I've got a strong impression that our self-worth seems to depend on what's on Hollywood.

Really, Do we actually need Hollywood to validate our self-worth ???

Test test

No, we don't but by the same token, you can't be all lackadaisical about the issue, when there is blatant insult being perpetuated, can you?

I mean, I can go on for hours offering my passionate opinion on this subject (I've been in debates, submitted essays even) but in summary, there are two camps on either side of the spectrum:

1. Hollywood is evil: I'm still a virgin because everyone thinks I'm William Hung.
2. Why should we care about Hollywood, besides, those ching chong jokes are funny.

Those are both extremes. I think it's healthy to be somewhere in the middle. Personally, I think people underestimate the impact media (any form of media) has on its audience. It's why advertising is a multi-billion dollar affair, with companies entering lotteries for a prime time slots. Corporations don't just throw their money around. They know advertising goes a long way toward instilling certain thought processes in their targets.

Here's a thought exercise:
Were you introduced to kissing

a) when you first kissed a girl?
b) when you observed other people kissing in public?
c) when you first saw kissing on TV or in a movie?

_________________________________
Vanilla rice, rice baby

Hollywood is for the weak minded people who need direction in life. The rest of us are leaders.

Hollywood's most pervasive effect is against youth, who still don't know any better. It's easy for a 25 year old to screen things he or she is exposed to as "bullshit" and "not bullshit", but not for a 13 year old.

These 13 year olds get the wrong impression. Then they grow up with it. And by the time they're old (enough to bear children and select mates), their old impressions have become ingrained and difficult to change.

This is why Hollywood is important. It affects not the now, but the future.

If Hollywood is what you mostly watch, then obviously you'll be influenced greatly by it, including your self-esteem.

Supposing that Vincent Chin never watched a minute of Hollywood or TV in his entire life because he didn't feel that it validated his existence or because he was a very strong confident Asian American man, would that have made any difference to the ones who beat him to death with a baseball bat?

"Few people are capable of expressing with equanimity opinions which differ from the prejudices of their social environment. Most people are even incapable of forming such opinions. -Albert Einstein"

All that is necessary for evil to prevail is for good men to do nothing.

He who dares wins.

Well... um, in my humble opinion...

I adhere to the belief that the entertainment industry isn't inherently evil. Like almost anything, it can be used to build up a society, or it can be detremental to its building / foundation. Actually, I could go on a whole schpeal right here about the pros and cons... I'm just not terribly motivated to run my mouth at the moment. lol

More to the point, there is value in seeing diversity on the silver screen. In some ways, our most recent theatrical releases serve as a societal litmus test - how far have we come in our worldviews, beliefs, etc. While we're on the subject of race, consider Guess Who's Coming to Dinner? - the very first motion picture to feature an interracial couple (black male / white female), released in 1967. Right on the heels of the civil rights movement!

It's sad that while we live in an era we like to think of as advanced and progressive, we still think "ching chong" jokes are not only funny but somewhat acceptable. Sure, you might get a few glances, but not much else. Rosie got away with it.

But Hollywood is fickle. Her tastes are constantly changing, and that has more to do with public appeal than any movie-maker who wants to "make a statement." Progressive as that may be, if the public doesn't like it, it won't sell. And let's face it - it's ALWAYS about money.

Point blank, you can't change what the industry loves. But like I said, it's more of a litmus test than anything else. The day we see more and more Asian actors breaking out of that stereotypical mold marks yet another turning point in the industry as well as our society at large.

... That's it. I'm done now.

Especially the ones who beat him to death with a baseball bat were motivated by the MEDIA. During that time the media was over-blowing about the US auto industry losing jobs to the Japanese auto industry.

Media/Hollywood gives licenses to real life racism.

Art/Media imitates Life/Reality

Life/Reality imitates Art/Media

It's a constant cycle.