Does the product that Hollywood puts out increase the danger to America? Does their product cause Islamic extremists to have hatred of America? If Hollywood created more moral movies would there be less hatred of America?
I’m sure they can point to movies as just one more example of western decadance, but elements of the Islamic world were every bit as mad at us before Hollywood started making movies as they are today. Ultimately, I doubt it makes any difference.
Their hot-button issues with the west are the Crusades and America’s support of Israel. The worst movies ever made don’t compete with those.
Hollywood (in which I think we should include the US television industry) enormously influences perceptions of America. It is, therefore, responsible at least in part for all forms of anti-American sentiment, both internal and external.
On the other hand, it is responsble at least in part for all forms of pro-American sentiment as well.
That’s not a very useful answer, is it?
No. At least, not without compromising artistic liberties to an extent that even American moralists (except for the extreme religious fringe, perhaps) would find extreme and bizarre. We’re not talking a reduction in naked boobies and explosions, here. We’re talking June Cleaver in a Chador.
I remember a story about a Islamic student studying to be an engineer in America(he’d later return to his homeland to become a prominent Islamic militant). He was taken to a party by friends and was shocked and apalled at the indecncy and immorality of the event. It was a barn dance. Hard to get more wholesome than that.
There is an extreme cultural gulf between Western mores and the Islamic word. Tension exists becuase the world economic situation seems to force Western products, and thus Western culture, upon these countries.
Plus these countries (by which I mean, the places which breed Islamic terrorism) suck. They’re poor. They’re largely tyrannies. And the West, so rich and luxorious in comparison, had some part in making them that way.
You want an end to Islamic terorism and anti-western sentiment? Make the Islamic world rich, free, and either not dependent on Western goods, or accepting of the Westernization of their society. How do we do that? Damned if I know.
Saudi Arabia is poor now? :eek:
Well, yeah, of course. So what?
This is a favorite topic of social conservative talk show hosts, and I find it ridiculous. “The terrorists hate freedom” is such a common mantra among these same people - what part of freedom did you think they hated? Free speech! Mind you, it’s not just Hollywood, it’s all American pop culture, and it’s hardly the only thing that they have against us, but the idea is the same.
One aspect of living in a society like ours is that you have to put up with hearing and seeing a certain amount of stuff that you don’t like, whether it’s because you find it morally reprehensible or simply inane. You’re free to rail against it all you like, but there’s always going to be a certain contingent that feels that whatever they disagree with must be squashed and destroyed. This goes double for people who see their traditional culture being pushed in to the background in favor of an entire value system that is pretty much entirely incompatible with theirs.
Think about how these people (American social conservatives) react when they hear a liberal say that 9/11 was simply the response that should have been expected to American foreign policy. Why is it suddenly so different when they say that terrorism is simply the response that should be expected to an immoral popular culture?
Do both sides have a point? Sure. Both our foreign policy and our popular culture have contributed to anti-American sentiment around the world. There are other aspects as well. But both sides miss the point. Right or wrong, the terrorists hate the whole package. As ridiculous as it sounds, we’re fighting to keep a burqua off of Britney Spears, to keep the Queer Eye guys from being publicly stoned (I mean with rocks, for all I know they get publicly stoned quite often), to have swearing on network TV cop shows! We are fighting at the same time for our rights to disagree as much as we please with these things, to put our arguments to the test of public opinion and let people decide for themselves.
LC
The answer to the OP is “no”.
If Hollywood were putting out anti-Islamic propoganda and actively encouraging Americans to hate Moslems, then it would be responsible. As it is, if Moslems hate Westerners because of “decadent” movies, and encourage other Moslems to act on that hatred towards Westerners, then the Moslems themselves are solely responsible for their actions.
Even if Hollywood could reduce Islamic hatred of the US by self-censorship, this would still not indict Hollywood for that hatred in the first place.
Exactly how many American movies do you think Bin Laden watched last year?
I doubt most of these fanatics would even WATCH an American film. Why? Because it was produced by America, so it must be sinful. Hollywood isn’t causing militants to hate America. Perhaps they could point to our movies as an example of the sin we spread to the world (or some such), but I think it’s a non-issue. We’re hated because of Israel, because of support for corrupt monarchs, etc.
The Islamic fundamentalists hate the West for what they see as our interference in their affairs – our lopsided support of Israel, our support of repressive governments in the ME, our exploitation of their resources, etc., etc., etc. In their view, if we’d just leave them alone, they would be glad to leave us alone with our sinful movies and sinful music videos and sinful blue jeans – all the while laughing at us, I’m sure.
Blaming Hollywood for Islamic terrorism is as misguided as blaming Jimmy Carter for Bush’s Iraqi WMD claims.
I think that the US military might be slightly more responsible for anti.American sentiments in muslim populations then the movie industry. Just a wild guess.
A truly excellent post, Lucki.
By “Hollywood”, I think we can mean “American Pop Culture,” the whole Movie/TV/internet/music entertainment industry. And I think all you need to know is that the 9/11 hijackers went to a boobie bar.
It’s a love/hate thing. American culture as seen on TV is exciting and tempting; it’s also against Islam. Tough fix, that. “I hate you because I don’t/can’t have you” is part of it, as is the reflexive anger of a redneck towards a homosexual whose very existience offends him. But it’s also conflicted.
The way you feel when Wal-Mart moves into your town: it’ll kill the mom-and-pop places you grew up on, but it’s also so damned convienient. The addiction you just can’t give up even though you know its wrong. The other woman.
As posted above, I doubt they get much of our television and movies. I don’t think you can hang this on bad movies or television. But then again, Simple Life may inspire a few people to hate the west;)