Oy, I didn’t want to write this post. It’s race oriented so I kept putting it off and putting it off but… I know I need to say something, so here it is.
My take on this is that someone needs to tell Will Smith to go fuck himself. Seriously. He and the other objectors are going to cause horrific problems down the line across the board unless they are stopped.
It boils down to appeal, and most especially, Hollywood’s appeal to two groups- 1) Asians (in Asia), and 2) Young WCWMs (Working Class White Males- meaning, those not of the top 5%). Hollywood must remain appealing to these two groups if it is to survive into the 21st century.
And yes, that is what is at stake here. Survival. I’ll start here at home- WCWMs, generally speaking, don’t go to the movies anymore. They might in a blue moon, but mostly, Hollywood has been supplanted by, in order of preference, video games, YouTube, and TV as their entertainment destination of choice. Hollywood, for them, is 4th at best on the list of things they’re interested in.
That being the case, it is absolutely vital that Hollywood does what it must to retain whatever appeal it has with them. It is *ABSOLUTELY* essential that Tinseltown hold onto whatever it can with this demo. If it’s appeal with them begins to slip further than it is, there’s no telling how far it could fall.
I can’t understate the importance of this. If Hollywood makes further changes to “diversify” itself to please Will Smith, and WCWMs boycott the results of this by staying home and playing Xbox instead, the financial consequences could be unimaginable. The big tentpole releases would face horrific fates if this demo decided to not participate for whatever reason.
What I’m saying here should not be taken lightly. Hollywood MUST think about this! It is the boycott of traditional politicians by young WCWMs that is catapulting Trump and Sanders into the positions they’re currently in. The Clintons and Bushes and the rest ignored the WCWMs and look what’s happening to them! Hollywood- don’t forget this! Your survival depends on it!
The most important factor in America today, as I’ve discussed here repeatedly (I mean, over and over and over…) is the disenchantment of WCWMs and how that problem will grow, and if left unchecked, will crush everything in it’s path.
This anger, and the effect it could have on the system, should not be underestimated!
If I ran Hollywood, I would personally approach the race problem differently than with mere appeasement. What I would do is jettison the Smiths and all protesting blacks entirely and really make a powerful outreach to young WCWMs to try to desperately claw back some of Hollywood’s lost appeal with that demo.
The young WCWM demo doesn’t have film buffs. It has video game buffs, like I’ve discussed here before. Instead of plumbing the depths of the 50’s, 60’s and 70’s cinema for cultural inspiration, they’re playing DOOM and the original Super Mario games. In fact, the upcoming DOOM reboot might be generating more buzz this year amongst gen y’s than any tentpole film this summer.
This tide must be arrested if Hollywood is to survive over the long term. Jettison the Smiths. Just get rid of them, and make an effort, a real effort, to make inroads into the culture of the young WCWMs. It needs to happen!
Or not, and Hollywood can just sink into further irrelevancy with the most important demo in America. It’s up to them.
Secondly- Asians, in Asia. Black actors in general will never find appeal with them, and “black experience” movies do not appeal to them for obvious reasons. Why should rice farmers in Indonesia care about the “plight” of black slaves in 1800’s America? They shouldn’t, and they don’t, and they never will. Hollywood needs to stop with this B.S. if it wants to succeed in the global film marketplace.
In no way, with the world as it is now, should Hollywood be indulging in liberal schmaltz, not with the reality that competition is coming soon from China and other places. China is big enough that it can make it’s own film franchises to rival Hollywood’s- and they’re not going to cast black actors. And you know what? That’s what the global audience really wants. The danger here is real.
I think that if Hollywood gives in to the Smiths and the others, they’re going to lose ground and it’s going to be much faster than even their most pessimistic predictions will be.
The fact that Hollywood refuses to face up to reality is what is going to destroy it in the long run. The 90’s are gone. The liberal project has failed. It’s time to move on.