Pajamas Media

80 Comments

1. Marc Malone:

I imagine funding is an issue. Aren’t Christian movies generally funded directly by, say, one person? Pwehaps they need to do IPO’s for conservative movies? Oh, wait… They’d have to do it in London, because of Sarbanes-Oxley. I know… hedge funds or investment groups. Mmm, maybe not these days. Christian movies are so un-PC. I got nuthin’.

Jan 24, 2009 - 12:33 am 2. Delia:

As ‘unfathomable, unfashionable and too white leaning’, I’d LOVE to have a Mel Gibson’s rebel yell from, “Braveheart”.

“You can take away my cellphone privacy, you can take away my GPS, you can even take away my Teddy Ruxpin…but you WILL NEVER TAKE AWAY MY FREEDOM!”

Thanks. I need that. *phew*

Jan 24, 2009 - 2:56 am 3. Mike2:

“Instead of retreating from what one of my blog readers calls a “suburban Gomorrah,” Christians should heed God’s command to be salt and light, even in Hollywood. Is it any less a mission field than Africa?”

So true! Good article.
—————————————-
Who is John Galt?

Jan 24, 2009 - 4:23 am 4. e cross:

Maybe the liberal hollywooders should also shut up and entertain!! You think?

Jan 24, 2009 - 5:07 am 5. Eric:

Hell, I’ll be happy if Hollywood occasionally portrayed a conservative character as a good guy.

Jan 24, 2009 - 6:34 am 6. Byron Dickens:

e cross stole my thunder.

I came to see the show, not a poliical rally.

Jan 24, 2009 - 6:41 am 7. Saltherring:

I haven’t visited a movie theatre in decades, nor purchased a “modern”-era DVD. I refuse to patronize Hollywood’s decadence. I may have to go see Grand Torino, however, as it was nearly invisible to the Academy….and therefore probably a decent flick.

Jan 24, 2009 - 7:11 am 8. locomotivebreath1901:

Hollywood leans left, and so does much of the rest of the world. That’s the rub. Foreign money finances a lot of Hollywood productions, and it paid off, too.

Hollywood grossed a record overseas box office in 2008.

Lefties’ sentiments aren’t full of quaint lil provincial notions of ‘God Bless America’. Lefties want the world to love ‘em, not Americans. That’s why these primping hollyweird loudmouths went overseas to spout off against ‘the chimp’.

It’s also why they flocked produce & star in BOX OFFICE BOMBS like Rendition, Redacted, Lions For Lambs, In The Valley of Elah, War, Inc., Taxi To The Darkside, Stop Loss, etc.

Oh, and let’s not forget Bill Maher’s lil piece of religious bigot agitprop. Can Bill spell ‘hate speech?’

The people of the U.S. of A. don’t mind folks speaking out; it’s simply that some folks – do to opportunity & fame – have a greater ability to do so.

But the people of the U.S. of A. do mind these folks who act like ungrateful punks and show no respect for the blessings imparted by that opportunity & fame.

Conservatives are antithetical that hollweird ungrateful punk mentality. And it won’t be tolerated by those who claim to be so tolerant.

Jan 24, 2009 - 7:14 am 9. Floradora:

e cross:

They all should just shut up and entertain. But the far left liberals DON’T…to the point where it has infected the pop culture and poisoned the minds of those Americans who can’t think for themselves. Since liberal Hollywood feels the need to constantly inject its “enlightened” political viewpoints (read: anything anti-conservative, anti-Bush, anti-American), there needs to be some balance in the form of other respected actors who are not afraid to step up to the plate and say, hey, that’s not what I think & here’s why.

Jan 24, 2009 - 7:25 am 10. TSF:

Eric;

Don’t hold your breathe. Since the 1980’s and the rise of modern conservatism, conservative values have been increasingly under assail by Hollywood and its writers. Their fever pitch reached its peak several years ago when you saw a dearth of movies bashing soldiers, ther “war on terror,” ect. This,naturally, was followed by the requisite Hollywood and media gushing over these films by critiques and awards. One of the only positives of the democrats winning it all in nov is that liberal pundits will have to look elsewhere to place the blame when the lib’s policies don’t deliver as hoped. On the downside, I suspect we’ll see a rash of pro-”the great one” movies and documentaries.

TSF
Ex Scientia Lux
(From Knowledge Light)
http://www.thescholarsforum.org

Jan 24, 2009 - 7:43 am 11. fear Obama:

Is it time for Tinseltown to return to its patriotic roots?

best laugh Ive had today.

Looking for Hollywood terrorist movies- love stories.

YOUR SLEEPER CELL HAS E MAIL.

PASSION OF THE SUICIDE BOMBERS.

starring Rosanne Barr and Danny Glover

Jan 24, 2009 - 7:48 am 12. cfbleachers:

Hollywood doesn’t tilt left…it tilts off the charts toward anarchists, counterculturalist revolutionaries, ….toward rebellion for rebellion’s sake.

Hollywood doesn’t just present a point of view that is “liberal”, it presents the point of view of the enemy, the antagonist as hero. It idolizes and romanticizes Fidel. Or Bonnie and Clyde. Or virtually any anti-establishment cretin, as long as they represent the antithesis of traditional Americana.

Capitalism is constantly under attack, Wall Street in particular, CEO’s in general and they are painted as Gordon Gekko (”greed is good”) …almost always found treating women as sexual toys, stealing and embezzling, plotting against some charity and the downtrodden, buying influence from Republicans in their pocket, and invariably with one scene of them chomping on a piece of meat with an open mouth…because, I suppose…vegetarianism is “nicer”…the counterculturalist doe-eyed “lamb of goodness” at the table is always eating a salad. How sweet.

In the childlike mentality of Hollywood, the arrested adolescence, the cake and candy for breakfast hedonism, the frat party atmosphere of sex, drugs and rock and roll…all the responsibility of everyday life is an interference. It represents the in loco parenti of insistence on taking a shower, eating properly, getting some sleep and having some manners. All those things that keep you from danger, from having to go in and out of rehab. From flitting from bed to bed and divorcing your eighth, ninth or tenth spouse. From raising kids like chattel…and adopting them as badges of your Ghandi-like goodness for the world to see. Hollywood has the collective worldview of a teenager stuck in drama club Groundhog Day.

The “jocks” are all bullies. (in my high school, the jocks were the ones who got in front of the bullies and stopped them from picking on weaker kids…the bullies were the brooding, uninvolved “rage against the machine” types). The drama club arrested adolescents always drift toward Bohemian lifestyles. Religion is an experiment in finding Nirvana…a Zen-like quest for the “INNER GOD” and a defiance against tradition. This is why Eastern religions are admired, exalted, or left alone. And it is why Christianity is attacked.

Christianity is seen as “establishment” religion. And the more faith-based you are…the more traditional your values…the more you are the enemy.

The reason that Communism is a hot ticket (and always has been, which is why Roger Simon’s “Blacklisting Myself” ingeniously works on multiple levels) in Hollywood, and has a long, strong tie to the players on the stage (but not the stagehands, interestingly) is that the Bohemian pull of the drama club has ALWAYS been present. It may be a left brain/right brain thing or not…but its presence is palpable.

Hollywood has a duality of elitism portraying anti-elitism and a mask of champion of the underdog, which bullies, ridicules and lampoons the New Underdog, its permanent victim…the faith based southern white Christian. Make him a CEO or put him in the military…and you have the perfect foil for a Hollywood movie. Put him in the CIA, and he will eat babies for breakfast…but only those of color. He will be a Republican, of course.

In this venture, Hollywood has joined hands and linked arms with the counterculturist revolutionaries in academia. Also immersed in arrested adolescence, these bearded and pony-tailed Bohemians can’t get by on looks without brains, so they survive on pseudo-intellectualism seeped in antagonism against Americana. They survive on college campuses, preying on the easily duped, newly freed, hormone raged, youth…and try to instill in them the perpetual “message” of the counterculturalists. The Hollywood/entertainment industry delivery of the “message” gives it “cool”, the campus delivery gives it “intellectual cover”.

And the “news and information” arm in the entrenched media give it sustainability, primacy and recency and tie it to current events. The entrenched media supply the stories to tell in Hollywood and the topics to teach on campus. It feeds the supply of “message” morsels and which get churned throught the counter-revolutionary grist mill and fed back to the public as the daily bread, the staff of life for Bohemian sheep.

The constant, unrelenting machine of peer pressure on easily swayed (or feeble) minds has the effect of brainwashing, so that “false but accurate” gets the sheep nodding in agreement rather than scoffing out loud. You can’t fight one element (Hollywood, for instance) without taking on the whole of the Bohemian Cult Machine.

And you can never get a divergent point of view into academia, (David Horowitz’s efforts are heroic and monumental), or the wire services, or the NYTimes/WashPo/LATimes or Newsweek or CNN, ABC, CBS, NBC…or MSNBC…when over 90% of the people involved are cultists themselves.

They have not the slightest interest in, nor inclination toward the presentation of honest facts, if those facts do not advance the “message”. They have not the slightest interest in nor inclination toward an honest divergent point of view.

You can’t shop around a screenplay that attacks the “tear down the system” machine and its nefarious gang rape of our information stream, its insidious petit treasons or its glaring hypocrisy. You would be slandered, smeared and viciously attacked. The “prizes” go to the fattest calf, the biggest sheep in the Bohemian cult. Pulitzer, Nobel or Oscar…these are awards for being on “message”.

The few brave souls who are “off message” as actors in Hollywood…better keep it to themselves, if they want to work or even eat. Same in academia, same in our entrenched media. (Bernie Goldberg is also a hero, but he gives the entrenched media a pass by saying their bias is inadvertant…I admire his courage, but you can’t inadvertantly photoshop pictures, forge documents and consistently paint a picture with lies that all tell the same “message”. You can’t, I’m sorry.)

I don’t advocate doing nothing…far from it. But if you don’t tie in the entire jigsaw puzzle, you can’t formulate a strategy to get at the truth of it. We are under cultural assault. It’s funny…I’m not particularly religious or openly faith-based. But I see the unfairness toward those who are and it makes me angry.

I’m not particularly attached to any political ideology. I take each issue as I find it and try to reason it from there…but I believe that leftists are the gravest danger to our nation and that they are the true enemy to fear at the moment. Anyone from Joe Lieberman to Hillary Clinton and to the right on the spectrum of them…is subject to vicious attack.

Republican NEVER get a fair shake, that’s a given. But moderates, libertarians, classic liberals are just as likely to be chewed up in the Bohemian Cult Triangle of Hollywood, academia and the entrenched media if they dare to cross paths with the leftist cultists.

America no longer owns its own facts, no longer has complete and free access to the truth on the ground, no longer is in charge of its own history. Leftist and counterculturists have gang raped the information stream. And we ought to be willing to fight to the death to get it back.

And this is from someone who is not conservative on many issues, not Republican, not faith-based and has lived his life as a GDI and an “issue-ist”. I will stand in the front lines and battle leftists to the death. They are the enemy. They have stolen my information stream and I want it back.

Jan 24, 2009 - 8:07 am 13. John Galt:

The entertainment world will always be significantly predominately extreme left wing because of the huge number of young single people, blacks, gays and lesbians in the industry.

The gays and lesbians espeically tend to be vicious and vindictive people with zero tolerance for those who oppose their extemist political ideas.

Now that a lot of gays and lesbians have obatained positions of power in the entertainment world conservative thinking people put their careers at great risk by coming out of the closet.

Jan 24, 2009 - 8:30 am 14. C. Smith:

I’ll repeat my usual plea for a big-budget version of http://www.amazon.com/Last-Stand-Tin-Sailors-Extraordinary/dp/0553381482/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1232815755&sr=8-1
Get that out in time for the 2012 election to recall what actual sacrifice is about.
Heaven forbid I be in such a situation, but, given such, heaven help me to acquit myself as well as they did.

Jan 24, 2009 - 8:52 am 15. FunnyCave:

Sure, a conservative movie with pro-America themes and a fair depiction of the Christian faith could be popular. Just make sure you include some car chases, scantily clad women and Ben Stiller and/or Will Ferrell as well.

Jan 24, 2009 - 9:01 am 16. gardenmom:

To #10 by TSI,

you wrote~ a dearth of movies bashing soldiers

I believe you meant plethora (overabundance) – dearth is its antonym and means scarcity/lack-of. Though if you’d mean a dearth of movies *supporting* the military, there certaily was a dearth of those. or a dearth of movies of moral value or honor . . .

Jan 24, 2009 - 9:03 am 17. bill:

Believe it or not, there are movies with “stealth” morality/ Christianity being made and they are doing well, Consider “Marley and Me”. The couple has three children the third of whom is unplanned and they aren’t sure they can afford her. Nevertheless, abortion is never mentioned or considered. The wife (Jennifer Aniston) leaves a successful journalism career to stay home with the children (shrieks from feminists heard here). The only thing missing is a gratuitous religious reference which is unneeded.

Jan 24, 2009 - 9:11 am 18. thegre8_1:

If people stop going to the stupid, empty waste of time movies made by the left, bottom line it is about profits, Hollywood will have to change what it makes. All the Anti Iraq movies were in the toilet at the box office.

Jan 24, 2009 - 9:35 am 19. Fernando Caballero:

Mr Susman had it almost right. From his rather narrow scope of view he has what can he see right. “Explicitly partisan movies, left or right, don’t seem to do as well as those that give both sides a voice or whose ideology takes a backseat to plot and character development”. What he does not see from his narrow view is that for 10 years (or more) these liberal minded Hollywood types have produced (and Oscar folks rewarded) rather shallow, one dimensional, “stupid” characters. These are characters which would never compel a single human being to go out and watch (or at least be emotional invested) in watching these so-called blockbusters movies.

Name any movie and these characters are simple minded puppets to a liberal dogma which follows an expected rote path which leads them inescapably towards a Oscar award that mean very little. Unfortunately Mr. Susman’s mind is unable to comprehend what I just wrote.

Jan 24, 2009 - 10:05 am 20. Sojourner:

This is so ironic. For years the far Right has been saying that “leftist” hollywood figures should just shut up and entertain. Now rightist hollywood figures want to be taken more seriously.

So Breitbart starts a sight where these so-called brilliant conservative hollywoodists can whine and moan about how oppressed they are and take potshots at liberals. Big deal. I suppose Breitbart thinks he’s pulled together something unique, but “Big Hollywood” is just another “me-too” political site for conservatives to tell each other how wise and intelligent they are.

Yes, the real “solution” is for these conservative whiners to go DO SOMETHING instead of whining and sniping and patting themselves on the back.

Jan 24, 2009 - 10:53 am 21. Edmund Onward James:

I was pleased that Mickey Rourke stood up for Bush. I thought Rourke was fantastic in Barfly as Charles Bukowski’s alter-ego. I posted a Barfly link on one of my blog pieces.

Red Rock Country – My future
http://onwardjames.blogspot.com/2009/01/lost-mind-ranch-sedona-arizona-my.html

Hollywood Conservatives must speak up like all concerned citizens. The extremists and Nancy Pelosi & Crew are tring to muffle America Talk Radio, which I listen to frequently.

Continue the awareness…

Edmund Onward James
http://www.onwardjames.blogspot.com
http://www.onwardjames.com

Jan 24, 2009 - 11:14 am 22. Samir:

So the only two qualities for a film to be conservative is that it has to be unquestioning and uncritical of America and it has to kowtow to one specific religion’s dogma?

Seriously, God help us if this is what conservatism means to PJM.

Jan 24, 2009 - 11:19 am 23. tony:

To John Galt:

The reason Hollywood is made up of liberals is the relationship between liberalism and acting. Both are emotion-based; liberals are feelers, while one of the most important characteristics of acting is to get in touch with your feelings. I really don’t think it has much to do with the demographics, although I don’t discount that totally.

Jan 24, 2009 - 11:33 am 24. tony:

By the way, I do agree that conservatives in Hollywood ought to not whine, but instead do something about their plight. Leave the whining to the experts, liberals.

Jan 24, 2009 - 11:35 am 25. Awnree:

Hey, I missed those explicitly partisan right-wing movies, what were they?

Jan 24, 2009 - 11:42 am 26. Sean Penn's sphincter:

I don’t care about any actor’s political beliefs – left or right – but in spite of what the half-wit commenter Sojourner says there is nothing ironic or hypocritical about encouraging people to fight for something approaching ideological even-handedness in their OWN craft/profession. It is hardly the same thing as celebutards making out of school political pronouncements.

Jan 24, 2009 - 12:27 pm 27. TMK75:

Why does conservative always have to overlap with Christian?

I would be happy for some movies where the bad guy is not A) a corporation B) a rogue (and impliedly conservative) government agency or C) a white male.

Can we have some movies about terrorism where the terrorists are Arabs/Muslims instead of neo-Nazis? How about a movie where the leaders of business are saluted for creating jobs? How about a Che documentary that interviews the relatives of the thousands of people he killed or had killed? A fact-finding documentary on the reality of life in a socialist country?

I nominate Ayn Rand’s “We the Living” for a major motion picture…

Jan 24, 2009 - 1:20 pm 28. Cryptofascist:

Cfbleachers:

I agree with every single word you wrote. Very nicely done. What’s that lefty cliche…speaking “truth to power?”

Jan 24, 2009 - 2:01 pm 29. Marc Malone:

#22 Samir – No. A conservative film emphasizes the positives about America. It also portrays the Judeo-Christian beliefs, upon which this country was founded, in a positive light. A conservative film simply refrains from trashing America, and instead, emphaisizes the good. Do you have a problem with that? Oh, wait, your name is Samir. Of course you have a problem with that.

Jan 24, 2009 - 2:32 pm 30. seanyriver:

Hollywood is all image and make believe..Conservatives know this AND SHOULD ACCEPT THIS..Obama and Clinton are the perfect examples..

Jan 24, 2009 - 3:18 pm 31. Sara123:

One good thing about having the far left Christian hating mob in power is that it gives Christians the opportunity to create their own counter culture and society. We have to funnel all our donations into creating a Christian society and culture with Western institutions separate from the Left’s secular Marxist realm. We need to follow the example of Jewish and African American folks and define ourselves and support each other.

Jan 24, 2009 - 4:10 pm 32. Helen:

I’m almost 67 years old & as I look back refecting on my past mistakes & unbeneficial decisions I made in my youth & young adulthood I can see that most of the decisions I regret stemed from something I watched on the Big Screen or on TV. It does have a POWERFUL influence on our lives & the actions we take whether we know it consciously or not! Thank God, we live & learn & hopefully gain wisdom with age & make more beneficial choices for our own good & the good of others.

Jan 24, 2009 - 4:45 pm 33. Brad:

This is an excellent article. Christians need to get back in to the media/entertainment industry, if they want to affect the culture, and promote moral values. Christians are the biggest market. Most avoid the movies today. The Passion of the Christ proved that there’s a viable market out there. Christians need to take advantage of the entertainment industries.

Jan 24, 2009 - 4:53 pm 34. Jackrabbit:

Big Hollywood’s posts are from Z-list level “actors.” The content largely revolves around name-calling of Barack Obama, praise of Reagan (he’s still dead, people), and posting doctored photos of Henry Waxman and reading comments from the scores of failed comedy writers with loads of time on their hands.

BTW, Clint Eastwood may “lean” right, but I seriously doubt he buys into the current state of GOP “conservatism”, which is really nothing more than repeating the words, “Liberal” and “socialist” over and over and over again.

Jan 24, 2009 - 5:11 pm 35. TMK75:

1 more time – why do conservative, pro-American values have to be Christian? Politics and religion should be kept separate. Let your religion inform your own views, but do not use it as a justification in the public sphere because many of us are not Christians. (and because religion is a matter of faith which is inherently personal and by definition impossible to prove)

If you guys keep conflating conservative with Christian, you are going to chase all of us non-Christians (and those lesser-observant Christians) away – and the Republican party will be so small it will never win again.

Jan 24, 2009 - 5:23 pm 36. Jackrabbit:

TMK75 brings up a great point. I am not a conservative, therefore not Republican. But I do respect the real conservative philosophy, minus the Jesus juice. I don’t agree with it, but it is a viable point of view.

But the combo of right-wing dogma and pushing Jesus as a Republican is repulsive.

Jan 24, 2009 - 5:39 pm 37. ILikeIke:

I was going to ask the same question that TMK75 asks: who said “Christian” was synonymous with “conservative?”

Can you be Christian without being conservative? Yes.

Can you be conservative without being a Christian? Yes.

To conflate the two is ridiculous.

Jan 24, 2009 - 6:00 pm 38. raccoonradio:

The pro-America movie An American Carol, from the man who helped give us Airplane!, was very funny and touching (in terms of what we owe the troops). Most film critics hated, hated, hated it–including a (lib) film critic friend of mine who announced on a WBZ radio/Boston guest appearance that it was one of his ten WORST
of the year. It didn’t do all that well at box office but hopefully will capture some viewers on disc.

I watched it again last week (bought DVD) and
thought it was hilarious.
Am I missing something?

Jan 24, 2009 - 6:40 pm 39. Fred:

John Galt wrote:

“The entertainment world will always be significantly predominately extreme left wing because of the huge number of young single people, blacks, gays and lesbians in the industry.”

John,

Don’t buy the liberal lie that “Black person = gay activist.” Most of my community OPPOSES gay rights as demonstrated by overwhelming Black support for marriage amendments like Prop. 8.

It is more accurate to say many Black people WITHIN Hollywood are pro-gay. Such Black Hollywood insiders tend to be out of touch with mainstream Black views, especially in terms of gay rights.

Jan 24, 2009 - 6:42 pm 40. Matthew:

Forgive me if this seems naive, but surely if a film maker has an idea that’s going to make money, then it shouldn’t be too hard to get the project up. There has been a stream of whiney liberal stuff from hollywood lately – e.g. michael moore and wotnot. But it makes money, and that’s pretty much all that matters. Maybe the problem is coming up with a “conservative values” film idea that can sell in the mainstream – other than flag-waving violence-fests like rambo or die hard. I think the cold war was good for conservative themes – it inspired a few good films, too. Maybe hollywood should declare war on russia again? Anyway, is the real problem here an absence of conservative polemics? Because I don’t think that’s a problem. The problem is too many dodgy liberal polemics! Another good question is (IMHO) – are we just missing conservative themes in the mainstream, or are we ignoring the (presumably vast) christian output? I’m pretty sure there are plenty of conservative christian flicks being made, they’re just not being distributed by dendy.

Jan 24, 2009 - 6:42 pm 41. Fred:

Eric:

“Hell, I’ll be happy if Hollywood occasionally portrayed a conservative character as a good guy.”

Actually, the title character of the blockbuster, Iron Man, is a conservative good guy.

Think about it:

Iron Man is an American patriot.

He is a staunch capitalist.

He respects those who serve in the U.S. military.

He views terrorists as the bloodthirsty baby killers worthy of beatdown instead of misunderstood victims in need of a hug.

Little wonder “Iron Man” got praise from conservative sites like Townhall:

http://townhall.com/columnists/JerryBowyer/2008/05/05/irony_man

On top of that, “Iron Man” got praise from liberal critics, many of whom didn’t appreciate the movie’s conservative views.

So, it is possible to create an entertainment and successful blockbuster that leans right.

Jan 24, 2009 - 6:54 pm 42. Fred:

Sara123 wrote:

“One good thing about having the far left Christian hating mob in power is that it gives Christians the opportunity to create their own counter culture and society. We have to funnel all our donations into creating a Christian society and culture with Western institutions separate from the Left’s secular Marxist realm. We need to follow the example of Jewish and African American folks and define ourselves and support each other.”

That’s the proper way to look at filmmaking. Blatant racism has declined in society because ethical Black filmmakers use their work to change how society views Black people. (I put the word “ethical” because there are unethical Black filmmakers willing to play into racist stereotypes.)

Heck, Black filmmaker Tyler Perry owns a billion dollar entertainment empire by cranking out pro-family Black films. The fact that his movies are blatantly Christian makes his success in anti-Christian Hollywood more remarkable. What’s even more impressive is the positive impact Perry’s work is having on Black moviegoers.

So, White evangelical Christians must adopt the same mindset and tactics so movies overall will positively influence American society.

Jan 24, 2009 - 7:18 pm 43. Battlecat:

In response to some of the absurd comments above:

How about instead of trashing blacks, gays, and lesbians, you just go make a movie you think should be made? Who is stopping you?

Gasp! What a radical, extremist agenda that homosexuals would want to be treated like everyone else. The sky is falling! Get a grip.

Jan 24, 2009 - 7:21 pm 44. Pat:

You’re advocating a package deal: political conservatism and Christianity.

Political conservatism means advocating inalienable individual rights because man is the animal who thinks and requires the freedom to think and in accordance with his thinking.

Christianity is mysticism (belief in the absence of evidence) and altruism (where living for others is the proper moral standard) — both of which are antithetical to individual rights.

There is no place for Christianity in politics. As predominantly deists (not theists), the founding fathers’ recognized this; hence their Constitution to keep religion separate from politics.

As Thomas Jefferson wrote to his nephew, “Fix reason firmly in her seat, and call on her tribunal for every fact, every opinion. Question with boldness even the existence of a God; because, if there be one, he must more approve of the homage of reason than that of blindfolded fear.”

The more conservatives embrace religion in politics, the closer we move to the Weimar Republic – ripe for a demagogue like Hitler.

Advocate individual rights in politics, and strictly limit your faith to the private sector.

Jan 24, 2009 - 7:26 pm 45. Pat J:

I have no problem with actors expressing an ideology in public. But I’m wary when their ideologies end up on the silver screen. It smacks of propoganda.

Jan 24, 2009 - 8:59 pm 46. ScreamWriter:

I am total agreement with the main point of this article: nobody likes a whiner. Universal theme. Doesn’t matter which end of the spectrum it comes from. There’s no crying in film.

Besides, what could be a better revenge than a conservative-driven resurgence in film with the kind of All-American values embodied in films like CASABLANCA and PATTON? Better yet, films like TITANIC and THE WIZARD OF OZ, which touch all young and old?

We could be the Resurgency. They can keep the insurgents

Hit ‘em where it hurts: at the box office. What could be more satisfying in every way?

Jan 24, 2009 - 10:13 pm 47. eor:

Of course it is propaganda. I ran across the news of the San Antonio Christian Film (and entertainment)Awards. I was impressed. Now if there were only theatres that would regularly show them. I hunted for the conservative spoof (??) and never got to see it. I assume it will eventually come out on DVD.

Jan 24, 2009 - 10:36 pm 48. Marc Malone:

#44 Pat – You seem to have a misunderstanding about Christianity. Without geting into a deep religious discussion, let me just say that it’s not about living for others. Free will is an important part of Christianity. To follow God’s dictates is to surrender your free will; to submit to Him; to live righteously.

As for the Founders, they did not specify “Separation of Church and State”. That was a line in an opinion from a Justice of the Warren Court (I believe). It is one of the big lies. The first article of the Bill of Rights states that the government shall make no establishment of a state religion. It says that government shall stay out of religion, not the reverse. How else can you have a government of truly moral men, if they are not religious; are without the civilizing influence of religion?

#37 ILikeIke – I disagree. You cannot be a Christian and not be conservative. Conservative principles come straight from the Bible.

For example, lots of Catholics are pro-life. The Catholic Church considers them apostate. Biden’s Archbishop publicly told him not to take communion as long as he professes a pro-abortion stance.

Homosexuality is considered an abomination in the Bible. Jesus was very specific about that. You can’t support gay marriage and be truly Christian. You can’t.

I could go on, but suffice it to say that, in every way that a Christian is not conservative is always a departure from scripture.

Can one be a conservative and NOT be a Christian? Absolutely. Practicing Jews are conservative. (Non-practicing tend to be Liberals.) Many other faiths, like Buddhism, are also conservative in bent.

It is hard, however, for a non-religious person to be conservative. Upon what does one then base one’s values? You base it upon whatever you hear that sounds good, because without a Higher Moral Authority, who’s to say whose value system is better than the next man’s? Is your wisdom greater than mine? Are your moral values better than mine? How could one really claim such?

The fact remains that our Founders were devout Christians and formed our government based on biblical principles. We are “endowed by our Creator with certain unalienable rights”. Creator means God. Our money says “in God we trust”.

#35 TMK75 – You’re right. Pushing Jesus drives away the unbelievers and shrinks the party. Actually, it already has. I’m okay with that. If my party were to move away from its conservative/Christian principles, I wouldn’t be in my party anymore. It’s sad that our universities have taught people that religion is superstitious hokum. It’s too bad that many people have become non-practicing, because they want to be free of its strictures, but that doesn’t mean that I should shy away from proclaiming my beliefs. It doesn’t mean that the Truth has somehow changed.

If people have become anti-religious, specifically anti-Christian, then that’s too bad. I shall not modify my positions to cater to their delicate sensibilities, because I simply must stay true to God, not Man. One must choose one’s side in this. I’ve chosen mine. I don’t believe you can have a proper government without religious men in it, because then everyone makes up their own rules of right and wrong.

This is why we have the corruption we now have. The more liberal a politician is, the more corrupt he tends to be. The more conservative, the less corrupt. The FM/FM debacle is purely representative of this. See who gave and took the money and you’ll see Liberals everywhere. No conservatives to be found; a few Republicans maybe, but no conservatives.

Jan 25, 2009 - 12:29 am 49. Larry D. Crumbley:

Hello,
I wish more, and more, of them would get a back-bone, and stand up, and be counted like some of us that really do not give a rats-a** what the modern day media thinks about us. It is time we had a more vocal front on the Hollyweird stage if you will, and to me if these conservative people out there would just stand up, and be counted that would well if you will “MAKE MY DAY”.

Thanks,
Larry D. Crumbley
bearone7777@yahoo.com

Jan 25, 2009 - 4:09 am 50. Mikey:

Hollywood LEANS LEFT? Are you kidding? It is all the way over in the left.

Leans left. What a stupid understatement.

Jan 25, 2009 - 4:33 am 51. JackieV:

Thank you, cfbleachers for your eloquent post.
I read it in its entirety three times, unusual for me before my first cup of coffee. You, my friend, nailed it.
You make me want to fight back, even if I don’t know how. There are so many of them and so few of us. Their grasp on our access to information is strong, I fear they’ll never let go. Any and all suggestions will be welcome.

Jan 25, 2009 - 6:17 am 52. Richard:

“Oh, and let’s not forget Bill Maher’s lil piece of religious bigot agitprop. Can Bill spell ‘hate speech?’”

Oh please. Did you even see the movie? I did. Its not bitory, its not agitprop and its not hate speech. Gee, why do conservatives bitch about “political correctness” only when its convenient? Conservatives suppress speech just as often as liberals when its their views that are being criticized.

If your religion is so fragile that it can’t take a little humorous rib poking, then it deserves to be ridiculed for the sham that it is.

Jan 25, 2009 - 8:24 am 53. Richard:

“How else can you have a government of truly moral men, if they are not religious?”

You confuse ethics with religion. According to your line of reasoning, atheists are inherently immoral, which is the reason why the Christian chest thumping of the right continues to alienate the center. That point of view is self-righteous and arrogant, not to mention just plain wrong.

Jan 25, 2009 - 8:33 am 54. Craig:

“Susman doesn’t believe openly conservative actors are hurting for work, nor does he believe “liberal intolerance” is to blame for the lack of conservative movies.”

Do you honestly think ‘Milk’ or ‘Brokeback Mountain’ would ever get made? I mean seriously, do those storylines sound like money making projects? And Frost/Nixon? C’mon…please.

What Hollywood is good at…is making sure these self-serving projects gain an audience by nominating them for Best This and Most Outstanding That…thereby giving them more attention than they deserve.

WAY MORE.

Jan 25, 2009 - 9:11 am 55. Richard:

bitory? Sorry, don’t know what that is — I meant bigotry.

Jan 25, 2009 - 10:24 am 56. Nobodys_Fool:

This article mentions and comments about the liberal minds penchant for opening the mouth and letting it rip, and usually without much thought.

Contrast the demeanor of past Republican presidents to the likes of Carter for instance. Carter cannot for the life of him, keep his pie hole shut. Clinton has been more well restrained within the borders of the USA, but has bad mouthed his own country time and again in speeches to middle east audiences.

Its quite likely Carter will be spewing hate and discontent on his death bed.

If as Michael Savage has said so many times, that ‘Liberalism is a mental disorder’, then one of the basic signs of this disorder (liberalism) is a flapping mouth.

Jan 25, 2009 - 10:31 am 57. chuck:

Hollywood has conservatives? You mean big-ticket Republican entertainment, like Dennis Miller and Ted Nugent???

Jan 25, 2009 - 2:59 pm 58. Richard:

Nobodys_Fool: its ironic that you mention Jimmy Carter and Michael Savage in the same comment as they are two sides of the same coin. If you can’t recognize the commonality between Jimmy Carter and Michael Savage in the way that they both spew out hate, then you need to take a step back and look at the situation a little more dispassionately.

Jan 25, 2009 - 5:37 pm 59. Richard:

chuck: Since when is Ted Nugent part of Hollywood? As for Dennis Miller, he’s more of a centrist than a Republican and he’s also not part of Hollywood in any serious way.

Jan 25, 2009 - 5:41 pm 60. Horace Wells:

So now the mask comes off, Conservatism = evangelical Christianity. Well count this intellectual honest Jew out, I have nothing in common with all those small minded Christian prigs who make up the yobs on the right.

Jan 25, 2009 - 7:03 pm 61. Horace Wells:

Nobodys_Fool
That you can’t see through the gross hypocrisy and hate spewing psychotic rage of Michael Savage, who raves about the same bunch of gays and polticians no matter what the topic is, it means you share his mental disorder, which is projecting your psychosis and sinss on others. I may disagree with Jimmy Carter, but I never heard him spew hate and lies like that pseudo intellectual little “doctor” from NYC does five times a week.

Jan 25, 2009 - 7:19 pm 62. Fred:

@ Richard

Actually, many voters were turned off by a GOP that seemed devoid of principles. This was determined by a survey done by the American Issues Project:

http://www.onenewsnow.com/Election2008/Default.aspx?id=315160

This excerpt stood out:

“According to the AIP survey, more than three-fourths of conservative voters agreed that after taking control of Congress in 1994, the GOP failed to live up to the promise it made to reform government and clean up corruption in Washington. Almost the same percentage agreed with the statement: “The Republican Party used to stand for keeping government spending under control, but not anymore.”

Another 30 percent said the GOP has been incompetent and is not getting the job done; and 28 percent said the party has forgotten its principles and lost its way.”

In short, Republicans can win if voters are convinced they aren’t hypocrites or corrupt.

Jan 25, 2009 - 7:33 pm 63. Fred:

@ Richard

One more thing.

In a recent Louisiana Congressional race, a Republican novice, Anh Cao, unseated William Jefferson, a Democrat who was a Congressional black caucus member for nearly 20 years. Cao won because he stood by his conservative Christian principles instead of running from them. That appealed to a lot of voters in his district. Read more in these links:

http://www.onenewsnow.com/Perspectives/Default.aspx?id=354198

http://www.onenewsnow.com/Election2008/Default.aspx?id=346494

Cao’s win again proves that Republicans with principles can beat “invincible” Democrats.

Jan 25, 2009 - 7:39 pm 64. Blackwater:

I hope tons of movies with a conservative message get made. Deny it all you want but Hollywood movies have had a huge impact on our culture and how we view the world. And after all these liberal movies that proptrayed our soldiers as baby killers and conservatives as evil, it’s had an undeniable effect on our society.

The rise of moral relativism is probably the biggest issue liberal Hollywood loves to sprinkle throughout their scripts. It’s a subtle way of making political points in their films. And as a result people don’t even see a difference between the IDF and Hamas anymore because of this disgustintg epidemic of moral relativism.

Our moral compass is what used to define our culture and made it great. We used to feel strongly about what’s right and wrong. Now there’s no longer any good or evil anymore and everything is a different shade of gray including international terrorism. It’s an awful result in large part due to the preachings of liberal Hollywood (not to excuse the liberal media and college professors).

Jan 26, 2009 - 1:17 am 65. Richard:

So what, Fred? Are you implying that the only people who have principles and can stand up for them are Christians? Then we’re back to an arrogant self-righteousness which is definately not what voters are interested in, and last I checked, its not what Christianity is supposed to be about either. There’s your hypocrisy for you.

Jan 26, 2009 - 7:17 am 66. Angel:

I seem to recall several “right-wing” movies in the 80s that were fairly successful…Red Dawn, Iron Eagle, Robocop and the Dirty Harry movies…A movie is a movie. The argument that they shape the culture rather than reflect it is not convincing. If a “Christian-Conservative” film movement continues, the only people who will see those films are Christian and/or conservatives as it occurs now with CCM (Christian Contemporary Music). Sure, Fireproof was successful, but who knew about it? Only the folks it was marketed to…evangelicals.

I’m a writer and a good script is a good script, period. Do my scripts have themes? Of course, they do. But, every good screenwriter learns that your script must serve the story not the writer.

Jan 26, 2009 - 10:53 am 67. Steve P.:

Marc Malone: “How else can you have a government of truly moral men, if they are not religious; are without the civilizing influence of religion?

Some people don’t need an imaginary friend to tell them to be good. Some people can form their own cogent arguments on why acting justly and righteously is good for their own well-being without having to resort to such fallacies as “because God told me to” or “because I’m afraid of Hell.”

Jan 26, 2009 - 1:47 pm 68. Steve P.:

Marc Malone:Homosexuality is considered an abomination in the Bible. Jesus was very specific about that. You can’t support gay marriage and be truly Christian. You can’t.

You’re full of it. Jesus himself said nothing about homosexuality. You’re just some simpleton typing on a message board; what gives you the right to judge who is a proper Christian and who is not? I doubt Jesus would have very much in common with you.

Jan 26, 2009 - 1:53 pm 69. Fred:

@Steve P

You’re aware that Jesus Christ IS God and thus opposes gay marriage. So, it’s no shock the Bible has quotes from Jesus like the following:

“He [Jesus] answered, “Have you not read that he who created them from the beginning made them male and female, and said, ‘Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh’? So they are no longer two but one flesh. What therefore God has joined together, let not man separate.”

Matthew 19:4-6

From the above, it’s clear Jesus says marriage is a union of one man and one woman. Hence, He scoffs at any other combination of men and women as marriage.

Jan 26, 2009 - 7:12 pm 70. Fred:

@Steve P

One more thing. It’s not just Christians like myself who think gay “marriage” is a bad idea. One of the staunchest supporters of Prop. 8 is reporter David Blankenhorn, a pro-gay Democrat who said the following:

“Every child being raised by gay or lesbian couples will be denied his birthright to both parents who made him. Every single one. Moreover, losing that right will not be a consequence of something that at least most of us view as tragic, such as a marriage that didn’t last, or an unexpected pregnancy where the father-to-be has no intention of sticking around. On the contrary, in the case of same-sex marriage and the children of those unions, it will be explained to everyone, including the children, that something wonderful has happened!

For me, what we are encouraged or permitted to say, or not say, to one another about what our society owes its children is crucially important in the debate over initiatives like California’s Proposition 8, which would reinstate marriage’s customary man-woman form. Do you think that every child deserves his mother and father, with adoption available for those children whose natural parents cannot care for them? Do you suspect that fathers and mothers are different from one another? Do you imagine that biological ties matter to children? How many parents per child is best? Do you think that “two” is a better answer than one, three, four or whatever? If you do, be careful. In making the case for same-sex marriage, more than a few grown-ups will be quite willing to question your integrity and goodwill. Children, of course, are rarely consulted.”

Read the rest of Blankenhorn’s commentary here:

http://www.citizenlink.org/clcommentary/A000008240.cfm

I should also add that there were gay people who also support Prop. 8 because they don’t support gay marriage. Read more here:

http://www.worldmag.com/webextra/14623

So, support for traditional marriage is far more widespread than many gay activists want to acknowledge.

Jan 26, 2009 - 7:20 pm 71. Fred:

Richard wrote

“So what, Fred? Are you implying that the only people who have principles and can stand up for them are Christians? Then we’re back to an arrogant self-righteousness which is definately not what voters are interested in, and last I checked, its not what Christianity is supposed to be about either. There’s your hypocrisy for you.”

From your previous post, you believed the GOP has lost so many elections because its appeals to the Religious Right, thus alienating moderates. I used Gao’s win as an example of the flaw in that argument.

The GOP’s losses are the result of being not “too Christian,” but not appearing to have principles. No matter their faith, Republicans can win IF they stand by their principles instead of using the tired argument “I’m not as bad as the Democrat!”

Jan 26, 2009 - 7:31 pm 72. Horace Wells:

Most of you so called self described Christians here are a bunch of narrow minded, ignorant reactionaries with love only for your fellow small minds, that is why I despise theocons in general. Mel Gibson is the penultimate example of a good Hollywood con, yet I still have my Road Warrior dvd’s. It has nothing to do with your religion and everything to do with your bigoted ugly attitudes. So spare us the whining abour all the non existent discrimination you face. You like to dish it out, but when it comes flying back you cry like babies.

BTW: Fred Cao won in LA cause Jefferson was totally corrupt!
Blackwater, you are simple minded little child who only sees things in black and white, so you ignore the hate and evil inside of you (which all of us have) and project that on the rest of the world that failed to live up to your standards. That you picked an alias like that shows you are a bully devoid of reason.

Jan 26, 2009 - 8:50 pm 73. Richard:

Fred, Fred, Fred. You miss the point. Again. You put words in my mouth that I never said, making up quotations about me complaining about someone being too Christian. I actually don’t give a rat’s ass whether you’re Christian or not, but the assertion that only religious people can act in an ethical and moral way is insulting, self-righteous and arrogant. If you want to wrap yourself up in the Christian label while espousing those values, then you’re a walking poster boy for hypocrisy.

Jan 27, 2009 - 4:44 am 74. The Scholar (in training):

Here’s a great opportunity. Andrew Breitbart, one of Hollywood’s few conservative voices and creator of breitbart.com (great site incidentally) has thrown down the gauntlet. Matt Doman, Hollywood icon and consummate liberal, made the following remark to a Miami Herald writer, “‘He’s [Bill Kristol] an idiot — he wrote that we should be grateful to George Bush because he won the Iraq war. We! Won! The! War!” In response, Andrew to this statement asked Kristol if he’d be amenable to a debate with the self-proclaimed foreign policy expert Damon. Kristol agreed and, in return, Breitbart has agreed to donate $100,000 to Damon or a charity of the actor’s choice if he’ll publically debate Kristol. Here’s where all of you come in – let’s up the ante.

First, I have the distinct feeling that Damon, like many of his Hollywood liberal cohorts, is more bluster than action. It’s clearly easier for the likes of Damon to sit atop an ivory tower and sanctimoniously denigrate conservatives than it is to have an open and honest debate in a public forum. To do so might expose their staggering vacuousness on the very political issues they so confidently sermonize on when no one is there to challenge their assertions. This is a condition that, sadly, afflicts too many Hollywood stars who seem not the least bit aware of their lack of political and policy knowledge – they voice their rather vociferous opinions all-the-same. Given this, let’s use one of the Liberal’s favorite tools to help move this project forward – sign the petition urging Damon to debate Kristol. If, in the next several weeks we get a hundred thousand signatures I will forward this on to Breitbart. Perhaps this will place enough pressure on Damon to follow-up up on his diatribes.

Second, go to http://www.thescholarsforum.org and click on the “Make A Donation” tab on the TSF sidebar and give until it hurts. Every penny donated will go directly to the Wounded Warriors Project, which seems only fitting given the topic of the debate.

Thanks to Breitbart, this may be the one opportunity we conservatives have to directly engage Hollywood Liberals.

Jan 27, 2009 - 9:17 am 75. the scholar (in training):

Damon v. Kristol Debate. Go to http://www.thescholarsforum.org and read about the challenge Andrew Breitbart threw down to Matt Damon for his disparaging remarks about Bill Kristol. For once, a conservative might, unlikely, but might be able to directly engage one of these knucklehead Hollywood liberals.

Jan 27, 2009 - 9:49 am 76. barry 0351:

Yup, all entertainers need to realize they are just media whores and have no mental capacity to understand real life as it really is, not how they want it.
Hollywood needs to STFU and STFD even the conservatives.

Jan 27, 2009 - 10:42 am 77. Fred:

@ Richard

Actually, this is your post that I was responding to:

“You confuse ethics with religion. According to your line of reasoning, atheists are inherently immoral, which is the reason why the Christian chest thumping of the right continues to alienate the center. That point of view is self-righteous and arrogant, not to mention just plain wrong.”

I simply disagree with your point. Nothing more, nothing less.

Shifting gears, I would be a self-righteous, hypocritical Christian if I said the following:

*I’m morally perfect.

*I hate those who don’t share my faith, skin color, etc.

I’ve neither said or thought nothing of the sort. When I contrast myself to God, I’m instantly reminded that Hell is all I deserve because of how sinful I am in His eyes. It’s only because I’m saved through Christ that Heaven, not Hell, will be my eternal destination. Heck, it’s because Christ is my Savior that I can act in a moral manner.

That’s a very humbling realization, one that He reminds me of daily.

I hope that clears things up.

Jan 28, 2009 - 7:29 pm 78. Fred:

@ Horace Wells

The following videos have appeared on Youtube:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1VS3Us-TRU0&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jdvvkVNS_zo

Who are the real bigots.

The peacefully praying Christians?

Or the “No to 8″ protesters who attack them?

Jan 28, 2009 - 7:43 pm 79. RH:

Yes, they should put a lid on it. It has taken decades for Hollywood to build up their anti-American reputation and deservidly so. It is far, far better they be seen for the true “haters’ they are, and not let the public be distracted by believing that there is finally some shred of patriotism remaining in that immoral bastion of narcissicism.

Jan 29, 2009 - 3:33 pm 80. Samir:

#29. Marc Malone -

Hey, racism because of my name and my African-American heritage, wow, shocking.

And you guys wonder why you’re only getting 2% of us in elections.

Feb 5, 2009 - 8:16 am

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