Wednesday, November 01, 2017

the Kevin Spacey mise à jour

Looks as though they've stopped production on "House of Cards." Whether temporarily or permanently, it's hard to say. Kevin Spacey's reputation is now in the mud, so this is the cover-your-ass phase, in which the people working with Spacey seek to avoid guilt by association by distancing themselves from him and doing something that will be interpreted by the public as both punitive and soul-cleansing. The American public, meanwhile, is finally waking up to the full extent of Hollywood's sliminess. This may result in the irony that much of the public will sympathize, on some level, with the jihadi Muslim critique of Hollywood (and of the West in general, of course) as a den of iniquity. Or not: we proles tend to forget scandals fairly quickly, especially as new scandals are always rolling in. People won't hate Hollywood for long; they crave entertainment. I've long believed that if the terrorists really wanted to strike a psychological blow, they'd need to saw off the heads of some beloved celebrities.

Meanwhile, speaking of jihadi Muslims...



3 comments:

Charles said...

So, I wonder. We've known that the entertainment industry is a den of sleaze and iniquity, but what do we do about that? Like you said: People crave entertainment. A meaningful boycott of Hollywood in general is unrealistic. Limited boycotts of individuals seems more likely, but when the rot spreads so far and touches so many, you would end up with a de facto boycott of Hollywood in general. Will public shaming and limited shunning be enough to change the culture?

Kevin Kim said...

I agree that limited boycotts are more likely. We see something like that happening in other areas/venues these days: ESPN viewership has been plummeting, as have ticket sales at football games thanks to disenchantment about the Kaepernickan kneelers. Something similar may very well happen with the upcoming "Justice League" movie, given that Ben Affleck's unpleasant, gropey past has once again been brought to the public's attention. Diehard comic-book fans will see the film, but people on the fence might want to avoid it.

As for changing the culture as a whole: it'll happen eventually, I think, but only gradually, and in a patchy, uneven fashion. As predictions go, that's a "duh" statement, I realize, but that's the future I foggily envision.

Charles said...

I wish I could be optimistic. I'm having a hard time doing so, though.