So, I’ve been following, in a desultory fashion, the kerfuffle over various movie projects suddenly discovering that filming in a state where the local voters and their legislature prefer putting limits on the availability of abortion is … OMG! The Handmaids’ Tale is upon us! Flee, Flee for your lives, those TV series and movies choosing to shoot in lower-cost states than California (where about every scenic local has been seen in the background many a time. It was, once a upon a time, my private amusement, in spotting familiar locations in and around Los Angeles appearing in popular TV series.) Geeze, it’s almost as if among the Hollywood glitterati the need for abortion services occurs at least once a month and twice on Sundays. Given the various reports of disgusting rapey-sexual conduct among producers and directors (mostly male) perpetuated upon (mostly but not exclusively) female performers, perhaps on-command abortion services might be required at that. Funny old thing that – these are the same producers and organizations who have no problem filming in foreign countries with even stricter limits on abortion.

The primary insight that I take away from this current matter is just that it is one more of those reoccurring things – something that various observers have noted, time after time, after time, after time, over the last how-many-decades. The mainstream entertainment establishment no longer really wants to provide mainstream entertainment to at least half or more of the country. No gentle comedy, especially no gentle rural comedy. Nothing that exhibits a shred of respect towards religious belief, unless it is that of Muslims; certainly, there is little critical notice taken of Islam’s murderous conduct towards gays, Jews, and disobedient/nonconforming women. Little in the mainstream entertainment media gives a nod towards classical patriotism, very little which portrays a traditional happy, well-adjusted family as a norm to be emulated. Nothing favorable towards anyone running a business, unless it is to make them the villain of the piece. Michael Medved ventilated all this years ago; so this is not really new news.

The element which is new news is the raw, unadulterated contempt and hatred with which the mainstream entertainment media in general and a number of personalities in particular seem to have no inhibitions about displaying towards at least half (or maybe more) of the audience over the last two years or so. Hatred of Trump, hatred of people who are presumed to have voted for him; no accusation is too ick-making, too vile to blurt out there, on Twitter, in interviews, on what used to be the late-night TV shows. On one level, I feel a bit sorry for people whose corrosive hatred for half the country must be eating them up from inside. They’re dissolving in acid and bile, and one has the feeling they do not care about dissolving half their audience in it as well. Which is not a good practice for someone in the entertainment business over the long run.
So, what – if anything – can or should we do with regard to an entertainment media who gives just about every indication of wanting to dissolve the better part of the audience. Selectively boycott the worst offenders, like Cher, Robert de Niro, Michael Moore? Only watch old movies, foreign movies, movies rented or borrowed from the library or from friends? What kind of options do we have in response to this more-than-naked contempt? Discuss, as you wish.