2015 In Review: Donald Trump & The Cowardice Of Hollywood

Hollywood likes to think of itself as brave.

It's easy to share an opinion on Twitter or rail against the injustices of society in an interview. But it's a much more difficult thing to put your career on the line for your beliefs. It's much riskier to push forward with projects that reflect unpopular opinions or risk running up against the general consensus of powerful people.

As many of my television critics like to say, we are living in a time of "Peak TV," when they are so much new quality television that it's impossible for anyone person to watch it all. People in Hollywood rightfully point to the success of shows like TRANSPARENT, which are both commercially successful while highlighting the lives of people who until now have been marginalized in the media.

And yet for all of the gains, we in the media are also often cowards. We work in an industry dominated by a few large media companies controlled by a small number of powerful families. Hollywood - both television and the movies - is mainstream entertainment and that means appealing to the widest possible audience possible. It's also increasingly a global market, which means that studios are inclined to put their resources behind projects that will resonate with viewers in Tulsa and Tibet.

That need to be mainstream, that desire not to burn bridges means that some projects just don't move forward. Economic injustice, politically sensitive storylines, arguments against the status quo aren't going to get a greenlight from a major media company. And because that's the case, Hollywood has been mostly silent at a time when America needs it the most.

It's easy to look at Donald Trump and see a buffoon. To listen to his supporters and dismiss them as racists or just people incapable of understanding the world we live in. Social media like Twitter are filled with comments from celebrities mocking Donald Trump's opinions on immigration and Muslims. But showing your spine on social media is easy.

Best of lists for 2015 have begun to pop up and looking at them I'm struck by the lack of socially conscious TV shows and motion pictures. Where is this generation's ALL IN THE FAMILY, WEST WING or even ROSEANNE? Where is the movie that can tackle the uncomfortable truths highlighted in "Citizen Kane," "The Grapes of Wrath," "Apocalypse Now" or "Meet John Doe?" Hollywood is much more comfortable tackling gender politics or historical racism than it is taking on the hard truths of our society.

I'm not arguing that every TV show or movie needs to be making some deep political point. In fact, that would be pointless. But I do believe that as we move into 2016, all of us in the entertainment industry can do more. For some, that means standing up publicly against bullies and tyrants. For others, it means pushing forward
with a project that has meaning beyond simply being a good career move.

For those of us in the entertainment media, it means pushing studios harder to not only expand opportunities for women and minorities in Hollywood. It also means publicly pushing studios to move forward with potentially unpopular projects. It means asking Netflix and Amazon less about "ratings" and more about why they are as unwilling as their linear network rivals to greenlight politically uncomfortable projects. It means asking the news magazines why they focus more of their resources on true life crime stories than reporting on the more important stories of our times.

It's easy to be brave on Twitter. There isn't much of a consequence to calling out Donald Trump in a tweet or mocking his ideas. It's harder to do the things that matter. Brave projects have consequences but they are also the ones that we'll be most proud of when our lives draw to a close. Most of us are drawn to the entertainment world because of its inclusion, its ability to open up people's minds to new worlds and uncomfortable ideas. And yet we ironically as unwilling as any other industry to make the decisions that might cost us money or somehow lessen our value to our employers.

Looking back on 2015, that's a lesson I think we've forgotten. And the world is a lesser place for our creative failings.