The Crony Capitalism of Hollywood and Porn

When I was reading up on Jonah Goldberg’s recent essay/article on the strange pairings of big business and The Obama Administration, I was impressed upon by the National Review writer’s explanation as to why these folks of supposedly, polar political leanings should cooperate with one another: if paying a higher corporate tax rate is the only feasible price to insure a 0% possibility of competition from smaller up-and-coming, entrepreneurs, why wouldn’t you?

The economic basis behind Goldberg’s thesis have much to do with Milton Friedman styled, free market theory, where whenever you have someone with a great idea, he or she will have to have every kind economic leeway, so as to allow as much public exposure for the same consumer base that the more established, blue chip/Fortune 500 companies are catering to.

But if there’s not a lot of competition, a.k.a, long-term incentives to improve upon a current product/service (or even come up with something entirely new), wouldn’t it hinder product/service innovation, so as to better serve their customer base, since one can get very complacent with way things are? And with the constant news-from-the-political grapevine, talking about how The bailed out, Big 3 (U.S.) automakers could be flooding the American/International auto market with even crappier products and services to the average American motorist, I would like to discuss the stagnant product/service innovations of the American film industry.

Ever since I came across the fiscal-political pejorative, “Crony Capitalism,” I am made aware of how this form of big business is anything but, free marketed (i.e, how unqualified people, placed in positions of power–possibly via nepotism, to green-light products/services that quite often won’t gel with the basic consumer). And with the Fannie Mae/Freddie Mac, Bear Sterns/Merrill Lynch fallout model in mind, I can’t help but think that the porno industries, Hollywood studios are functioning in the same business model as the aforementioned, defunct corporations–albeit without the federal TARP…     well, with the exceptions of Hustler’s Larry Flynt and Joe Francis (of Girls Gone Wild infamy)!

As I try to get into even the basic, entry-level, internship level of the film industry, I can’t help but think that with all the predictable, below sub-par quality of movies out in the average cineplexes/art house theaters, there is not a lot of cinematic innovation out there. Not only do we as film goers have to contend/complain of the constant remakes, film adaptations of TV shows, but likewise via the “high brow” film market, i.e, Cannes Film Festival, are constantly rehashing the same political themes that in my honest opinion, is no longer relevant since the 1960s/1970s! Like the latest remake of the superhero franchises, I have plenty to complain about how the so-called “independent filmmakers” are trying to flood the market with their anti-church, anti-American/anti-Iraq War work–AS IF IT’S STILL 1969! I can always go off tangent on how antiquated these leftist ideas are (for any movie genre), but I will like to comment on how limiting it is to market these sorts of films–even on the niche level!