Just Say No to Hollywood!

Elephant Eye - Photo by JoAnn Sturman

Scott Sturman
fliesinyoureyes.com

Recession or no recession Hollywood was out in force at last week's Academy Awards. Glamorous starlets with their effete escorts flaunted their multi million dollar salaries with garish evening wear and resplendent jewelry. They are America's royalty - above the fray and a law unto their own. There is no sexual indiscretion, drug addiction, or legal problem that cannot be solved with a slick publicist, a lot of money, and a sympathetic press.

A few movies are first class, but most are ho-hum. Producers realize the entertainment starved American public will be sure to spent billions on second rate entertainment as long as it is replete with computer generated special effects, bulging muscles, exposed breasts, sex, and violence. If original subject matter becomes scarce, then another revenge themed action flick will lure an audience.

As with the quality of movies, a few actors and actresses are superb, but most are mediocre and rely on the media machine to stoke their career. Ironically, these beautiful people with scant talent take themselves seriously. They envision themselves as the characters they attempt to portray in the movies. Whether playing a gifted doctor, a courageous soldier, or a world leader, their egos cannot separate the fictional world from the real one. Talk shows and entertainment magazines keep them perpetually in the limelight and reinforce their inflated sense of self. The world needs them, and they are only too happy to opine on any subject.

Too many of us live vicariously through these plastic people. We're happy for their riches, their conquests, and their fame. Perhaps this is harmless and just human nature, but the situation becomes more serious when we look to them to solve our problems. Stars are determined to make the world right, and most have never heard of a cause they could not support. It is one matter when their activism involves their personal wealth and effort, but quite another when they drag the public into one of their crusades.

Remember when Sean Penn intended to meet with Saddam Hussein to set him straight? The wily and ruthless dictator only would have to listen to Sean's message to mend his ways. Now Sean is meeting publicly with Hugo Chavez, Venezuela's dictator and self proclaimed champion of the people who has antagonized the United States at every turn. Aiding and abetting an enemy or just exercising one's right as a free citizen? You make the choice.

There is a choice when dealing with the Hollywood set. If a particular actor or actress is particularly offensive, don't watch their movies at the theater, on DVD, or on television. It's really not that difficult to miss a movie or two. There will be plenty more to watch. It is the clearest way a to send a message to them and their producers. As altruistic as they may be, diminishing popularity and plummeting salaries say a lot to the denizens of the material world.