Something has been bugging me in the past few months as we got closer, then past the 10th Anniversary of September 11th, 2001. What has been bugging me was reading a number of on-line articles on some Conservative websites concerning Hollywood’s and the Media’s treatment of the September 11th attacks in the years since they occurred.
In particular, there have been some interesting and provocative articles about the historical treatment of the attacks and the movies created so far. Previous to my reading these articles, I read another article questioning the quality of “Conservative” films and why/if they should be supported by the Conservative community. As if most artists on our side of the aisle shouldn’t be supported… without a lot of deep thought and question.
While I definitely respect all these points of view, I have to question why many of us are questioning Hollywood instead of questioning ourselves. And what we should be questioning ourselves on is why so many of us are complaining so much about Hollywood’s output and at the same time, not supporting the burgeoning artists, musicians, writers and filmmakers in our own community? For full disclosure (if you don't know anything about me and my documentary film): yes, we are Conservative, yes, we are registered Republicans and yes, we are filmmakers trying to get my art out to the greater world.
But, for the life of us, we have never understood monetarily and spiritually supporting artists, studios and media companies while simultaneously berating them for what they offer us. Particularly, people who can't stand George Clooney and Matt Damon - but still go see their films, buy their DVDs, etc. Why the heck do people on my side of the aisle do this? If someone delivers crummy pizza that smells weird, tastes worse and gets me sick – would you still call the same pizza place every time? No. So, why do the same when making entertainment or artistic purchase choices?
In film, you don’t get to shoot on 35 mm with “big-name” actors, with the best script material, with the best D.P.’s and with someone else’s budget unless you have a track record and make money. To become a great artist, to become a great filmmaker… you need time to develop and hone your craft. You need to be able to make a living as an artist to justify being one and to gain that 24/7 time needed to create and edit better and better material. Having an audience makes that happen. But, when you are starting out as an artist, you need to build an audience before you can grow one and then convert one. Not all “Conservative” films or shows will be great and not all will be good. But, all should be supported by the people most pre-disposed to enjoy the material… fellow Conservatives. But it seems to me, that the expectations are placed too high when the art comes from “one of their own.”
It is like being the guy or gal who struggles to make it in their own hometown. The hometown crowd is much tougher on you and their expectations of success are so high that the bar they have set for just saying, “You know, it’s alright” is almost impossible to leap over. Are “Conservative” audiences really saying that until you start winning Oscars, Emmys, Tonys, Grammys and Liberals – you haven’t achieved that much? It seems like it is for both new artists as well as some of the more established ones. How many Conservatives do you know of who announced their political orientation at the start of their careers? Did any of them get to make a second or third album, movie, etc.?
This also can hold true for established artists. We paid money to see AMERICAN CAROL in a theater. ATLAS SHRUGGED, too. They weren’t films that met the unbelievably high expectations of their audiences. But so what, they were not bad films. Hello? Pick any Rob Schneider film or just try to watch the glacial, yet beautiful THE AMERICAN. AMERICAN CAROL and ATLAS SHRUGGED were films trying to do a helluva lot with a limited budget and the expectations that come with being the first “Conservative” films in their genres. Almost no film could have met the expectations those two had to deal with.
How do you expect to see more artists, musicians, filmmakers, etc. who think like you do… if you aren’t willing to support the ones you already have? Can you really expect those who are successful and established to risk all in making the brave decision to “come out of the closet” politically? God bless Gary Sinise, Patricia Heaton, Jon Voight, Angie Harmon and the other stars who have come out, gotten involved and led from the front. They are an inspiration.
If you don’t support Conservative artists’ material, especially when they are putting their livelihoods, careers and more on the line… then don’t pine for “better” films, shows, etc. And don’t condemn them for not outnumbering the artists you can’t stand or agree with. Because at the end of the day, you’re part of Hollywood too… with you time and hard-earned dinero.
