Daring Hollywood in the Trump Era
One thing is certain, Hollywood is not folding its hands or keeping quiet on the new policies made by President Donald Trump. Be it a travel ban or discrimination against other races, certain elements in the America entertainment industry are seizing every opportunity to make indignant speeches or march in protest. It is not the first time, to be sure, that Hollywood is taking such bold step in challenging issues or policies that affect minority groups.
Two years ago, they started the #OscarsSoWhite campaign and it paid off finally this year with actors and filmmakers from the minority group given a chance in the awards.
Now, they are raising their voices, condemning every act of Trump whose image is perceived as a misogynist and a racist. Trump, a showbiz personality himself suddenly finds himself at odds with the industry that brought him to limelight. Determined to rewrite the history of America by formulating and implementing polices and regulations that will have an adverse effect on majority of the minority group is not making him Hollywood’s idol. The seed of discord was sown right from his campaign days and will probably wend through his remaining days in office.
Before his official inauguration, actress Meryl Streep attacked him during her acceptance speech at the Golden Globes last month. She alluded to his mockery of a disabled reporter while reminding actors gathered in the packed hall that their main job as actors is to enter the lives of people who are different and make them feel great. Expectedly, the president replied by tweeting that the actress is overrated. Streep’s speech was in a way a reiteration of the liberalism of American’s film industry. A word that is not popular in Trump’s dictionary. For Trump, America must come first before any other race.
A day after his inauguration saw a motley crowd of women from Hollywood and the entertainment industry march in protest against the new president. Their dislike was more prominent at the inauguration party which had just a few celebrities in attendance.
The Academy Awards scheduled to hold on February 26, is confronted with President Trump’s latest executive order that bans nationals from seven Muslim countries for 90 Days and refugees for 120 Days. One of its nominees and also a past winner, Iranian director Asghar Farhadi was affected by the new order but later exempted. However, the director is adamant in attending the ceremony owing to the unwelcome stance projected by the president. Trump’s action will probably cost the Oscars a boycott.
This new order apparently sparked a renewed aggressive refusal of Trump’s presidency. At the Producers Guild of America Awards last weekend, musician John Legend vocally expressed his rejection of the new order. In his speech, he said that Americans were more than that. Actor and producer Colin Firth dedicated his award to the “ACLU and everyone whose families are being separated by the discrimination of others.”
Mark Burnett, the producer of Trump’s reality show Apprentice was booed on stage when he came to receive an award for his works in ‘The Voice’ reality show.
Again, the political voice of the film industry resounded loudly at the Screen Actor’s Guild Awards the following day. David Harbour who played Detective Jim Hopper in the drama series ‘Stranger Things’ took to stage to voice a strong protestation against Trump:
“We will repel bullies! We will shelter freaks and outcasts, those who have no homes. We will get past the lies, we will hunt monsters and when we are lost amidst the hypocrisy and the casual violence of certain individuals and institutions, we will as per chief Jim Hopper, punch some people in the face when they seek to destroy the meek, and the disenfranchised, and the marginalised. And we will do it with soul, with heart, with joy!” he told the highly charged audience in the hall.
Evidently, Hollywood’s constant opposition of the president will still be on the rise as award ceremonies will become a platform for anti-Trump protests. But how long the hatred will last is a question only time can answer.