On Wednesday the conservative Heritage Foundation took a short break from opposing the state children’s health insurance program to ponder the tired conservative complaint that liberals control Hollywood. Steve Finefrock, founder of an outfit called the Hollywood Conservative Forum, and a screenwriter whose credits include Department of Homeland Security films, dramatized this right-wing tragedy to about a dozen concerned conservatives.
“All of life is a three-act structure,” Finefrock informed them. In that spirit, his speech’s first act brought back the age-old lament that “Hollywood is in the grip of PC liberals.”
“If you’re a conservative [in the movie business],” Finefrock said. “they block your career.” He didn’t say who “they” are. Finefrock estimated that more than one-third of Hollywood is conservative but like Communists in the McCarthy era they are afraid to speak out. Radical-turned-Republican David Horowitz has made a lucrative career out of this sort of moaning.
Finefrock’s second act optimistically pointed out that conservatives have had success storming other cultural battlefields. In recent years, he said, “we’ve penetrated six areas liberals have dominated for years: journals of opinion, think tanks, campaigns on college campuses, books and publishing, broadcast news and commentary, and blogs. Hollywood is the seventh seal that needs to be broken.”Finerock explained this was indeed an intentional reference to, “a famous Ingmar Bergman film all the intellectuals love.”
But how to penetrate? That is the question (this is an intentional reference to a famous play that all the intellectuals love). The crowd eagerly anticipated Finefrock’s third act.
But the screenwriter hadn’t figured out an ending. “Nobody knows what works,” he said. “It’s like drilling for oil–you don’t know when you’re going to hit a gusher.” It turns out Finefrock is awaiting someone else to lead conservatives into the promised land.
“We just need leadership,” Finefrock said. “We need a Moses; we need a Godfather.” Too bad Fred Thompson is busy running for president.
