Comment:
"Survey: Hollywood Out Of Touch"
Thank you for an interesting and unique post on the discord between American morality and Hollywood. I thought you were especially successful in highlighting the most important findings and results. 
I also thought it was effective that you included quotes from Abraham H. Foxman, especially his statement that "the belief that religion is under attack underlies the drive to incorporate more religion into American public life. Disturbingly, 43% of Americans believe there is an organized campaign by Hollywood and the national media to weaken the influence of religious values in this country." While I disagree that there is intent to weaken morality, I do believe that there is blatant disregard for morality in most of Hollywood's productions today. It is through this disregard and the lack of incorporation of morality and religion that Americans' morals are unfairly neglected in entertainment. If 43 percent of the country believes that Hollywood is trying to minimize religion then almost half of the nation does not identify with the entertainment offered to them. This is either a failure on behalf of the entertainment industry to connect with its consumers or it is clear that moral issues don't produce great ratings. Even though more than half of the nation considers Hollywood immoral, these people are still tuning into watch "immoral" shows. Ultimately, what seems to be missing is a moral counterpart, another option. Additionally, I like how you incorporated the fact that 49 percent of Americans surveyed believe the United States is becoming "too tolerant in its acceptance of different ideas and lifestyles." This is a strong finding and I believe Hollywood may be responsible for presenting many of these alternate ideas and lifestyles. In a time when it is not uncommon for shows and movies to feature homosexual characters, graphic sexual scenes, extreme violence and other issues that were previously taboo in entertainment it is clear that sometimes the rest of the nation might not be as radical as Hollywood just yet. I would have liked it if you incorporated some more quotes from ADL leaders to discuss some of the specifics in their findings. Also, this post left me wondering what your own opinions on the survey are. I would have loved it if you had included some of your own perspective as someone extremely familiar with the workings of the entertainment industry. Do you think these findings are surprising at all? Do you think that Hollywood will ever offer moral alternatives to appease the more religious half of the nation?
I also thought it was effective that you included quotes from Abraham H. Foxman, especially his statement that "the belief that religion is under attack underlies the drive to incorporate more religion into American public life. Disturbingly, 43% of Americans believe there is an organized campaign by Hollywood and the national media to weaken the influence of religious values in this country." While I disagree that there is intent to weaken morality, I do believe that there is blatant disregard for morality in most of Hollywood's productions today. It is through this disregard and the lack of incorporation of morality and religion that Americans' morals are unfairly neglected in entertainment. If 43 percent of the country believes that Hollywood is trying to minimize religion then almost half of the nation does not identify with the entertainment offered to them. This is either a failure on behalf of the entertainment industry to connect with its consumers or it is clear that moral issues don't produce great ratings. Even though more than half of the nation considers Hollywood immoral, these people are still tuning into watch "immoral" shows. Ultimately, what seems to be missing is a moral counterpart, another option. Additionally, I like how you incorporated the fact that 49 percent of Americans surveyed believe the United States is becoming "too tolerant in its acceptance of different ideas and lifestyles." This is a strong finding and I believe Hollywood may be responsible for presenting many of these alternate ideas and lifestyles. In a time when it is not uncommon for shows and movies to feature homosexual characters, graphic sexual scenes, extreme violence and other issues that were previously taboo in entertainment it is clear that sometimes the rest of the nation might not be as radical as Hollywood just yet. I would have liked it if you incorporated some more quotes from ADL leaders to discuss some of the specifics in their findings. Also, this post left me wondering what your own opinions on the survey are. I would have loved it if you had included some of your own perspective as someone extremely familiar with the workings of the entertainment industry. Do you think these findings are surprising at all? Do you think that Hollywood will ever offer moral alternatives to appease the more religious half of the nation? Comment:
"Americans Feel Religious Views Attacked"
Thank you for a well-developed and informative post on the morality of Americans in relation to Hollywood. I enjoyed how you approached the recent survey from a variety of angles, including political, past, and Jewish. I think your post was especially effective in its use of results from past surveys, including your use of the information that since 2005, more people feel morality is under attack. Your use of previous study results was also extremely interesting when you referenced the first survey on Anti-Semitic attitudes that the ADL conducted in 1964. I was surprised to learn that in 1964 almost half of Americans believed Jews, compared with the 22 percent that felt that way today, ran Hollywood. I had never even been aware that there was a notion that one specific religion controlled Hollywood's productions and think that may be because my generation features only a small percentage of people that believe such an idea. Y
ou also brought an interesting fact to the forefront when you mentioned that 40 percent of Americans believe dangerous ideas should be kept from children but the same number believe censoring books is an old fashioned idea. This was obviously an inconsistency in the results, or the surveyed people didn't fully comprehend the definition of censorship to begin with. I wonder what you would account this discrepancy to? Even though I would have loved to know your opinion on the matter I thought it was important that you included Abraham H. Foxman's response to the findings with his statement that "it (approval of censorship) shows that in this age of pervasive media and the widening availability of the internet, many Americans still maintain a very parochial view toward the information age, and even believe in censorship to 'protect morality.' If anything, it points to the need for greater awareness of the fundamental role that the First Amendment has played in helping religious freedom in America to be sustained, and indeed, to flourish." This quotation clearly sums up an important part of the survey's findings and gives the religious sector of America, as well as the entertainment industry something to reconcile. Overall, I was very impressed with the background and supplemental information used in your reaction to the survey and felt the only thing missing was your own developed opinions to further the discussion of the relationship between morality and Hollywood.
ou also brought an interesting fact to the forefront when you mentioned that 40 percent of Americans believe dangerous ideas should be kept from children but the same number believe censoring books is an old fashioned idea. This was obviously an inconsistency in the results, or the surveyed people didn't fully comprehend the definition of censorship to begin with. I wonder what you would account this discrepancy to? Even though I would have loved to know your opinion on the matter I thought it was important that you included Abraham H. Foxman's response to the findings with his statement that "it (approval of censorship) shows that in this age of pervasive media and the widening availability of the internet, many Americans still maintain a very parochial view toward the information age, and even believe in censorship to 'protect morality.' If anything, it points to the need for greater awareness of the fundamental role that the First Amendment has played in helping religious freedom in America to be sustained, and indeed, to flourish." This quotation clearly sums up an important part of the survey's findings and gives the religious sector of America, as well as the entertainment industry something to reconcile. Overall, I was very impressed with the background and supplemental information used in your reaction to the survey and felt the only thing missing was your own developed opinions to further the discussion of the relationship between morality and Hollywood. 
No comments:
Post a Comment