Leave aside the ideological message of his comments about ““Ellen,’’ the symbol of gay pride in prime-time viewing. Gore now joins Hollywood on a policy path heading away from both the common sense and the moral intuition of most Americans.
The real import of Gore’s remarks is that he accepts an idea some of us have been talking about for years: Hollywood matters. The entertainment industry, and television in particular, doesn’t just try to reflect our society. It wants to shape it, with all the subtlety of a sledgehammer. And yes, it does have an enormous impact on the culture. This was why, a few years back, I faulted Hollywood for ““mocking the importance of fathers,’’ a rebuke that was distorted into an attack on single mothers.
That’s what can happen if you criticize the entertainment elite, as the Gores once did with regard to music lyrics directed at young people. They seem to have learned from that experience. Al no longer admonishes; he applauds.
He has little choice: he knows that Hollywood is a crucial financial base for the Democratic Party. Another essential element is the gay lobby. Those two key–and to a certain extent interlocking–constituencies gave the Clinton-Gore ticket a free pass in 1992, when they wanted to prevent a second term for President Bush, and again in 1996, when they felt the same way about the possibility of a Dole presidency.
But now they are in a position to make real policy demands. A bitter primary battle is shaping up between Gore, Rep. Dick Gephardt and perhaps others. Whether or not it will be a fight for the soul of the Democratic Party, it will certainly be a fight for its cash. By paying homage both to Hollywood and to the gay lobby, Al Gore has beaten his rivals to the cash machine.
All of which ignores the interests of most citizens, especially those trying to raise families in a culture of amorality. Forget the glib answer that parents should simply take control of the TV. Don’t tell that to two-worker couples with latchkey kids. Don’t tell it to the single mom whose TV is her only affordable sitter while she races to do household chores and shopping. Don’t tell it to the most conscientious of parents, whose kids’ friends have total viewing access at their own homes.
Instead, tell it to corporate America. There’s great irony in the way business leaders privately complain about today’s youthful work force–its lack of values, its abuse of drugs and alcohol, its neglect of the work ethic and its need for remedial education. All the while, their own corporations pour millions into ““entertainment’’ that promotes those and other social pathologies.
Consumption–or nonconsumption–is power. I encourage my neighbors, whether they act as individuals or as groups, to use their pocketbooks to bring corporate America to its senses.
From the entertainment elite, on the other hand, we can expect a stepped-up attack on the values and institutions cherished by our families. Why should Hollywood clean up its act now? After all, as the vice president’s speech showed, they have friends in high places.
