The hot topic in Hollywood is the aftermath of Harvey Weinstein getting removed from his own company as a result of sexual harassment charges covering over a decade (maybe even more). From this incident, much more of Hollywood’s dirty laundry has slowly been uncovered where other stars, directors, producers, etc. connected with Weinstein are either fessing up or becoming connected and complicit as part of these charges. Many women in Hollywood (as well as the more supportive men) are advocating changes within the industry specifically for this conduct but I feel that the issues are far deeper.
Although there are various stories and scandals that are ever present erupting periodically from the tabloids, nothing seems as profound as this one (except for perhaps the pedophile charges). This one essentially shows the type of power people in Hollywood that run their own empire to say the least and how their wealth, connections, etc. have allowed them to stay afloat and almost get away with murder.
The closest keen insight into the actual dealings might be a scene from The Godfather where we see Tom Hagen approach one of the producers from a fictional Hollywood company in trying to muscle the guy. In one of the cut scenes, we see the so-called favors that this man provides a young, underage actress, suggesting pedophilia where the girl examines Hagen from behind a closed door mysteriously.
All these closed door dealings have been shuttered for years by power players in Hollywood as we’re now hearing how people like Matt Damon have attempted to stifle reporters from blowing the true nature of these stories. Even today, there was a story about Rose McGowan having her Twitter account shutdown by Twitter itself for instigating certain comments. This seems like nothing more than Hollywood muscling their way to censor her.
Now, this really isn’t a Hollywood only issue. Many other issues face similar situations. I know the Japanese entertainment industry does this with Avex being one of the more notorious institutions. And it’s not just women but young men seeking to build their careers by any means necessary, which means thrusting themselves for some sick minded producer or whatnot.
But that’s part of the problem with this level of corruption in the entertainment industry. Many of these hopefuls allow themselves to be preyed upon by the powerful just to get a career push. Some were probably just ruthless in the way they climbed to the top. Swimming With Sharks hints a bit at how the reverse role can occur where a woman with good looks can fuck her way to the top. And doubtlessly many people probably had to pull favors to get their scripts read or a key role.
Right now, many actresses (and actors to a degree) are calling for a change within Hollywood but not really specifying what exactly needs to change. The most obvious thing is providing some sort of sexual harassment protection for people. But the way humans are, this aspect will never change.
The real change that needs to be implemented is that Hollywood itself needs to be torn down and rebuilt up from scratch. Its culture stinks of extreme decadence where it has existed in its own bubble for far too long. Greed and vanity infiltrate Hollywood where it’s hard to respect what’s left these days. It’s quite obvious that the actual art of entertainment has been lost to the allure of fame and fortune.
So at the core the values of fame and fortune need to be gutted systematically. Get rid of these things as positive and cast them in a negative light. Make it so that people make far less money and these big wig producers, etc. work for the people rather than the other way around. Get rid of the circle jerking via awards ceremonies, red carpets and other ego inflating aspects. Return to the average where so-called stars get their anonymity back.
I can’t really feel sorry for the people involved here. I feel that there really isn’t any “good guys” nor true “bad guys.” It’s more like an epidemic caused by a dying and dated system. If Hollywood were to suddenly disappear off this world, I feel as though I wouldn’t really miss it. Sure, I may not see the next Game of Thrones season but outside of a useless distraction, there really isn’t much to miss.
Also, I feel that the average person in general really won’t care. The problems in Hollywood seem inflated because the people in Hollywood tend to inflate things. Most of us will never get close to any of these people and to be frank, none of these people have ever done a damn thing for us. They may argue they’ve created entertainment for us, but if we’re consuming it, then we’re helping them as we’ve provided their livelihood. This whole situation is a conscious choice that they’ve made and they must deal with it.
The only reason why I wanted to blog about this incident is that I feel that the situation is blown out of proportion. But it’s being forced down our throats like many other non-existent issues celebrities and Hollywood end up making us deal with. The average person just is trying to survive so why should we waste that much more trying to fight someone else’s battle?
Someone might argue, well their problem IS your problem. How? These greedy, vain people think of themselves too fucking highly. These are the same assholes that have Beverly Hills and voted against allowing a Metro to be placed through them since it would inconvenience their million dollar mansions. These are the same assholes who act as puppets through their sponsored overlords to be their mouth pieces in attempting to get us to think as they do.
These people don’t give a fucking crap about us. They seriously don’t unless you agree like some stupid sycophant with them. I’m not saying all of them are like this. Just the big people. I do feel the people struggling on the lower rungs are more like us and I don’t mind them as much. But for those that did make it, I doubt it was raw skill on average.