violence at a young age. He's getting an education on adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) and he's convinced that they contribute to the increasing violence in our culture.
It's more than gun violence and I think he's on to something. It's about how parents raise their kids. You should look at the ACE statistics. Frankly, I think all families, nuclear, single parent and custodial need help. We are in a culture war really, and the victims are the vulnerable part of our population - kids."
He went on while the waiters brought the salad. "We bend over backwards to be ever so inclusive on 'family' issues that affect only a very small fraction of our society, yet forty percent (40%) of children go to sleep in broken homes. No wonder there's so much disfunction and craziness out there."
Somewhere, in the back of the mind of one of these luncheon guests came the thought,
"I wonder if our industry can be part of the solution."
World War Culture (WWC)
Rallying Hollywood to a worthy, or unworthy cause has been done before.
When the United States went to war in December 1941, so did Hollywood. President Franklin D. Roosevelt, General Dwight D. Eisenhower, studio executives, filmmakers, actors, and directors knew that movies were essential for boosting the morale of troops overseas and Americans at home. The Roosevelt administration asked Hollywood to ask itself, "Will this picture help with the war?" Larry Margasak, 2016
Today, Hollywood is often dismissed as a conglomeration of corporate studios creating hardly anything but terrible sequels and remakes. However, our country once relied heavily on the films produed there. During World War II, Hollywood produced films that acted as propoganda, increasing military recruitment rates, assisted in military training, and boosted the morale of American soldiers and civilians alike, easily making cinema the most important form of popular media in the war effort. An Unknown Ally: Hollywood's Role in WWII.
Joel Pelsue, co-founder and CEO of Arts & Entertainment Ministries, explains, in this article, how the political left uses movies and television to promote their ideology, and challenges conservatives to consider how they can be a positive influence within the entertainment industry. He says, "This is going back 50, 60 years of people intently putting in little themes of communism, of socialism, of anti-entrepreneur, anti-small business people." These messages are strategically worked into the media by 90% of the writers who are from the same university with the same worldview that was pretty much socialist, communist mentality."
Hollywood can be inspired to act.
We are losing the battle for freedom and responsibility (strong social institutions) because our enemy, advocates for government control, have been infiltrating Hollywood for decades.
Highlighting Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) can serve as a rallying point to bring disparate groups together for a common conservative cause. With this issue, the entertainment industry could be infiltrated from within and enormous social pressure, not legislation, brought to bear from without, so that someday Hollywood asks itself, "Will this picture help win the war against Adverse Childhood Experiences."
America's chief export to the world is not just freedom, it's freedom and responsibility. The entertainment industry influences not just the United States, but the world. Pelsue goes on to say, "we’re exporting these TV shows around the world, to China, India and Third World countries, all the way across the world."
World War Culture can't be won without Hollywood.
