“Forgotten Hollywood”- Critics Choice…

Posted on February 7, 2016 by raideoman1 | No Comments

Manny P. here… 330px-Birth_of_a_Nation_theatrical_poster

   The Forgotten Hollywood premise is that entertainment and Americana has a long history of collaboration in what I refer to as seldom-remembered Hollywood-and-Vine moments. Over the long decades, cinematic plots tackling important issues have garnered critical acclaim for their risk-reward approach. Sometimes, the screenings of motion pictures have also laid at the doorstep of those who are in the cross-hairs of controversy.

   For example, President Woodrow Wilson all but endorsed the Ku Klux Klan after he viewed The Birth of a Nation from his seat at the White House, proclaiming its significance in American culture. The Chief Executive’s ringing endorsement assured Jim Crow policies that followed for decades in the South, including the heinous practice of lynching African Americans for the folly of its citizenry.

   In 2016, movie screenings are expected in the most controversial of settings. It has been announced The Big Short is scheduled to be shown to both Houses of Congress; while Spotlight is on tap at the Vatican. The former highlights the visionaries who predicted the collapse of the United States housing market in 2007; while the latter tackles the issue of the Catholic priest sex scandal over the last three decades, as chronicled through an exposé of investigative reports from the Boston Globe.

The_Big_Short_teaser_poster   Spotlight_(film)_poster

   Democrats and Republicans will surely squirm in their collective seats as the they watch a movie that is essentially a big wet kiss to the candidacy of Independent Bernie Sander’s as he runs for president. One can only assume that, after the screening, Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren will address the combined chambers, lambasting the notion of supporting Wall Street and the crony capitalism that has enveloped our politics of the day. The cry that nothing is too big to fail will be heard across the nation.

   If both sides of the aisle are uncomfortable within the Capitol building in Washington, the Vatican cardinals might all-out revolt after they watch a motion picture tapped to win this year’s Oscar for Best Picture. The press release that is sure to follow from Rome could be quite scathing in its assessment of the Hollywood elite.

   All kidding aside, I applaud the members of Congress and the Vatican for displaying the courage to accept the criticism that comes from our visual arts community. It shows a sincere effort by the powerful to address uncomfortable issues of the day with the intention to provide worthy solutions.

Until next time>                               “never forget”

This entry was posted on Sunday, February 7th, 2016 at 11:33 am and is filed under Blog by Manny Pacheco. You can follow any comments to this post through the RSS 2.0 feed. Responses are currently closed, but you can trackback from your own site.


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