Barbara Nicolosi teaches screenwriting to aspiring Catholic writers at the acclaimed Act One: Writing for Hollywood. You may email her at [email protected].
(Originally published in LIGUORIAN Magazine, One Liguori Drive, Liguori, MO, 63057.)
The Great Satan
As Christians, we believe that God only permits evil in so far as He can bring out of it a greater good. Perhaps, as a result of the tragedy of September 11, along with a renewed sense of patriotism and national unity, we may also see as a move toward the good in the entertainment industry.
Many people in “the business,” have been going through something akin to survivor guilt since the terrorist attacks. They are only too aware that a big part of the hatred that Islamic fanatics feel for America is due to the pervasiveness and frequently deleterious impact of the popular culture that Hollywood exports to the world. From the babes of Baywatch to crass films like Freddy Got Fingered and There’s Something About Mary, our entertainment industry has done more than its share to earn America the hated status of being ‘Great Satan’ to many in the Arab world.
It Was Like A Movie
Add to this the refrain repeated by many of our fellow Americans at the terrible sight of the towers coming down. “It was like a movie,” people kept saying, each time making those of us in the entertainment industry sicker. “Is that how we make people feel?”
In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, film director and industry icon Robert Altman, put the blame for the tragedy squarely at the gates of Hollywood’s networks and studios. “The movies set the pattern, and these people [the terrorists] have copied the movies. Nobody would have thought to commit an atrocity like that unless they'd seen it in a movie. How dare we continue to show this kind of mass destruction in movies? We created this atmosphere and taught them how to do it.”
The truth is, the industry had been going through some intense – if in-house – soul-searching ever since the tragic shootings at Columbine high school. For several months after the shootings, Written By, the publication of the Writers Guild of America became a forum for round robin piling on and disowning responsibility for the massacre that Klebold and Harris recorded was inspired by the movie Natural Born Killers.
In the immediate aftermath of the September 11 attacks, a very healthy wave of perspective surged down Sunset Boulevard. All the accumulated adulation from decades of star making was wiped away in one terrible hour. Actors are not heroes. Movie directors are not imbued with divinity. Everything Hollywood has done in the last century pales in significance beside the choice of any one NY city policeman to rush into a building engulfed in flames. Who can forget the shock induced decorum of the biggest stars in Hollywood during the unprecedented two-hour telethon that was aired for free on every network? This season’s award shows were noticeably lacking in the usual absurd gushing about how wonderful and amazing it is to be part of the movie business.
A Seat At The Table
Since the attack, television networks have been scrambling to come up with new shows that can help America feel better; that can help Hollywood feel better about itself. But what kind of show to do?
The script service where I work was called by a creative executive at one of the major networks. “We’re looking for a kind of, well, something like The Waltons – only for today.” A friend who works for another network told me her bosses were looking for a show in which, “Somebody doesn’t die every week.” That is, no medical, legal or police show would fit the bill.
[Now, before hundreds of you besiege me with the perfect idea for a show, know that nobody from outside the business is allowed to pitch television shows. From the industry standpoint, outsiders pitching ideas for television is like someone with a CPR certificate attempting brain surgery. ]
For those who have eyes to see, there are many hopeful indicators of a dawning spiritual revival in the entertainment industry. A spate of effective ministries has recently been created to serve the spiritual needs of Christians in the industry. The tremendous success of The Lord Of The Rings has sent every creative executive looking for fantasy stories with a spiritual theme. Madeleine L’Engle’s classic, A Wrinkle In Time will air on ABC this year as a major mini-series. Also to air on ABC this year is a new film, Judas, made by Paulist Productions.
Two recent talks in Hollywood by Bruce Wilkinson, the author of the best selling book The Prayer Of Jabez, drew nearly 800 professionals from levels in the entertainment community.
More than looking to develop overtly religious projects, however, more people than ever around town are talking about creating programming that will be good for people. If only the Church was better positioned in the industry, this would be an ideal opportunity to influence those whose creative choices set the entertainment agenda for tens of millions around the world. Things are getting better, but how much quicker the upward trajectory would be if only more believers had seats around the table.
