Tim Allen, a well-known actor and Hollywood conservative, recently suggested that the atmosphere in the entertainment industry toward people on the right was akin to 1930s Nazi Germany. The Anne Frank Center for Mutual Respect has decided to invoke Godwin’s Law and ask whether Allen has “lost his mind.”
To be sure, Hollywood conservatives are not literally being marched off the gas chambers. The atmosphere was more like the 1950s when people thought to have communist sympathies were blacklisted and were obliged to work behind fronts, go overseas, or write stage plays until the hysteria blew over.
Now the question might be, “Are you or have you ever been a supporter of Donald Trump?”
Allen’s career has not suffered appreciably because of his politics. Famous Hollywood righties such as Bruce Willis and Sylvester Stallone can still find plenty of work. Even Mel Gibson, who spent a decade as a pariah because of a drunken, anti-Semitic rant, has won back a little respect he formerly had because of “Hacksaw Ridge.”
However, an up and comer actor, director, or writer learn pretty quickly if he or she holds views that most in Hollywood find offensive to keep quiet. Not even the most famous conservative actor or director is going to make a right-wing equivalent of Meryl Streep’s recent Donald Trump rant at an awards show.
Certain things are just not done for fear of provoking a riot and them, later, causing the phone not to ring from casting directors and studio heads.
The relentless lack of diversity in the entertainment industry where it comes to politics is usually not that onerous. Film and TV fans have learned to tune out weird political rants by celebrities so long as they make an entertaining product.
On the other hand, when off-putting politics start creeping into storylines, audiences start switching channels and staying away from cinemas in droves. Fortunately, those types of TV shows and movies are few and far between and tend not to be successful in any case.
On the other hand, when was the latest overtly right-wing TV show or movie? The novelty factor alone suggests that at least some would be successful.
