Reno Hayek Symposium

How much influence does morally bankrupt Hollywood exert on American or world society? Terry Teachout’s lead article in the weekend WSJ, Hollywood vs. Justice, attempts to distinguish between the attitudes of Hollywood and the unsheltered rest of us. There is some hope that we, in the main, retain our moral foundations. But I worry, when I read:

…Harvey Weinstein. On Thursday he gave an interview to the Los Angeles Times that will live long in the annals of arrogance. Not only does Mr. Weinstein believe that Mr. Polanski should be set free at once, but he claims that “Hollywood has the best moral compass, because it has compassion. We were the people who did the fundraising telethon for the victims of 9/11. We were there for the victims of Katrina and any world catastrophe.” Thats the voice of a man who spends his days listening to toadies—and who knows nothing of the deeply felt beliefs of the ordinary people who pay their hard-earned money to see his pictures. I wonder how many of them will henceforth be inclined to steer by the compass of anyone who thinks that rape is a “so-called crime.”

Mr. Weinstein is, of course, a moral idiot. But why did so many of Mr. Polanskis artistic peers rush to defend him? Is it really because “Chinatown” is so good? Perhaps, though I suspect its at least as likely that certain of the people who signed the “Free Polanski” petition are also thinking of the skeletons in their own well-filled closets. Rich and famous people, after all, are accustomed to having their own way, no matter what it is or whom it hurts. …

The unseemly rapidity with which Mr. Polanskis friends lined up to support him is also a demonstration of the extent to which Hollywood is isolated from the rest of the world. Its a company town, a place where the powerful can go for months at a time without hearing anyone disagree with them about anything…. Anyone who lives in a tightly sealed echo chamber of self-congratulation, surrounded by yes-men who are dedicated to doing what he wants, is bound to lose touch with reality sooner or later. Can there be any doubt that this is what has happened to the signers of the Polanski petition? Like Mr. Weinstein, they sincerely believe that whatever they think, say, do or want is right. In fact, Im sure that most of them will be staggered to learn assuming that their flunkies have the nerve to tell them that when it comes to preying on teenage girls, most people think otherwise.

via Roman Polanski, Hollywood and Justice – WSJ.com.

These people are the media, they support the ruling elite, like Obama, and they are morally bankrupt! How many of their films do our children watch? What subtle moral messages do those films convey? How well do the MSM critics review the films?

Are the Harvey Weinsteins of the world and the rest of the Hollywood ilk the people we want influencing our next generations?

I will not spend one dime supporting the trash that these folks are selling.

Tom Motherway