Day 95: The SwastiKar Flops & Big Entertainment Hides

 

I've been thoroughly enjoying reading Mary Chesnut's Diary from Dixie. While she and her family were staunch supporters of the slave-holding South, she was also a witty and intelligent woman who I suspect could have effortlessly charmed me into writing her love letters by candlelight.  Putting that aside, I was struck by an insightful observation she made about the various cults of personality that were forming in the confederate government, and the effect it was having on the cult leaders:

Much love, admiration, worship hardens an idol’s heart. It becomes utterly callous and selfish. It expects to receive all and to give nothing. It even likes the excitement of seeing people suffer.

When I read that, various people in this regime instantly sprung to mind, but first amongst these was the South African idiot savant himself, Elon Musk. This is why I rejoice in the news that Musk's pride and joy, Tesla, is suffering grave economic consequences from his destructive personality. 

Elon Musk Vows to Spend Less Time in Washington as Tesla’s Profit Drops 71%

Elon Musk, Tesla’s chief executive, said on Tuesday that he would spend less time in Washington working for President Trump after the automaker reported a profit drop of 71 percent in the first three months of the year.

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The earnings were well below Wall Street’s expectations. Tesla would have lost hundreds of millions of dollars had it not earned $400 million in interest on cash and investments and $595 million from selling credits to other carmakers that failed to meet emissions regulations that Mr. Trump has pledged to eliminate. 

My advice to Trump: do it. Pull back those regulations. 😁

Take a victory lap, America. You did this. You stood up to grasping techno-fascism and brought a powerful company to its knees in a mere quarter. Imagine what Americans could do over a year? Or an entire presidential term? And why stop at Tesla? Why not X?  Why not Amazon? Why not CBS?

Something tells me it will be a hot summer in more ways than one.

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 Speaking of CBS, it appears that that network is yet another media giant willing to play ball with this regime. Specifically: 

‘60 Minutes’ Chief Resigns in Emotional Meeting: ‘The Company Is Done With Me’

In an extraordinary declaration, Mr. Owens — only the third person to run the program in its 57-year history — told his staff in a memo that “over the past months, it has become clear that I would not be allowed to run the show as I have always run it, to make independent decisions based on what was right for ‘60 Minutes,’ right for the audience.”

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“60 Minutes” has faced mounting pressure in recent months from both President Trump, who sued CBS for $10 billion and has accused the program of “unlawful and illegal behavior,” and its own corporate ownership at Paramount, the parent company of CBS News.

This story resonated with me for various reasons, but mostly because I've been fascinated by Big Entertainment's timidity in producing content that is reflective of our dangerous time. I would have expected fresh productions of, say, Orwell's perennially popular 1984. Or a long overdue big budget production of Sinclair Lewis's It Can't Happen Here. Where are they and countless others, both classic and original? I often find myself thinking about something along the lines of Kenneth Johnson's classic anti-fascist sci-fi allegory, V.

Should this be Tesla's new icon?

The only production that comes to mind is George Clooney taking his Good Night, and Good Luck to the stage. Clooney deserves credit, but where are the other auteurs ready to meet this moment? 

This absence of rebellious art is striking to me, especially when I think about how eager Hollywood was to tackle the policies of previous presidents on a whole host of issues. I suspect it is easier to be a tough guy (or gal) when the White House is in the hands of a traditionally restrained president, such as George W. Bush, but not so easy when confronting a lawless thug. Ironically, it is during the latter when art as resistance is most needed.  

Of course, I am not truly surprised seeing how some of our largest corporate entities in this country have not only been silent about the depredations of the Trump regime, but complicit.

As that 60 Minutes story indicates, not to mention the surrender of ABC News, Joe Scarborough, and, most recently, Bill Maher, this is a time that separates the wheat from the chaff. It is now clear that a big chunk of our entertainment culture is mere chaff. 

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I am always impressed by the media's fascination with the passing of a pope, and the timeless rituals that follow as the Church chooses a new pontiff. Top correspondents descend on Vatican City by the planeload, while an army of Catholic theologians are mustered as expert guests to provide context for every nuance of Catholicism. 

Imagine if the media did this while the pope was alive. 

Maybe the world would be a better place? Maybe spending time covering weighty theological issues is worth the sacrifice of, say, not covering Katy Perry suing 'Katie Perry'? Just perhaps? 

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