Hyposcrisy of Hollywood Liberals

Written on Wednesday, December 25, 2013 by David L. Goetsch

It stands to reason that most Hollywood actors, directors, and producers would be liberals because Hollywood is all about fantasyland, that place that does not exist but where liberals are most comfortable.  There are a few notable exceptions, but for the most part Hollywood is synonymous with liberalism.  I do not begrudge Hollywood types their political views, but I do wish those views were better informed and less hypocritical.  What chaps me about Hollywood is that it is filled with people who are quick to criticize the very nation that made their stardom and financial success possible.

Think about it.  Actors are entertainers.  They make their living doing the same thing little children do: playing let’s pretend. They do not invent new technologies that improve the quality of life.  They do not conduct agricultural research that feeds starving children in faraway places.  They do not start companies that employ hundreds of people and give them a chance to be self-supporting.  Hollywood actors—no matter how good or bad—are just entertainers.  They inhabit the land of fantasy.  No matter how much we enjoy a given movie, in the final analysis it is nothing more than a brief vicarious diversion from reality.  Of course, those of us who have real jobs and real lives can use a little vicarious diversion every now and then, so movies can serve a positive purpose.  But people who watch movies and those who make them need to remember that movies are just that: movies.  They do not convey upon those who make them any special knowledge or insights into politics.
Hollywood gives actors fame, money, and an audience.  There is nothing wrong with any of this. But fame, money, and an audience are assets that should be used responsibly.  This is where I part company with the majority of Hollywood actors, directors, and producers.  Some of the most irresponsible, hypocritical public statements on socio-economic issues are made by Hollywood actors whose knowledge of the subject in question is thinner than a sheet of paper.  For example, actor Marin Sheen decries the wickedness of corporate America but acts in movies developed, produced, and paid for by corporate America.  Hollywood movie studios and production companies are corporations.  In fact, they are some of the most entrepreneurial corporations west of Wall Street.
Director George Lucas made not millions but billions from his movies, yet he is a critic of what he calls “capitalist democracy.”  He would prefer a socialist democracy.  What hypocrisy.  George Lucas made his billions from the most capitalistic, entrepreneurial business in America.  In fact, a substantial part of his fortune was earned from retailing movie related merchandise.  Actor Russell Brand favors a “socialist, egalitarian system based on the massive redistribution of wealth.”  Well Russell, if you are so interested in redistributing wealth get out your checkbook.  There are charities galore just waiting to hear from you.
Brand is typical of the hypocrites now so closely associated with Hollywood. They want to redistribute all of the wealth of the world; all of it that is except their own.  If you have grown weary of the hypocrisy emanating out of Hollywood, I can recommend a book that will make you feel better.  Hollywood Hypocrites was written by Jason Mattera.  Mattera makes his living confronting Hollywood hypocrites with their own hypocrisy.  Here is an example of his good work: Mattera confronted Harrison Ford who was spouting the usual Hollywood tripe about global warming with the fact that he owns seven airplanes; a fact that gives Harrison a carbon footprint bigger than Al Gore’s ego.  Congratulations to Jason Mattera.  It’s about time someone held Hollywood actors accountable for their hypocrisy.