Recently, I read an article about the subtle (or not) revival of the Hollywood Blacklist. For those who are not familiar with the Blacklist, a group of Hollywood actors, directors, etc., in the late 1940s/early 1950s were accused of holding Communist views and spreading those views via their movies. It seems that today's Hollywood elites have decided to employ those past Draconian practices. The new generation of acting and directing talents are being scrutinized for any signs of conservative principals.
As in most places, money is really the name of the game and Gary DeMar's answer is a simple yet effective one: create the best art possible and beat them at their own game. Think this is an obvious solution? Case in point: a friend recently related to me the following story. Well-known conservative organization hires a professional firm to update their marketing brochure. Long-time client complains that it is not "Catholic" enough ~ it is too "professional."
My apologies. Remind me -- when did Catholics identify themselves by their lack of professionalism? I understand perfectly that the past forty years have seen our liturgy become a playground for the artistically challenged and the liturgically insane. But that really is no excuse -- invincible ignorance and all that rot, what? So from whence came this idea that our best work is somehow "too much" and that things held together with duct tape and spit are somehow to be shown proudly as uniquely ours, I do not know. But it is an idea that must be destroyed and true beauty and professionalism put back in its place.
...in entertainment, people want escapism, not spinach or propaganda. It's why (as conservatives note) few went to see last year's group of movies critical of the War on Terror (In the Valley of Elah, Rendition, Lions for Lambs, etc.) or this year's W., but it's also why few went to see American Carol, either. (It's not a liberal conspiracy that both Carol and W. are being roundly ignored in favor of talking chihuahuas.) 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.
As a writer, this goes without saying. But for our our more provincial friends, not so much. Another case in point: Fireproof. To be honest, I did not go to see this movie. But several friends did. Almost every single one admitted that it was no great work of cinematic art. But they felt that it should not matter because it had a good message. And since this seems to be the view that most Catholics (and I assume other Christians and conservatives) take, it must be addressed.
I am sorry. I simply will not waste money (especially nowadays) on a movie that may have a good message but terrible acting and directing or producing. Whatever one may think about his politics or even his religion, Mel Gibson's Passion was brilliant on all accounts: good message, superb acting, delightful direction and production. For some of my friends, it was a "not fair" that Fireproof did not get the credit and the exposure it deserved.
This is simply ridiculous. Holding something to be true and good does not mean that one can expect it to be applauded and accepted by everyone. For those who want to split theological hairs, consider that even Jesus Christ did not just state the truth of who He was with crayons and duct tape. He told stories: riveting stories. They're called parables.
Regardless of what one's religious or political affiliations may be, good art is good art. And good art is one of the ways we have left to reach a hardened post-modern heart. It is our baptismal duty to do so.
So get out there and create great art.
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