I appreciate the call to action at the end, it actually made me feel like it’s not all over before it even began and I could do at least something about this whole horrible mess.
Thank you for writing this... my husband and I both work in the industry... or we did. Our careers have slowly been crumbling for the last few years. Adding Dark Money to my To Read list!
Thank you!! and I feel it... ugh got into the industry in about 2018, started writing (seriously) in 2020 and since then it's been... WOWZA. Sending good vibes your way!!!
If it helps, statistically more Americans identitfy as left-of-center than ever before in the country's history. It sure doesn't *feel* like it, but a lot of the last 8 years has been the Right's response to a shrinking majority - dark money, gerrymandered districts, misinformation, etc. And of course a lot of those who call themselves liberal or progressive didn't show up this latest election, especially amoung the youth vote, perhaps because they tend to be more easily disillusioned. And the Democratic Party, as a party, are largely shit at the ongoing information wars. Lots has to change, but the foundation is there.
Knee-jerk resistance to an increasing progressivism turns out the Right and "Independents" like sugar brings out ants. We're in a strange and somewhat savage time, where we're encountering an intense resistance to something that, likely, given the generational shift, will happen inevitably, if we can keep our rights intact until then. It's gonna be bad for a while. Social media (including Substack) is not owned by those on our side, but let's use it as best we can vs. it using us.
Love this take and so appreciate it 🫶 i need to remember how much has logistically been stacked against progressive movements. The popular vote really shook me this year!!
Thanks for writing this, Tepper, and making this post free to read. (Sorry, not a paid subscriber at the moment!) You make a lot of good points about the scary times we're entering we're entering as an industry, country, and world.
genuinely wonderful read. encapsulates so many of the feelings and fears I have right now. i've been wanting to read on tyranny for a while, but this is pushing it higher on my tbr for sure
Thanks for writing this, glad I’m not alone in seeing the media shift happening. Also Dark Money is such an essential read. I try to get everyone I can to read it
Oh, wow….now I’m regretting that I paid for a year in advance. You are certainly entitled to your opinion - it’s your Substack, after all, but I thought your focus was tips for the industry. I’m sure you believe that you are warning people about how the election outcome will affect the industry, but there was a lot of disgust for conservatism embedded in this piece, which I can get for free elsewhere.
I hope that you can find the good in the months to come - maybe it won’t be as terrible as you are predicting.
I dont disagree that hollywood has lost its “shine” but i feel as tho you’re insinuating that inclusion / representation hurt “hollywood” and made it irrelevant when it discounts key aspects of how the world has changed. Really what i mean is your reasoning for posing this question is so blandly transparent it annoys me lol
1. Capitalism and its needs - without dvd sales and how much the media landscape has changed - box office hits that are “indie” in nature - small stories - good will hunting, jerry maguire, american beauty are not being made as often bc they are too financially risky - you can watch matt damon on hot ones explain this. So, now the hollywood overlords must focus on profit films aka they only make the marvel, superhero films and reboots - then a few key artists find a risk taking producer to make their more “art” projects and those then take the oscar leads or a big swing with big talent - barbie with margot and greta.
2. Streaming / social apps have changed thanks to entertainment apps like youtube x tiktok which have taken audience away (nothing to do with representation and has actually allowed more folks of dif backgrounds to find audience) which is probably the largest reason for less folks watching film/tv in general (tv screen time is down at large not just for an awards show). People now often prefer to stream/ tiktok the quick clips than watch a 3 hour show with only 1-2 films theyve heard of. Tiktok gained traction in 2018 by the way in case that year means anything to you. So if People used to spend 3-4 hours watching tv / films and now its split to 1-2 for those screens and 1-2 for the phone.
3. Your suggestion is flawed. In 1993 it was 46, In 2010 - 40 mil tuned in, in 2014, 43 mil - you just ignore those years after the standards were created to fit the agenda of your question. So “woke” must be the reason in 2020 but not in those other years that nearly matched titanic and pre-numbers? Notating 2020 films which were most likely made in 2017/2018 then finished post in 2019 so not really made in 2020 just released the year of a pandemic lol is again - just lazy. Like you took this info off a fbook comment and regurgitated it bc it fit your world view narrative.
You also completely ignore that the needle of representation has improved but HARDLY and that white people are still racist in the way that they do not go see films with casts that are a majority of other races (often referred to as the Racial Empathy Gap) which then means those films don’t get an entire audience base as where POC go to see white led films all the time.
Hope that was insightful and you enjoy matt damons hot one ep.
Hello, I accepted your DM request because i thought you were reaching out in good faith to fix the issue. You quite literally went out of your way to treat one of your readers of this post as if they didn't matter. So that's on you. I am happy to answer your last question but I'll recap for you :
-Does the Inclusion and Representation Standards for the Oscars diminish the way movies are made in any way?
to which you responded you were "annoyed" by that with the rest of your tirade (above).
You actually cited some other factors that are true and not lost on me. And I appreciate you bringing those points up because they have had an impact (ie, streaming platforms, profit motives of movie producers, etc) They are part of the driving force as to how differently movies are made and consumed.
However, my original point was people have immutable characteristics that they can't change (race, gender, sexuality, etc) so why is the focus not on talent, skill, originality, and creativeness? Talent is talent, Funny is funny, and so on. it doesn't take in immutable characteristics into account.
I mean I know why but I was asking you. But it seems like you are towing the company line like so many others.
Do you have any original thoughts on your own?
Side Note: I haven't been on facebook in years and I have seen the Damon episode. You shouldn't assume too much about people
1. The films only need to meet two of the standards - this means they could literally just have two creative leadership heads (make up is almost always a woman and often for hair too) or paid interns + two marketing execs - who are not white guys - marketing is a very female lead industry - which affect zero sum of the above the line "talent" you claim is being HALTED... and by saying that, in my opinion, you are just assuming the best person for the job is almost always a white man and it's being taken away from him and that's simply not true lol. If you had brought up the new 2024 rules in your original post, i would have some original thoughts on those as well.
2. My second original thought is that I do not think you understand or maybe realize all of the disadvantages and all of the art we MISS OUT ON because POC and women have historically been unable to get their stories told or seen by wide audiences. White people have always had the priority spot and to assume that because they would like you to add a person of color to your film (who surely has as just as much talent or "funny" as any random white guy) the film suffers seems innately simplistic and presumes again that the white guy is the best for the job, which fine if he is.. as my first point stated - just make sure you hire a creative exec who is a woman or a person of color, surely there is a talented person like that out there.
3. My next original thought - I should give you the benefit of the doubt and assume that you you are maybe a very un-internet person and don't realize the way this comment and your past comment on another post have come across so unpleasant and frankly tone-deaf.
4. I also appreciate you noting what you found useful.
5. Lastly, you do not need to follow me, in fact you are not on my subscriber list, maybe you're on some follower list I do not see but I guess I do not know why you would continue to engage with my content as you don't seem to enjoy it.
You’re right. I don’t live on the internet. I live in the real world. Again you assume too much and make everything about race. It’s exhausting and played out. And I don’t assume it’s the white person who is best for the job. You’re putting words in my
You’re right. I don’t live on the internet. I live in the real world. Again you assume too much and make everything about race. It’s exhausting and played out. And I don’t assume it’s the white person who is best for the job. You’re putting words in my mouth.
Lol but you spend time writing in comments online so you do exist in both, as we all do - so you might as well make it an effort to do it well.
And if it's not about race then why did you bring up the inclusion standards in the first place? It's existence is quite literally about improving diversity behind and in front of the camera to find MORE and promote talented people who have been historically excluded.
it says it on that official academy page the rep and inclusions standards "are designed to encourage equitable representation on and off screen to better reflect the diverse global population."
"To appease what they think their audience (and more importantly their shareholders and overlords) want to see… media conglomerates will be playing it safe. More Tim Allen less… any person of color. There will be plenty of stories of triumph over evil and the cognitive dissonance will continue on with nobody being able to see it playing out in real time"
Don't you see the parallels? Don't you see the Oscars Standards as an over correction?
You brought up race. I was focused on the art.
And to go back to your previous question: why I followed you? because i was genuinely interested in the movie industry but your conflating all this culture war nonsense as if Hollywood has to be on right side of history.
Art is not about taking political or cultural side that's the beauty of it.
wow. thanks for the history lesson. Those are called themes. it's a fictional historical drama based on real events. If I'm taking anything away from that film that may not be explicit it would be feminism.
I appreciate the call to action at the end, it actually made me feel like it’s not all over before it even began and I could do at least something about this whole horrible mess.
I feel like that “an object in motion stays in motion” about staying active in life reallt resonates with me lolol
Thank you for writing this... my husband and I both work in the industry... or we did. Our careers have slowly been crumbling for the last few years. Adding Dark Money to my To Read list!
Thank you!! and I feel it... ugh got into the industry in about 2018, started writing (seriously) in 2020 and since then it's been... WOWZA. Sending good vibes your way!!!
First big sign to me was Chick-fil-a announcing they were starting their own content creation / streaming…
WOW didn't even put that together.
I've been sensing this change for a while. That's probably why I've been watching films and television shows from the 2000s and before.
If it helps, statistically more Americans identitfy as left-of-center than ever before in the country's history. It sure doesn't *feel* like it, but a lot of the last 8 years has been the Right's response to a shrinking majority - dark money, gerrymandered districts, misinformation, etc. And of course a lot of those who call themselves liberal or progressive didn't show up this latest election, especially amoung the youth vote, perhaps because they tend to be more easily disillusioned. And the Democratic Party, as a party, are largely shit at the ongoing information wars. Lots has to change, but the foundation is there.
Knee-jerk resistance to an increasing progressivism turns out the Right and "Independents" like sugar brings out ants. We're in a strange and somewhat savage time, where we're encountering an intense resistance to something that, likely, given the generational shift, will happen inevitably, if we can keep our rights intact until then. It's gonna be bad for a while. Social media (including Substack) is not owned by those on our side, but let's use it as best we can vs. it using us.
Love this take and so appreciate it 🫶 i need to remember how much has logistically been stacked against progressive movements. The popular vote really shook me this year!!
Wow, that "obeying in advance" quote feels prophetic. Was waiting to dive into a post by you. Not disappointed at all.
🥹🥹🫶🫶 much more to come - hopefully not too deep to get lost but i do love it
Thanks for writing this, Tepper, and making this post free to read. (Sorry, not a paid subscriber at the moment!) You make a lot of good points about the scary times we're entering we're entering as an industry, country, and world.
Oh god never apologize!! Scary times indeed but we will get through it !!!
genuinely wonderful read. encapsulates so many of the feelings and fears I have right now. i've been wanting to read on tyranny for a while, but this is pushing it higher on my tbr for sure
Hey Tepper,
I feel the same way. But keep creating. It is in these times that some of the most creative work gets made. Hugs and love my dear.
<3 we've got this!
Thanks for writing this, glad I’m not alone in seeing the media shift happening. Also Dark Money is such an essential read. I try to get everyone I can to read it
Is there a reason why my initial comment was deleted ?
Oh, wow….now I’m regretting that I paid for a year in advance. You are certainly entitled to your opinion - it’s your Substack, after all, but I thought your focus was tips for the industry. I’m sure you believe that you are warning people about how the election outcome will affect the industry, but there was a lot of disgust for conservatism embedded in this piece, which I can get for free elsewhere.
I hope that you can find the good in the months to come - maybe it won’t be as terrible as you are predicting.
I dont disagree that hollywood has lost its “shine” but i feel as tho you’re insinuating that inclusion / representation hurt “hollywood” and made it irrelevant when it discounts key aspects of how the world has changed. Really what i mean is your reasoning for posing this question is so blandly transparent it annoys me lol
1. Capitalism and its needs - without dvd sales and how much the media landscape has changed - box office hits that are “indie” in nature - small stories - good will hunting, jerry maguire, american beauty are not being made as often bc they are too financially risky - you can watch matt damon on hot ones explain this. So, now the hollywood overlords must focus on profit films aka they only make the marvel, superhero films and reboots - then a few key artists find a risk taking producer to make their more “art” projects and those then take the oscar leads or a big swing with big talent - barbie with margot and greta.
2. Streaming / social apps have changed thanks to entertainment apps like youtube x tiktok which have taken audience away (nothing to do with representation and has actually allowed more folks of dif backgrounds to find audience) which is probably the largest reason for less folks watching film/tv in general (tv screen time is down at large not just for an awards show). People now often prefer to stream/ tiktok the quick clips than watch a 3 hour show with only 1-2 films theyve heard of. Tiktok gained traction in 2018 by the way in case that year means anything to you. So if People used to spend 3-4 hours watching tv / films and now its split to 1-2 for those screens and 1-2 for the phone.
3. Your suggestion is flawed. In 1993 it was 46, In 2010 - 40 mil tuned in, in 2014, 43 mil - you just ignore those years after the standards were created to fit the agenda of your question. So “woke” must be the reason in 2020 but not in those other years that nearly matched titanic and pre-numbers? Notating 2020 films which were most likely made in 2017/2018 then finished post in 2019 so not really made in 2020 just released the year of a pandemic lol is again - just lazy. Like you took this info off a fbook comment and regurgitated it bc it fit your world view narrative.
You also completely ignore that the needle of representation has improved but HARDLY and that white people are still racist in the way that they do not go see films with casts that are a majority of other races (often referred to as the Racial Empathy Gap) which then means those films don’t get an entire audience base as where POC go to see white led films all the time.
Hope that was insightful and you enjoy matt damons hot one ep.
Is there a reason why my initial comment was deleted?
I quite literally messaged you and asked you to recomment it bc it wouldnt let me comment then deleted it
Hello, I accepted your DM request because i thought you were reaching out in good faith to fix the issue. You quite literally went out of your way to treat one of your readers of this post as if they didn't matter. So that's on you. I am happy to answer your last question but I'll recap for you :
-Does the Inclusion and Representation Standards for the Oscars diminish the way movies are made in any way?
https://www.oscars.org/awards/representation-and-inclusion-standards
to which you responded you were "annoyed" by that with the rest of your tirade (above).
You actually cited some other factors that are true and not lost on me. And I appreciate you bringing those points up because they have had an impact (ie, streaming platforms, profit motives of movie producers, etc) They are part of the driving force as to how differently movies are made and consumed.
However, my original point was people have immutable characteristics that they can't change (race, gender, sexuality, etc) so why is the focus not on talent, skill, originality, and creativeness? Talent is talent, Funny is funny, and so on. it doesn't take in immutable characteristics into account.
I mean I know why but I was asking you. But it seems like you are towing the company line like so many others.
Do you have any original thoughts on your own?
Side Note: I haven't been on facebook in years and I have seen the Damon episode. You shouldn't assume too much about people
Here are a few original thoughts:
1. The films only need to meet two of the standards - this means they could literally just have two creative leadership heads (make up is almost always a woman and often for hair too) or paid interns + two marketing execs - who are not white guys - marketing is a very female lead industry - which affect zero sum of the above the line "talent" you claim is being HALTED... and by saying that, in my opinion, you are just assuming the best person for the job is almost always a white man and it's being taken away from him and that's simply not true lol. If you had brought up the new 2024 rules in your original post, i would have some original thoughts on those as well.
2. My second original thought is that I do not think you understand or maybe realize all of the disadvantages and all of the art we MISS OUT ON because POC and women have historically been unable to get their stories told or seen by wide audiences. White people have always had the priority spot and to assume that because they would like you to add a person of color to your film (who surely has as just as much talent or "funny" as any random white guy) the film suffers seems innately simplistic and presumes again that the white guy is the best for the job, which fine if he is.. as my first point stated - just make sure you hire a creative exec who is a woman or a person of color, surely there is a talented person like that out there.
3. My next original thought - I should give you the benefit of the doubt and assume that you you are maybe a very un-internet person and don't realize the way this comment and your past comment on another post have come across so unpleasant and frankly tone-deaf.
4. I also appreciate you noting what you found useful.
5. Lastly, you do not need to follow me, in fact you are not on my subscriber list, maybe you're on some follower list I do not see but I guess I do not know why you would continue to engage with my content as you don't seem to enjoy it.
You’re right. I don’t live on the internet. I live in the real world. Again you assume too much and make everything about race. It’s exhausting and played out. And I don’t assume it’s the white person who is best for the job. You’re putting words in my
You’re right. I don’t live on the internet. I live in the real world. Again you assume too much and make everything about race. It’s exhausting and played out. And I don’t assume it’s the white person who is best for the job. You’re putting words in my mouth.
Lol but you spend time writing in comments online so you do exist in both, as we all do - so you might as well make it an effort to do it well.
And if it's not about race then why did you bring up the inclusion standards in the first place? It's existence is quite literally about improving diversity behind and in front of the camera to find MORE and promote talented people who have been historically excluded.
it says it on that official academy page the rep and inclusions standards "are designed to encourage equitable representation on and off screen to better reflect the diverse global population."
What is your comment about then?
from your post:
"To appease what they think their audience (and more importantly their shareholders and overlords) want to see… media conglomerates will be playing it safe. More Tim Allen less… any person of color. There will be plenty of stories of triumph over evil and the cognitive dissonance will continue on with nobody being able to see it playing out in real time"
Don't you see the parallels? Don't you see the Oscars Standards as an over correction?
You brought up race. I was focused on the art.
And to go back to your previous question: why I followed you? because i was genuinely interested in the movie industry but your conflating all this culture war nonsense as if Hollywood has to be on right side of history.
Art is not about taking political or cultural side that's the beauty of it.
Titanic is literally a story about class conflict, greed ... and love and tragedy. Good day.
wow. thanks for the history lesson. Those are called themes. it's a fictional historical drama based on real events. If I'm taking anything away from that film that may not be explicit it would be feminism.