Setting the Record Straight

Hollywood wasn’t always like it is today

By Ben Chapman
From the March 2006 Print Edition

It’s been said that the West Coast may as well be called the “Left” Coast, and not without good reason. Hollywood is a major cultural center of the United States, and the images we broadcast reach billions across the globe. So when Michael Moore goes on a political tirade while accepting his Oscar in 2003, he perpetuates the stereotype that Hollywood is filled with self-aggrandizing cultural snobs bent on political dominance through means other than the ballot box. And sadly, that stereotype seems to be true, as oafish celebs attempt, almost comically, to inculcate the masses with their liberal vision of the world, with films like Fahrenheit 9/11. Yet as the recall and the 2004 elections point out, they failed miserably at actually changing electoral outcomes.

But it wasn’t always like this. Once upon a time, when California was still a bastion of the Republican Party, when Republicans held the governor’s office for 40 years straight, Hollywood stood for very different values. Maybe it’s more accurate to say there was a time Hollywood actually had values.

When the silver screen was in its adolescence, the United States was attacked at Pearl Harbor and World War II broke out. In response to a large military buildup and draft, many major actors of the day did what any responsible American would do — they volunteered to fight. They didn’t protest or blame the president for his inaction — they fought.

The list of patriotic soldier-actors is long, but notables include Academy Award winner Van Heflin, Gunsmoke hero James Arness (awarded a Bronze Star for rescuing the wounded), Get Smart’s Don Adams, and Art Carney from The Honeymooners. Desi Arnaz (of I Love Lucy fame) was offered a commission with the Cuban navy. He refused, choosing to enlist with the U.S. Navy instead. He finished the war entertaining the troops. And of course, Charleton Heston was a radio operator on B-52 bombers.

Before Charles Bronson and Jack Lemmon were stars, they were infantrymen. Walter Matthau won six Silver Stars as an Air Force gunner. And Academy Award winner Lee Marvin assaulted the beaches of the Pacific as a Marine.

In addition to patriotic movie and TV stars, movie studios also pitched in to the war effort. Walt Disney Studios produced anti-Nazi films using the lovable mouse and duck characters we’ve come to know and love. Der Fuehrer’s Face, starring Donald Duck, even won an Academy Award!

But, you could say, that was World War II! Everyone stepped up the plate, and no one could be as air-headedly vapid as Hollywood is today. So let’s come a little closer to the here and now.

Even after the close of WWII, Hollywood was still not quite the Hollyweird we would recognize today. Even during the early days of the Cold War, Hollywood still stood by defending America against her enemies. Anticommunist films came out of Hollywood, such as The Red Menace (1949) and I Married a Communist (1950). And of course, Ronald Reagan, president of the Screen Actor’s Guild, gave testimony to the House Committee of Un-American Activities, because he feared Communist infiltration into the SAG.

Reagan, of course, has his own story. He made numerous training and educational films for the Air Force during World War II and was promoted to the rank of captain. He received an honorable discharge, switched party affiliations, and eventually became one of the greatest presidents of all time, championing economic freedom at home and abroad.

So what happened? How did Hollywood turn from a balanced, if not outright conservative, institution, into the bastion of moon-battery we know today? It is unfortunate that during the ’60s, Hollywood culture took a sharp left turn. Opposition to the war in Vietnam was great and popular, and Hollywood simply catered to what the young people of the time wanted: sex, drugs, and rock n’roll. Defending America and freedom wasn’t popular anymore. Perhaps the sharp rise in the use of mind-altering drugs has something to do with the rise of the Democratic Party in California.

Maybe not, but the correlation is eerie.

But even so, Hollywood’s old conservative patterns can still be seen. Just because Michael Moore throws a hissy-fit on national television doesn’t mean that people like it — in fact, he was booed. And the irony of Rosie O’Donnell advocating gun control while being escorted by gun-wielding security guards is not lost on the public. Bob Hope entertained our troops for decades, working with the United Service Organizations. He used his comedy routine to boost our troop’s spirits in WWII, the Korean War, Vietnam, and the Gulf War. He loved America and our troops until the day he died in 2003. He was also a conservative.

Even today, stars like Mel Gibson, Kelsey Grammer, Clint Eastwood, Pat Sajak, Bruce Willis, John O’Hurley, and Ben Stein are conservative and proud of it.

And of course, the icing on the cake: Arnold Schwarzenegger, one of Hollywood’s biggest and most popular stars, is also one of the most famous Republicans today, after having terminated Grey Davis’ governorship in the 2003 recall.

Simply put, the stages, silver screens, and TV sets of Hollywood are big enough for two parties, two ideologies. And one has been a presence much longer than the other.

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