# Hollywood leans left: why? **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [January 19, 2006, 7:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hollywood-leans-left-why/340632 "2006-01-19T07:16:07Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Larry\_Borgia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/larry_borgia/32/156_2.png) [@Larry\_Borgia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Larry_Borgia)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2006, 5:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hollywood-leans-left-why/340632/41 "2006-01-19T17:52:52Z")
> [@A.R. Cane](#): > > Film making is very much about understanding the human condition. I think when you write about, portray, direct you must develop an empathy for your subject, this would tend to develop an understanding of the various aspects of the human experience. Somehow I doubt that the makers of _Hostel_ or _Dumb and Dumberer_ or _Dude, Where’s my Car_ know, care, or need to know much about the human condition. Nor do they have much empathy with their subjects. Hollywood is left leaning because that’s the fashion there. It’s as simple as that. It’s odd that an industry as venal and as concerned with the bottom line as Hollywood should be left leaning but there you are. The same executive who screws his screenwriters and strong-arms his competition will donate to the Democratic Party or some Save The Rainforest group. And he’ll also greenlight a script in which the chief villain is a venal corporate executive only concerned with the bottom line who screws his employees and strong-arms his competition. Hollywood leans left in the same way the fashion in rural Kansas is right leaning. It’s just what people do. Of course this is all pretty broad brushed. There are plenty of conservatives in Hollywood, some quite famous. Mel Gibson, Ron Silver, and Arnold Shwarzenegger come to mind. And I’m sure there are liberals in rural Kansas as well. ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2006, 5:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hollywood-leans-left-why/340632/42 "2006-01-19T17:56:09Z")
> [@mazinger\_z](#): > > It’s been number one for one day (Tuesday, according to your site). IMDB has _Glory Road_ has number one. Rating number ones is done on Monday by a weekly gross estimate. I agree with **John Mace** that _Brokeback Mountain_ is number 9. Maybe with a GG push they’ll make number 1 this Monday (but they’ll definitely need to be released in more screens). It’s not a matter of opinion. When I made that post I was citing a reputable box office tracking site which stated that Brokeback was number one that day. Quibbling and equivocating about weekly totals does does not really erase the salient point that it’s a commercially successful move and that it was _intended_ as such. > [@](#): > > What are you expecting _Farenheit 9/11_? :dubious: I could’ve sworn I even heard George Clooney describe his last two movies as covering politics, which, incidentally, includes _Good luck, Good night_. Have you even seen both movies? I don’t understand your definition of politics and not come away from seeing the political motivations in that movie. What do you think of _Lords of War_? Yes, I’ve seen both movies. Neither one is political in a _partisan_ sense. _Good Night_ is about journalistic obligations, not specific politics (and since when is being opposed to McCarthyism a “liberal” position anyway?). Syriana is about how the need for oil causes corruption across the board. It’s not partisan in any way. If anything the message is simply about the need for humanity to eliminate its abject dependence on a vanishing natural resource. Is that a “liberal” position? Would conservatives disagree with that? ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2006, 5:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hollywood-leans-left-why/340632/43 "2006-01-19T17:58:50Z")
I think just about every assumption in the OP is flawed. What is “Hollywood”? Actors? Technical personnel? Corporate directors? Deal makers? Lawyers? What is “left-leaning”? I think the one definition given here – desirous of a “centrally planned economy” is just about the worst descrption I’ve ever heard of the American left. Pretend we’ve defined those things, where is the data that shows that “Hollywood is left-leaning?” There are a ton of performers who have come out as being pretty conservative, especially ones that have entered politics or spoken out politically – Arnold Schwarzenegger, Tom Selleck, Bruce Willis, Mel Gibson, Charlton Heston, Ronald Reagan, Sonny Bono, Clint Eastwood (although there are indications he might be in transition), Fred Grandy (“Gopher”), occasional U.S. Sen. Fred Thompson, Frank Sinatra, Kid Rock, all four of the stars of _The A Team_ (George Peppard, Mr. T, Dirk Benedict, and Dwight Schultz), Stephen Baldwin, Ron Silver, Star Trek’s Max Grodénchik – and that’s just off the top of my head. Of course, you could also pretty quickly come up with a long list of Hollywood types who have come out as pretty liberal. But are these competing links anything beyond anecdotal evidence? I think the real questino is “Why is Hollywood perceived as being left-leaning?” And we have to go even deeper to find important questions, such as “Why do we even have a concept of an entire industry leaning one way or the other politically?” The significant thing here is that there are people on a particular region of the U.S. political spectrum that has a need to demonise “Hollywood” (whatever that means) and the need to demonise the left, and they have found a very effective way of putting that together. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2006, 5:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hollywood-leans-left-why/340632/44 "2006-01-19T17:59:29Z")
> [@Diogenes the Cynic](#): > > The drop off on tuesday is because monday was a holiday…more matinee business on holidays. The last day there’s data for is tuesday and on tuesday it was number one. OK, one more post on this hijack and I’ll quit. Look at the numbers for all the movies for Tuesday last week. They’re still MUCH higher than the numbers for Tuesday this week. It wasn’t just a dropoff compared to Monday-- compare it to any day in the last 10 days and it’s only about half. At any rate, even if it’s not #1, it’s still successful, and it is hampered (as you say) by limitted showing. However, that limited showing is a function of the subject, not just some random anomaly. ---
**Author:** ![Liberal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/848f3c/32.png) [@Liberal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Liberal)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2006, 6:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hollywood-leans-left-why/340632/45 "2006-01-19T18:04:51Z")
> [@SentientMeat](#): > > Not under the specific right-wing criterion we’re talking about, _ie._ whether you voted for that particular right-wing dumb fuck of a tyrant in 2000 and 2004. In 2000, I voted for Harry Browne, and in 2004, I voted for the Democrat (whose name I cannot now recall). But my sister voted for Bush both times, and she is not a dumb fuck either. Why a person cannot be both rightwing and intelligent — or at the very least, deserving of respect — is unclear. ---
**Author:** ![Zebra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/c0e974/32.png) [@Zebra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zebra)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2006, 6:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hollywood-leans-left-why/340632/46 "2006-01-19T18:28:13Z")
I don’t think Hollywood leans any direction. It’s like the “liberal Media”. It’s a myth, and it’s hard to kill a myth. That said, there is a “production company” that has a political agenda. [Participant Productions](http://www.participantproductions.com/) Their films include Syriana, Good Night and Good Luck, North Country, Murderball, Fast Food Nation and others. They produce the films and then they get a ‘studio’ to distribute the film to theatres. They work with Warner Independent Films a lot. Thought if the studio thought something was too hot, they would pass on it. Anyone can make a film, it’s getting a distribution deal that is is the tricky part. The only recent example of “hollywood” being one way or another is Passion of the Christ. Mel made it, but no major studio wanted to touch it. The reason was all the controversy over The Last Temptation of Christ, a film that Christians rejected. Not knowing if the public would take to another Christ film, in a strange language, the studios decided to pass. Most studios have one thing in mind with movies, “Will it make a profit?” Last weekend we got… Last Holiday Glory Road Tirstian and Isolde Hoodwinked What are the politics of any of these films? Last Holiday does have a corrupt senator, with no party affiliation and a corrupt big business man. Glory Road has “intergration is a good thing” message. Tristian and Isolde has a “nobody knows how to pronounce the title” message. Hoodwinked has, well, I don’t know what it has. This week Underworld Evolution, Yeah, that a big lefty movie. Why We Fight, now that’s a lefty movie but it won’t have nearly as many screens as Underworld Evolution. After that we get Annnapolis, is that a lefty movie? ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2006, 6:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hollywood-leans-left-why/340632/47 "2006-01-19T18:29:51Z")
> [@acsenray](#): > > I think the real questino is “Why is Hollywood perceived as being left-leaning?” And we have to go even deeper to find important questions, such as “Why do we even have a concept of an entire industry leaning one way or the other politically?” More specifically, the question should be, “Why is Hollywood perceived as being left-leaning _by the Right_?” I don’t believe this view is held by the left, or even political moderates; it is common only to the right-wing who see diversity of opinion as a threat to their philosophy. Look at the way they consider such diversity, and you will see a common thread of intolerance: sex education cannot mention condoms, even if it also promotes abstinence; news programs are “left-leaning” if they portray the Right in a negative way, even if the do the same to political figures on the Left; moderate Republicans are cast as RINO’s (Republicans In Name Only) if they do not drink the extreme Right kool-ade. The whole “Hollywood is Left” is just more of the same groupthink, designed to fuel the us-against-them mentality and distrust of anything that smacks of the Liberal Bogeyman, in order to scare the sheeple away from the sweet grass of individual thought. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2006, 6:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hollywood-leans-left-why/340632/48 "2006-01-19T18:42:57Z")
> [@Fear Itself](#): > > More specifically, the question should be, “Why is Hollywood perceived as being left-leaning _by the Right_?” I don’t believe this view is held by the left, or even political moderates; it is common only to the right-wing who see diversity of opinion as a threat to their philosophy. I didn’t realize that the right wing consisted of 68% of Americans: > [@](#): > > [Poll: Most tune out celeb politics](http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/thr/icopyright_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1503397) > > Asked their perception of Hollywood’s political persuasion, 68.6% said Hollywood leaned either far left or a little left, while just 7.3% said it leaned far right or a little right. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2006, 6:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hollywood-leans-left-why/340632/49 "2006-01-19T18:47:20Z")
> [@John Mace](#): > > I doubt most people see it that way. The idea that the US government assasinates heads of states to placate oil executives isn’t what I’d call political neutral. :mad: Hey, dude! Spoiler box! Use it! ---
**Author:** ![Liberal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/848f3c/32.png) [@Liberal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Liberal)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2006, 7:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hollywood-leans-left-why/340632/50 "2006-01-19T19:00:48Z")
> [@Zebra](#): > > I don’t think Hollywood leans any direction. It’s like the “liberal Media”. It’s a myth, and it’s hard to kill a myth. > > […snip…] > > Most studios have one thing in mind with movies, “Will it make a profit?” > > Last weekend we got… > > Last Holiday > Glory Road > Tirstian and Isolde > Hoodwinked > > What are the politics of any of these films? > > […snip…] > > After that we get Annnapolis, is that a lefty movie? I might have misunderstood the OP, but I got the feeling (especially after a couple of responses) that the premise was that the _artists_ tend to lean left, but not the producers and sales/marketing departments. Susan Sarandon, for example, could very well be in an apolitical film, but her politics is decidedly left. (Assuming that we are to draw the typical associations of left with Democrats and right with Republicans.) ---
**Author:** ![Evil\_Captor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/f17d59/32.png) [@Evil\_Captor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Evil_Captor)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2006, 7:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hollywood-leans-left-why/340632/51 "2006-01-19T19:04:51Z")
> [@Liberal](#): > > In 2000, I voted for Harry Browne, and in 2004, I voted for the Democrat (whose name I cannot now recall). But my sister voted for Bush both times, and she is not a dumb fuck either. Why a person cannot be both rightwing and intelligent — or at the very least, deserving of respect — is unclear. I think people of all political stripes deserve courtesy as a matter of course, but respect you have to earn. ---
**Author:** ![smiling\_bandit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e9a140/32.png) [@smiling\_bandit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/smiling_bandit)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2006, 7:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hollywood-leans-left-why/340632/52 "2006-01-19T19:14:45Z")
leaving aside all of the squabbling and quibbling here, and talking only about the “big stars,” I think many of them do lean leftward. There are a fair few who lean right, and they may actually do more politically, but they are also usually private about it. Hollywood Righty’s tend to keep their politics to themselves. If they want to express themselves poltically, they do so professionally, not as a star. Hollywood Lefty’s don’t seperate themselves so much. They also tend to be involved on the periphery of politics; more constant but less important. Hollywood Lefty’s go in for big fundraising efforts, or make guest appearances at lefty causes, or give money. Now, (and to be up front I’m biased; deal with it) I think that the most visible Hollywood Lefty’s tend to be fairly shallow about it. of course, I think most Hollywood stars tend to be shallow anyway. They tend to identify with causes that are not really very deep, at least from my perspective. They often don’t think about the real consequences of the causes they support. This does not apply to all Lefty’s by the by. The aforementioned Tom Hanks is beloved by conservatives and liberals - because he seems to be a genuinely nice guy. I’ve met him, and even years later I’ve still impressed by how kind he was to a me (just an ordinary little boy) at the time. He may disagree with me - perhaps dramatically. But I can still repsect him as a human being and a man. From what I see, the ones whom I dislike favor causes not for any real interest, but simply to promote their fame. They want to be seen. ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2006, 7:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hollywood-leans-left-why/340632/53 "2006-01-19T19:24:54Z")
> [@John Mace](#): > > I didn’t realize that the right wing consisted of 68% of Americans: Yeah, that [E-Poll](http://www.epoll.com/epoll/clients/about.htm) has a real scientific way of gathering data; they pay for it: > [@](#): > > Our goal is to give you an effective tool to project your voice through interactive surveys. Earn valuable reward points that can be cashed in for gift cards or other exciting stuff when you become an E-Poll member. > > If you’re just visiting E-Poll, we invite you to sign up and start earning points right away. > > E-Poll provides the venue, the research expertise and the technology for you to share your thoughts with companies that provide products and services you use every day. Join the thousands of people who are earning rewards for their opinions. Sign up now for your free membership. That poll is meaningless. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2006, 7:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hollywood-leans-left-why/340632/54 "2006-01-19T19:32:12Z")
> [@smiling bandit](#): > > Hollywood Righty’s tend to keep their politics to themselves. If they want to express themselves poltically, they do so professionally, not as a star. I don’t understand what this means. We’re all members of this society; we’re all political. It doesn’t make a difference whether you express your politics by running for office or by supporting campaigns or just by speaking your mind. It’s all citizens’ work. > [@](#): > > I think that the most visible Hollywood Lefty’s tend to be fairly shallow about it. of course, I think most Hollywood stars tend to be shallow anyway. I think most people tend to be pretty shallow, especially “regular” people. > [@](#): > > They tend to identify with causes that are not really very deep, at least from my perspective. They often don’t think about the real consequences of the causes they support. And how deep are other people’s opinions? People have the right to have opinions, and, in my view, they have the civic responsibility to make their opinions known, if they feel strongly enough. If they happen to be so lucky as to be famous, then all the better for them. > [@](#): > > This does not apply to all Lefty’s by the by. The aforementioned Tom Hanks is beloved by conservatives and liberals - because he seems to be a genuinely nice guy. Seems and seems. It’s a public persona. Most of us have no idea what Hanks is really like. And it doesn’t matter. I don’t have to agree with people whose work I like and I don’t have to respect people whose opinions I agree with. > [@](#): > > From what I see, the ones whom I dislike favor causes not for any real interest, but simply to promote their fame. They want to be seen. It must be useful to have this ability to read minds. And anyway, none of this really goes to the heart of the OP. I still think “Hollywood is liberal” is a pretty dubious premise. ---
**Author:** ![mswas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e99b99/32.png) [@mswas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mswas)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2006, 7:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hollywood-leans-left-why/340632/55 "2006-01-19T19:40:59Z")
> [@Standup Karmic](#): > > I think it’s generally accepted that Hollywood and the entertainment industry tend to lean left. > > Any ideas on why that is? Because Producers, Actors, and Rock Stars like to smoke pot and fuck hookers. ---
**Author:** ![mazinger\_z](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5f9b8f/32.png) [@mazinger\_z](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mazinger_z)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2006, 7:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hollywood-leans-left-why/340632/56 "2006-01-19T19:41:50Z")
> [@Diogenes the Cynic](#): > > It’s not a matter of opinion. When I made that post I was citing a reputable box office tracking site which stated that Brokeback was number one that day. Quibbling and equivocating about weekly totals does does not really erase the salient point that it’s a commercially successful move and that it was _intended_ as such. I’ll end my hijack here, with this last thought: The point is that there is a standard industry guideline for calling a movie #1. None of the industry rags or shows will claim _Brokeback Mountain_ as #1. Commercially viable/successful is mutually exclusive of being #1. IIRC, _Coming to America_ was number 1 when it came out (making something like 20M). It also proved to be a losing venture. I won’t agree that Brokeback was a financial success until I see the numbers (but I would be suprised if it weren’t a success, especially since early reports seem to tout a $15M production cost.) ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2006, 7:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hollywood-leans-left-why/340632/57 "2006-01-19T19:44:12Z")
> [@mswas](#): > > Because Producers, Actors, and Rock Stars like to smoke pot and fuck hookers. 😕 Doesn’t everybody? ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2006, 7:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hollywood-leans-left-why/340632/58 "2006-01-19T19:45:18Z")
> [@Standup Karmic](#): > > I think it’s generally accepted that Hollywood and the entertainment industry tend to lean left. It is also “generally accepted” that ID is a scientific theory. ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2006, 7:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hollywood-leans-left-why/340632/59 "2006-01-19T19:45:54Z")
> [@mazinger\_z](#): > > It also proved to be a losing venture. All movies all losing ventures; ask any writer with a piece of the back end. ---
**Author:** ![MilTan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/71e660/32.png) [@MilTan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MilTan)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2006, 7:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hollywood-leans-left-why/340632/60 "2006-01-19T19:46:39Z")
> [@smiling bandit](#): > > Hollywood Righty’s tend to keep their politics to themselves. As clearly evidenced by Arnold running for governor and leaning heavily on lines from his movies during the campaign, and Ron Silver giving a speech at the Republican National Convention (and as an actor! Not “professionally”!). [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hollywood-leans-left-why/340632.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hollywood-leans-left-why/340632.md?page=4)