Amber Alert: Hollywood Democrats Vanish — at the Worst Time
Amber Alert: Hollywood Democrats Vanish — at the Worst TimeDon’t think Donald Trump is done with the studios or us
Since just about its earliest days, Hollywood has been a hub of progressive political activism. Whether that activism has come in the form of fundraising, taking part in marches during the Civil Rights movement, testifying before Congress in defiance of the McCarthy era, or, more recently, just spouting off on social media, there have been few causes or movements that didn’t ignite a flurry of activism. Over the past decade, the better part of Hollywood seemed to have declared boycotts of — it felt like half the states in the union over various infractions. We are today at what looks like an actual hinge moment in history. We’ve got a president attempting to take over the capital’s city police force, sending the FBI after personal enemies, turning the government loose against universities, museums and the legal profession, demanding stakes in private companies, building a personal army that will dwarf all other Federal law enforcement entities and making ominous noises about what changes he thinks are due in the conduct of our elections. And not incidentally, just beginning a push to demand fealty of our own businesses. Yesterday, he said this:
So after a hundred years of practice in protest, organizing, fundraising, Hollywood is — mobilized and fired up? Taking to the streets and funding the opposition at this crucial moment? Not exactly. A better description of Hollywood’s opposition mobilization would be “MIA” or “non-existent.” “Totally invisible” also works. Look at the dispatches of Deadline’s political editor, Ted Johnson, who does a yeoman’s job certifying any political event of any scale or significance in the community here. He doesn’t have a single fundraiser to report on this entire year. After all the crazy, arcane, fifth-tier issues Hollywood has come out for, or supporting candidates in far-flung states who could help Democrats reclaim a majority in the House or Senate, this is when they decide to keep their mouths (and wallets) shut? From Axios yesterday: Dems doing what Dems do best. Infighting:
I’ve been talking to people across the industry, people who are, year in and year out, generally interested and active in progressive-leaning causes and Democratic campaigns — the people meeting candidates, attending events and raising money. What I’ve been asking is whether there might be lots of planning, foment and organizing going on beneath the surface that I’m missing. And they are, to a person, dismayed and horrified by how, at this moment, Hollywood seems to be sitting out the entire furor. (The ones I spoke with all also declined to be identified.) But they confirmed my sense that my eyes do not deceive me. There is, in fact, nothing going on. This is a moment when the Wall Street Journal editorial board wrote last week, of the raid on John Bolton’s home, “The real offender here is a president who seems to think he can use the powers of his office to run vendettas. We said this was one of the risks of a second Trump term, and it’s turning out to be worse than we imagined.” That is the Wall Street Journal. Bill Maher, who just a few weeks ago was publicly bandying the idea of being Trump-curious at the very least, has now been warning of a “slow-moving coup, that is going to go off a lot smoother than the last one.” So the Wall Street Journal and Bill Maher seem to see that all this is not normal. But progressive Hollywood is….busy? Can’t be bothered? Wants to focus on Sydney Sweeney’s denim ads? Take your pick, because they aren’t saying anything. When David Ellison was asked about Trump’s claim that Paramount had agreed to give him free airtime, he responded, “We’re ready to move past the noise. I’m excited to put my head down and do the work and build this business with this remarkable team up here, not sit up there and talk about, basically, how certain things are politicized.” And that was good enough for everybody. Let’s move past the “noise” and put our heads down. And certainly not account for what we might or might not be doing for this would-be dictator, because talking about it would be getting all political. And everyone says, fine. Good enough.
If Not Now, Then When
If Hollywood just showed one-tenth the resolve it showed a few years ago against fracking, to name one cause of yesterday, it would look like an earthquake compared to the absolute acquiescence of this moment. If you think I’m being hysterical, catastrophizing — I say, good. I hope I am. I hope at some point, not too far off, I can look back at this moment and say…yeah, I got a little carried away there. Crazy times! Too much internet for me! No more doomscrolling before bed! There’s a non-zero chance that’s how things will go, and if I could pick the outcome of this era, I would vote every day of the week for me to have been wrong, overly emotional or both in retrospect. I’ve been covering culture and entertainment and this industry for the better part of three decades, and in that time, I’ve been extremely comfortable staying in my lane. I have never felt the need to mouth off about my political leanings of the moment, in my professional writings or even on my constellation of social accounts over the years. I actually come from a distant land called the ’90s, where reporters and even columnists stuck to their expertise. Before the internet, there wasn’t even a venue for you to “share” beyond boring your friends at a dinner party. I was and always have been very comfortable with that. I’d love to jump back into my box and leave quarreling over health care delivery systems to others. Sadly, I feel in my bones that if there were ever a moment to speak out, this is it. By this moment, I don’t mean… sometime over the next few years. I mean, more or less, right now. Like — now! Maybe I’m getting overly dramatic, but with soldiers in the streets and high-ranking officials sounding off in all kinds of ways intended to be terrifying, I see far more evidence that this is moving in a bad direction fast. Which makes me feel like my fears are actually kind of the baseline scenario here. And what has brought this all to my doorstep is the sense that:
You know, if the good will not stand up for basic things, if the bad faces no opposition, they will take everything. Does anything about Trump and the MAGA movement right now suggest that with a couple more bites of the apple, they will be satisfied? And make no mistake, they are coming for Hollywood. They already have; the Paramount deal is just a taste. So, for people in the “whatever…” or “what’s the big deal?” camps, which seem to be the majority view of the elites of Hollywood, I can only assume, you either: A. Don’t care about what’s happening, (or possibly even like pieces of it… see Shari Redstone thinking a little Trump might do her news division some good), OR B. Are so deeply woven into the status quo in your DNA that you can’t imagine anything really fundamentally changing the way things are. It’s the “B” category that I want to talk about, where my unified field theory comes in, because I think that really is where our elites stand. Hollywood and Washington are both paralyzed with the same inability to see outside of a very narrow box, to the point where they are unable to even respond to events. So let’s take a couple of steps back.
How We Got Here Going back 15 or 20 years, when the same cadre of Boomer elites that still runs everything was marginally less elderly, they had built a world which was very, very good to them — or at least those at or near the top, anyway. As they were quickly exiting their primes, their days of bold experimentation and innovation were slipping away as they transitioned to that well-known perch of Defenders of the Status Quo. And there they sat, clinging to those perches ever tighter. When times get rough, people retreat to their comfort zones — which, in Hollywood and Washington, was this great big institutional apparatus that, because it was so big, couldn’t possibly be in jeopardy. But times were about to get very rough. Here in Hollywood, the tech disruption, the streaming boom and retreat, Covid, #MeToo, #OscarsSoWhite, labor unrest — in the words of Billy Joel, “JFK blown away, what else do I have to say?” We know how Hollywood responded to these challenges — head in the sand, dragging their feet, the least possible change or progress at the last possible moment. Defenders of the Status Quo, who, at every turn, like Neville Chamberlain, felt they might appease history with just one more tiny concession that would let them keep the very nice lives they had built. In Washington, among establishment types, this has resulted in a refusal to admit and grapple with the scale of the Trump challenge, right up to this moment, as the whale opens its maw and comes in for that one last bite. So Trump has, at this point, taken on every institution and principle Hollywood long professed to hold dear. He has taken swipes in our direction with whatever the arrangement was to approve the Paramount deal, including the ritual sacrifices of Colbert and the honor of 60 Minutes. Honestly, at this point, you are not a serious person if you think that Trump and MAGA will be happy with just going after the museums, colleges and law firms and will swim right by Hollywood without noticing us. This is heading our way. And in the streets of showbiz — silence. (Sidenote just for planning purposes: Autocratic dictatorial regimes don’t tend to preside over entertainment industries that produce anything that anyone outside their country wants to see.) So what is the problem here? Why, after a hundred years of being pains in the neck about every cause that comes down the pike, does progressive Hollywood choose this moment to play dead? My theories and reasons, in no particular order…
1. THE BOSSES
If Hollywood’s ruling class hasn’t decided to pursue an appeasement strategy, they are doing an excellent imitation of that. From the Paramount deal to the parade of moguls and local grandees dropping by the White House to pay their respects, to Ari and David ringside with Trump, whatever distaste for the administration might exist, very few are advertising it. It’s not just what they are doing, it’s what they aren’t doing. Generally, at this point in a Republican administration, the town would be hot with fundraisers for some up-and-coming Senate candidate, checking out various presidential hopefuls. We are getting none of that, not even workaday, business-as-usual opposition. You would think, given the salaries and the vast wealth that the people at the top of Hollywood have accumulated, that they would have nothing to lose. Why not make a stand? Why not even grandstand and cast yourself as a leader of the opposition? Become a hometown hero. But in the face of despotism, we get none of that. And the message couldn’t be clearer to the rank and file. We’re not going to rock the boat (so don’t expect us to have your back if you do and problems ensue). But for the rank and file, the bosses’ capitulations make opposition much more complicated than standing up against some law passed by Alabama or something. In this one, criticism of the current drift has to include criticism of those in power who are going along with it. Hollywood’s always had great courage at taking on opponents who are far, far away, but taking on someone who signs your paycheck, or who might possibly someday sign it — that’s another story. But we need to call out those who are abetting the march to despotism; let our leaders know that we notice what they are cozying up to, and that it’s not okay with us.
2. NO POLITICAL LEADERSHIP
To some extent, it’s a little unfair to ask Hollywood Democrats to be more ardent than the official Democratic Party. It’s a little like asking a Catholic to be more religious than the Pope. When official Democratic ranks are presenting no leadership, no path forward, no vision for fighting back, it’s tough to expect Hollywood just to dream that up all on our own. Folks can’t fall into line if no one knows where the line is. Which is why the Gavin Newsom revolt has been such a breath of fresh air and for all his/its flaws, has been so embraced. Some have told me how many grandees are spending more time complaining about New York City mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani than about Trump. Now, whatever you think about the socialist Mamdami, with what’s happening in the country and our industry, is the prospective mayor of New York really a bigger deal to us than the president and all that? Dems’ safe space, as ever, is internal bickering.
3. EMBARRASSMENT ABOUT LAST YEAR The embarrassment about the Biden campaign and Hollywood’s role in it is understandable. Everyone involved there should feel embarrassed. And some of them, more than a little ashamed. It was a Class A demonstration in the Guardians of the Status Quo locking arms to fight change. That said, last year was a year ago, and it’s not coming again. There is a fight to be had at this very moment, and dwelling on past mistakes while things are slipping out of our fingers is not helping anyone.
4. EXHAUSTION & DEPRESSION
As noted, this didn’t come along when Hollywood was at the top of its game. It came after a decade of traumas and in the middle of the most significant Hollywood downsizing of modern times, with no sure destination in sight. Hollywood was exhausted and depressed before all this, and for many, one gets a strong sense of defeatism taking hold. Well, I understand the sentiments, but get over it, at least for the moment. This fight is too important. It’s more important than Hollywood, even. Let’s get through this one, and you can go back to being depressed later.
5. THE TECH INFLUENCE
A considerable part of this is the influx of tech into Hollywood and the pall they cast over everything. If you put Apple, Amazon, Netflix and now Paramount, thanks to Trump BFF Pa Ellison, in the tech column, that probably makes those companies the majority stakeholder of this industry. And how do their leaders deal with opposition in their ranks? Well, for most of this era, Silicon Valley was a hotbed of young progressives who weren’t afraid to tell their employers what they thought. About five years ago, Google itself was overwhelmed by young workers sounding off about what they thought were ethical compromises of the management. Similar revolts were felt at Facebook and beyond, and it was believed that the rightward drift of these companies — which was just then beginning — would be unsustainable given the foment bubbling up. Turned out, it was totally sustainable! It turns out that through whatever combination of crackdowns, layoffs and lip service, you could make the unrest go away, like uninstalling an app. Five years later, you hear very little of these sorts of problems up North, and when you do, they are swiftly dealt with. The cult of the Founder looms over everything in the tech world. The Founder and the company are not entities that you question. This is the ethos they have brought here. And it seems to be taking hold.
6. THE DISTRACTIONS Trump’s superpower is his ability to distract and overwhelm with BS. If there is any group of people susceptible to distraction, it’s Hollywood progressives who never saw a social issue kerfuffle that they don’t have to chase all the way down the rabbit hole. So there are some pretty significant issues sitting on the table right now. In another time, it would be fun to argue about Sydney Sweeney’s denim campaign until the end of time. Right now, it has to be seen that when you chase that, you are doing the demagogue’s work for him. Focus, focus, focus, focus is what is demanded.
7. MARGINALIZED ON BLUESKY
For all we know, a zillion progressives are mobilized and in the streets fighting back. Problem is, they’ve left the social media thunderdome and gone off to corners where their purity can go unchallenged, and they can spend their days spouting off to each other, congratulating themselves on their righteousness. Social media is a cesspool, and I’d be happy to uninvent it if I were given that option. But if the opposition to Trump retreats to marginal corners, talking to themselves, the major spaces are left to the despot-lovers. And that is not a good outcome.
8. WISHFUL THINKING
At this point, any narratives about how this is going to take care of itself via death, the courts, the press… are close to lunacy. Anyone who hasn’t learned that no one is going to come and solve these problems for us should really, at this point, sit on the bench until they are willing to confront reality. The imminent death narrative is the latest that will take care of everything. It’s followed by another fantasy of the Republican Civil War that breaks out on the death of the leader, causing their paralyzation and downfall. Who knows. Maybe! But I’m getting tired of fan-fiction stories in the place of plans. If Trump were to shuffle off to the great beyond, perhaps the Republicans would fall apart. Or maybe they would rally with relief behind JD Vance, who would be just as despotic and more effective. None of these scenarios, no scenario you can dream up, changes the fact that the Democratic brand is in the toilet and is falling hopelessly behind the Republicans in fundraising, voter registration and everything else that matters. The Democrats have seemingly given up hope on changing minds, very much like the Hollywood branch has given up hope on winning over new audiences, attracting new fans and getting people to try something new. But even electing another president, passing another law or getting a Justice on the Supreme Court requires persuading people. Hollywood once was part of the miracles of persuasion. From civil rights to smoking to same-sex marriage, Hollywood led vast and shockingly fast changes in our culture when we submitted our minds to it. And more importantly, when we could abstain from lecturing and scolding for a few minutes. While the rest of the industry is cowering, look to South Park, standing up with the most brazen, strident, unanswerable critique in every episode, and doing it with humor and joie de vivre. (And whatever disapproval we give to David Ellison over the nature of the Paramount deal, our hats have to be off to him for not just putting this out, but promoting it as far as anything on their service is promoted. Let us hope to see a lot more of the South Park protector Ellison in the years ahead.)
Now, What Do We Do?
Finally, asking what the hell people should do at this moment, I reached out to Hollywood’s own D.C. refugee — Mike Murphy, a former Republican, Never Trumper, political consultant and screenwriter, for his thoughts on what Hollywood Democrats should do. He boiled it down to a nutshell:
That sums it up. This is the creative capital of the world. We bow before no one. Kings and queens come to dine in our commissaries and beg for Emmys tickets. Our pain and fear are understandable, but the stakes are too important to indulge them any longer. Let’s make this fight our fight, the fight of our lifetimes.
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