Hollywood stars have signed on to play their favorite characters of all: themselves. Now that they’ve gone on strike and all of their productions are shut down, they’ve taken center stage on “picket lines” to indulge in their favorite pastime of lecturing the rest of us. But while celebs, from Susan Sarandon to Mark Ruffalo, are ditching their makeup and cosplaying “Blue-Collar Americans,” the biggest shockwave on this side of Oppenheimer is rippling through Hollywood. “The Sound of Freedom,” which recently blew past the $100 million mark, might just show us the future of moviemaking.
The independent film based on the life and work of Tim Ballard, a former US government agent who has devoted his life to rescuing children from global sex traffickers, is on track to be hugely profitable. That’s in stark contrast to some of the latest offerings from major woke studios like Disney. “Sound of Freedom” is not without its controversy, but it’s mostly ginned up by the likes of Rolling Stone and other leftwing outlets.
There may be a few reasons behind the media backlash. For one thing, conservatives like it, which therefore means it must be bad. It’s a tired old routine by this point: something resonates with conservatives, mainstream media gets wind of it, and then you can set your watch by how quickly the hit pieces come out. It’s also been suggested in this case that Hollywood, still home to many friends of Harvey Weinstein and Jeffrey Epstein, might have its own reasons for downplaying a movie about sex crimes. But what probably has the studio heads really seething is the success of a movie they didn’t have the guts or creativity to make themselves.
So the entertainment establishment sics their house organs like Rolling Stone on the upstarts behind “Sound of Freedom.” But the disproportionate and disingenuous criticism has only motivated conservatives – and independent-minded Americans who don’t like being scolded about what they can’t watch – to flood the theaters with cash in hand. As the makers of Bud Light found out earlier this year, money talks.
It’s bigger than just this movie. Hollywood has had a monopoly on entertainment for a hundred years. But as long as they continue to churn out boring, politically-correct garbage, they will continue to hemorrhage and alienate viewers. All they can do is lash out at creative competitors who want to do something fresh and meaningful or – Heaven forbid – pro-American.
That’s why they came after Jason Aldean, the latest victim – champion? – of cancel culture in the music world. His song “‘Try That in a Small Town”’ was just pulled from CMT for allegations of racism and even called out by fellow country star Sheryl Crow.
But Aldean stood strong and defended his song, calling out the media for losing their mind over its simple message of patriotism and community. As a result, the song is now number one on the charts.
Aldean’s song resonates with millions of Americans who are proud of their country and communities, but all the more because they respect how he refuses to buy into the media lie that America is racist and evil. The virality of Aldean’s song demonstrates that most Americans see right through attempts to blackball art and media that doesn't fit the mainstream narrative.
The smashing success of "Sound of Freedom" and Jason Aldean’s song signal a reckoning for the entertainment industry. They are just the tip of the iceberg of what will be a metamorphosis for Hollywood. The power to make a hit is moving from centralized corporate studios on the coasts to the people of the heartland where studio execs used to flyover in their private jets looking down on us mere mortals. This shift should make the Bob Igers of the world and their corporate cronies squirm.
A few miles from the major film studio lots is the Hollywood Forever Cemetery. At 6000 Santa Monica Boulevard, you can find the graves of Judy Garland, Mickey Rooney, and Burt Reynolds. These are icons of a Hollywood gone by. Now, Hollywood might be set to bury itself entirely. Its writers have been on strike for months and now the wealthy celebrity actors have put on their best approximation of “blue collar clothes” to go join them for a photo-op on the picket line. They, like all Americans, have their First Amendment right to protest for the future that they want. But if they can’t see that this summer rings with the “Sound of Freedom” and the words of Jason Aldean, then they might just be too far gone.
Link graduated from NYU with a major in Music Business. He also studied entertainment law and has a minor in psychology. He is based in Dallas. TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/t/ZT8JKEH4h/
