Aside from the self-satisfaction from saving the world with other people’s money, the primary reason to lean left is their lock on the beautiful people of the world. The entertainment culture is so profoundly left wing that the shock of finding out that Rush Limbaugh was among it’s top earners required an effort to outlaw him.
Why should Hollywood be so extremely left wing, with Martin Sheen and Rob Reiner safely in the middle of their pack? After all, there are nearly as many Republicans as Democrats in the US. In cable news, an upstart called Fox took the top spot very quickly by appealing to this under served demographic. Why doesn’t the rest of the entertainment industry follow suit? What is the appeal of socialism to Hollywood?
To answer the first question, Hollywood does not appeal to the right because it does not know how. On the rare occasion Hollywood makes a movie that appeals to traditional views, it cannot grasp why and repeat the feat. Sometimes Hollywood feels compelled to kill the career of traditional messengers. The Passion of The Christ took in about $370MM, but it was all over when Mel Gibson made some drunken and unsavory comments about Jews. He is now poison. By comparison, all of Roman Polanski’s movies put together don’t add up to $370MM, yet he could only receive his Oscar by video link because he is a fugitive convicted of drugging and raping a 13 year old girl. Hollywood is replete with low forms of life, yet Mel is the one who was expelled from the club.
Hollywood simply can’t stand to be around Republicans long enough to understand them and make movies they might like. Bill Mahr, a particularly bitter leftist, is stumping his latest movie who’s sole theme is that atheism is the only acceptable belief system. Since that goes against the general view of 95% of the US, one might wonder why this idea got a green light. If 95% of the US believes in God in one way or another, why not a movie about the good things religion and faith have done? The sad answer is that Hollywood has so ostracized the traditional that nobody in that industry is capable of making such a movie. If Hollywood can make lawyers, an extremely boring profession, sexy, with similar effort they could make Christians look heroic.
Hollywood fails to profit from traditional issues because it is hyper-insulated from the views of most Americans. OK, but why are extreme lefties so attracted to Hollywood? What is the underlying cause? A few theories for your consideration:
The world of left wing politics relies on the same make-believe as does Hollywood. Hollywood creates a Utopian city from plywood and paint. The city exists because the camera does not look behind the set, and the lights hit everything just right. This same view applies to socialism. Everyone will have everything if the government just wishes it so. Food, housing, health care, education, all fall like manna from the heavens when the government dictates that everything will be free. Hollywood creates an illusion without harsh reality, so leftists might be naturally attracted to this world to avoid facing the disastrous record of their politics around the real world.
Hollywood appears to have no financial controls. As Art Buchwald learned bitterly, Hollywood movies apparently never make money. How could any business survive when the financial controls are so weak that nobody knows what makes money or how? The other institution where waste and fraud is customary is, of course government. A typical government program like Medicare or Food Stamps wastes between 30 and 50% of its budget on fraud and misallocation of resources. Only someone comfortable with such fraud and waste would choose Hollywood.
The left appeals to group-think, as does Hollywood. The left has its core, consisting of unions and lawyers, but its secondary constituents come and go with fashion. For a while, feminists wanted to stamp out porn, but now they embrace it as liberating. Environmentalists are celebrities now, but their favor within the Democratic Party comes and goes. By contrast, when Republicans turned their backs on their core values of smaller government and lower taxes, they were punished like never before. The Republican base has little tolerance for fads. Hollywood’s foundation is fads. Scientology, Kabbalah, macro-biotic foods, whatever. People prone to believe anything dumped in the feed bag of pop culture should like Hollywood just fine.
Another reason for the left’s affinity for Hollywood is guilt. Hollywood is, in reality, a bastion of extreme and cruel capitalism. As it should be, unappealing actors earn essentially nothing, while those with whatever skills are required make $20MM or more per picture. The disparity between the successful and the ordinary in this industry hasn’t been seen elsewhere since John Rockefeller. Just as the Kennedys feel guilt from their gangster related fortune, Hollywood knows their mansions and Bentleys are a bit over the top. The best way to exorcise such guilt is through left wing politics. Milton Friedman would say “good for you” to those who prosper. The right generally embraces success, but the guilt remains when Jim Carey makes $20MM for a few weeks of fart noises and imbecile remarks. The left is a church that offers absolution for these sins.
Finally, nepotism. People tend to vote like their parents, and Hollywood’s family tree is narrow. Considering the extreme competition for work and money in the industry, it is no surprise that favors are traded back and forth among a few family names. Circular logic, true, but Hollywood is left wing today because it was left wing yesterday.
So, the next time you wonder why Hollywood makes two versions of the same movie at the same time each Summer, remain calm. The next time you wonder why there are so many Rocky and Die Hard sequels, relax. The next time you consider the movies only to find there is nothing remotely original or creative on the menu, just realize that Hollywood is only hurting itself by being a narrow minded, insular, nepotistic cesspool of waste and corruption. Still, nobody can doubt the best parties will be in Denver, not Minneapolis, this year.