Posted on 03/22/2003 7:17:00 AM PST by JohnHuang2
"How many films have you seen in which conservatives, Republicans or religious Americans are ridiculed and portrayed as being hateful, weak or stupid?"
That's how the organizers of a new effort to combat a perceived left-wing dominance of the film industry begin their appeal on the website www.patriotmovies.com.
The American Patriot Film Festival Inc., a nonprofit organization birthed Feb. 28, was created to "draw together Americans from various walks of life interested in watching and producing conservative and libertarian films."
According to the group's website, its three-fold purpose is:
Organizers claim several nationally known conservative personalities have been contacted to make appearances at the first annual film festival, which is scheduled for early next year. A host city for the event has yet to be determined.
The group decries the "left-wing elitists" it says dominate Hollywood and who "maintain a stranglehold over the entertainment industry."
As WorldNetDaily reported, Hollywood celebrities have come under increasing criticism of late for their outspoken statements against President Bush and military action against Iraq.
Thousands of people have signed an online petition entitled "Citizens Against Celebrity 'Pundits'" since it was posted by a North Carolina woman in January.
The American Patriot Film Festival also has an online petition drive. Addressed to major motion-picture studio executives, the petition criticizes the Hollywood left and asks the studios "to produce films with conservative themes." It will be delivered to the executives on Sept. 11.
Jim Hubbard is the director and founder of the group. He tells WND he got the idea after a talk-radio show began hosting a monthly classic-movie night in Little Rock, Ark., which consistently drew good crowds.
Hubbard says the powers that be in Hollywood are "openly hostile to millions of Americans," citing the fact that for decades, opinion polls consistently show that more people identify themselves as conservatives than liberals.
Commented Hubbard, "There's a huge cultural gap between middle America and the Hollywood left."
Hubbard says the first film festival likely will last two days but that he ultimately envisions a 10-festival running at the same time as the Cannes Film Festival.
According to Hubbard, the organization has raised "thousands of dollars" toward the effort and is working on getting well-known Hollywood conservatives to help spread the word.
Hoping to eventually provide services to conservative filmmakers, Hubbard plans to provide a forum for directors and producers, and host screenwriting seminars.
Hubbard predicts the American Patriot Film Festival will "fill a vacuum" in the liberal entertainment industry just like Fox News Channel provided a popular alternative in cable news and Rush Limbaugh did in talk radio.
Besides the moral benefits of producing more traditional fare, Hubbard says there is an economic upside as well. He is convinced that if filmmakers made more movies with conservative values, they would see a boost in profits.
Said Hubbard, "There is a huge market for people of faith."
Indeed, as WND reported, the top 10 grossing movies of 2002 were also some of the cleanest. Six of the top 10, and four of the top five, contained no sexual immorality, and seven of the 10 were void of sexual nudity, according to a study by the Christian Film & Television Commission.
One of my all-time favorite movies is Big Jim McClain (1952) in which John Wayne plays the role of an investigator for the House Committee on Un-American Activities. How's that for a politically incorrect film?
You might not agree, but I thought Tim Allen's family on Home Improvement was pretty good. Allen's character was a bit of a goof, but I think it showed Husband, Wife and Family in a very positive light.
The show does depict a loving family and for that it needs to be commended. But the smartest one in the family is the mother, followed by the children, with dad taking up the rear. Smart women are good; dumb men are bad.
Not only is the dad not a great role model, but his friend, AL, isn't either. He's what Hollyweird wants us to think of as The Sensative Man. He's insecure, too in touch with his feminine side and just too wishy-washy. Facial hair asside, he has a definite lack of testosterone.
We watched Tool Time a lot before we had children. After I started considering the messages it sent with regards to a father figure, we stopped.
One show I used to like but can't stand today is Seventh Heaven. The wife seems to be nothing but "super bitch" while Pops always has to clean up the mess. She is what I would imagine Hillary to be in a family.
Well, I wish you success. I had to get digital cable to get the "good" channels - like tvland, BBC America and the Sci Fi channel.
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