"Big Hollywood": Big Disappointment

Posted by Leonard Pierce

2009 has seen the dawn of a shining new star in the blogosphere:  Andrew Breitbart's 'Big Hollywood' website, meant to be a one-stop shopping destination for right-wing conservatives who just can't get enough of complaining about those damned west coast liberals and the commie propaganda spewed in their so-called 'entertainment'.  Most conservative blogs and websites focus on news and politics, and tend to give the entertainment industry a wide berth aside from occasional bitching.  Why?  Well, largely because every time they piss and moan about the terrible smut coming out of the dream factory, someone usually points out that people seem to like movies and TV, and since conservatives are such advocates of the marketplace of ideas, why don't they just make their own movies and let the public decide?  This is a recipe for disaster, of course, because conservatives tend to be really, really bad at this sort of thing.  (Examples:  the Left Behind movie, An American Carol, the post-9/11 career of Dennis Miller.)  

However, there's just no shutting these people up, so along comes Andrew Breitbart -- who, last year at the Conservative Political Action Conference, I heard make the frankly absurd claim that a well-known actor friend of his was afraid to admit that he supported our troops overseas because he was afraid such a sentiment would get him blackballed.  (He didn't say what actor it was, but I strongly suspect it was Genius Club star/exxxtreme Christian Stephen "Stevie B." Baldwin.)  Big Hollywood is meant to be a format for writers, filmmakers, artists, actors, and other people allegedly shut out of the Hollywood establishment by its left-wing pashas to sound off about the cruel disenfranchisement they've experienced.  But, perfectly in keeping with the public expressions of a movement that simultaneously claims to be downtrodden and oppressed by liberal chicanery and naturally morally right, beloved by the ordinary Joe, and inevitably triumphant, Big Hollywood also frequently claims that conservative values are on the upswing in the entertainment business, that no one wants to see those crummy left-wing anti-war movies, and that the heartland is just dying for movies that will reflect their true values.  This contradictory pose of the persecuted majority is nothing new, but Breitbart and his compatriots over at Big Hollywood are more shameless than most in assuming it.

The not-so-curious thing about Big Hollywood, though, is that contrary to its stated purpose, it hardly seems to have any new voices of conservative Hollywood posting there at all.  Instead, we get the same old tired Scaife Foundation recipients that we've been hearing bitch about the evils of Hollyweird for the last decade, recycling the same old crap about how liberals are out of touch with American values, and how their favorite movies must be conservative, because they're conservative, and they like them.  Among other abominations, the site has recently treated us to right-wing blogger Iowahawk engaging in flat, unfunny satire; pointless old geezer Burt Prelutsky on how the blacklists weren't so bad after all; Greg Gutfeld on how we should make propaganda films to terrifiy Muslims; Bill Willingham on how superheroes aren't pro-American enough;  Ben Shapiro on how Lost is the most conservative show on TV; and, of course, endless condemnations of Che, global warming 'alarmists', homosexuals, and any movie star who expresses an opinion that isn't conservative.

It should be no surprise who have been watching the intellectual bankruptcy of new-movement conservativism these last 10-15 years that what purports to be an advance guard for a new cultural revolution is a totally fraudulent excuse for the usual suspect to collect another wingnut welfare check.


Comments

Sucky said:

Sounds to me like you're just jealous since they actually get comments. I've never seen one on any of the nerve.com posts I've read (petty or otherwise). Being a trailblazer, I figure I'd throw you a bone and let you know how pea-brained and envious you sound. This site has really become quite a bore.

January 16, 2009 11:32 PM

horseblinders said:

Sounds like sucky is incapable of engaging with an actual argument, so has to resort to that old chestnut, "you're just jealous."

Douche.

January 17, 2009 2:30 PM

Shannan said:

I have been to Big Hollywood quite a few times.  Very respectable content and just enough of an original twist to make it interesting and alluring.  A good mix of Hollywood news, funny writing and interesting article links.  Good enough to make me want to return to it and bookmark it.  Judging from the traffic, I am not alone in my opinions.

Kudos Breitbart.  

Maybe if you worked a little harder here and maybe were a little more interesting you might achieve the same success in your blogging!  Good luck Leonard.  The blog-o-sphere is big enough to accommodate all manner of opinion... including ones you do not agree with.  

Did I mention he and his contributors are funny?

February 5, 2009 8:25 PM

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