Last weekend's Academy Awards confirmed what conservatives have known for months: Hollywood's anti-conservative agenda is financially unsustainable. But will Big Brother inadvertently throw their favorite music and film stars a life vest this congressional session?
The American people are tired of the entertainment business's partisan charades. The Oscars receiving their worst viewership numbers on record, just as the Grammys did earlier this year, is clear evidence of their present frustration. Americans are so fed up with Hollywood's antics that they aren't even giving them their business. Combined revenue for this year's films hit a 6-year low, down nearly 30 percent from last year.
Despite their financial troubles, the elites of music and film arrogantly believe they are too big to fail, just as the elite of Wall Street did in the wake of the Great Recession. No matter what they do or say, they believe members of Congress – their knights in shining armor – will come to the rescue after they do a bit of sweet-talking, concealing their crony requests in talking points that appear in sync with the free market principles of the GOP.
This is a classic case of the presumption fallacy. The political landscape has changed immensely since 2008. Just because this strategy was successful for the privileged class back then does not mean it will be today.
At last weekend’s Academy Awards, the first to express Hollywood’s collective unconcern for its revenue problems was host Jimmy Kimmel, who still thought it was a good idea to ridicule the President and Vice President, call for gun control, and suggest that Fox News is a channel catering to 90-year old men.
However, the front men for the entertainment industry's current too big to fail strategy seems not to be the stars of the screen, but the elites in the music industry. These kings of liberal hypocrisy have a knack for saying one thing to members of Congress but doing the complete opposite behind their backs.
For example, shortly after the Recording Academy expressed to Congress its desire to "work with you in a unified manner,” it signed off on Grammys sketches that deprecated the Republican Party. The Academy’s president later denied that there were any real political undertones, stating that they “have a history of pointing out funny things” and nothing more. But this week at the Oscars, hip-hop artist Common dared to say what the Recording Academy wouldn’t: “This [awards show] is the place for politics.”
And Common made sure it was. Along with singer Andra Day, he recruited surrogates representing some of the Democrats’ favorite causes and gave each one prominent placement on the stage, putting spotlights on them to ensure all could see.
The music industry didn’t just settle on subtle political messages either. Throughout his entire performance, Common fired directs shots at the Republican Party, at one point going so far as to remark that the NRA is in God’s way. Plenty of other stars followed his example.
Outside of these award ceremonies, songwriters have been even more vocal with their opposition. During President Trump’ s inauguration week, musical group CocoRosie released a song that implored listeners to “rise, shout, and burn the house down.” Days later, Madonna followed suit at the Women’s March on Washington by stating how she has “thought an awful lot about blowing up the White House.” Eminem said he’ll be “throwing that piece of sh-- [President Trump] to ‘The Wall’ ‘til it sticks” in a four-minute freestyle rap that broadcast on national television.
It should be clear that these stars are sworn enemies – not just of the Republican Party, but a growing percentage of the American people – and cannot be trusted.
While the music and film industries will never stop pushing Congress for legislative favors, Republicans must ensure they do not unintentionally fuel the dying beast. Every word of their governmental requests must be parsed through with a fine-tooth comb.
Absent of more socialized welfare disbursements from Congress, Hollywood's politically correct culture war against conservatives will surely come to a crashing halt. After all, the music and film industries adhere to the same entrepreneurial principals as any other business. If they can’t find a way to sufficiently monetize their leftist agenda, they will stand down.
The worst thing Congress could do is slow down this much-needed transition process by mistakenly alleviating Hollywood’s pain, whether it is through providing simple words of affirmation that inadvertently move the markets or lending a helping hand more expansive in size and scope. Washington already made the mistake of bailing out out-of-touch elites in 2008. The American people are counting on them to refrain from making the same error just one decade later.