H ollywood By H ollywood volume 1, issue 1 an introduction he entertainment industry is a tent-pole of American T culture. Brushing up against everything and anything, it is impossible to find something that hasn't at least partially been colored by Hollywood. Hollywood representations of things are often considered to be exaggerated and glamorized, with even the grittiest subjects it takes on given a glossy finish and a rose- colored tint. But what happens when Hollywood attempts to tell stories from within? How does the entertainment industry, one seemingly built upon selling an idea of mystery and perfection, paint itself? Is it selling the dream, presenting a world of glamor and anyone-can-do-it success? Or is there something more critical going on? Through examining media portrayals of the media industry, we hope to come away with a better understanding of how the world of entertainment presents itself, and whether or not we are ever able to peel back the curtain surrounding it. 1. Seth Macfarlane, The Oscars, And Hollywood’s internalized hatred eth MacFarlane is well known While obviously MacFarlane’s Academy for his relative distaste for Awards were extreme, almost an outlier, S it is worth looking at the awards show’s the entertainment industry. attitude towards the industry in general. Making his name as a comedian who takes How truly unusual was MacFarlane’s no prisoners, MacFarlane was a curious brutality? Oftentimes accused of being choice when it was announced that he self-congratulatory and overly schmaltzy, was to host Hollywood’s most prestigious a further examination of the yearly event night. But we went with it, curious to see seems to reveal something colder. Each how far out there he would go. ‘Surely,’ we year there is a trend of teasing those the seemed to be saying to ourselves. ‘Surely he’ll have some limitations.’ Not so!It turned out, to what should have been the surprise of nobody, that MacFarlane’s Oscar stint was, as The New Yorker so eloquently put it “Hostile, Ugly, Sexist”. MacFarlane’s Oscars were indeed all of those things, opening with a musical act about which actresses in attendance had appeared on screen nude, and continuing James Franco (left) and Anne Hathaway (right) during the 2013 Oscars. on with many moments charged with racism, sexism and everything industry. Gently poking fun at its failures in-between. (calling Django Unchained “... and scandals, something like a roast put the story of a man fighting to get back together by people who are not quite sure his woman, who has been subjected to what a roast is supposed to be. To that unthinkable violence. Or as Chris Brown end, unlike in a roast where there is a and Rihanna call it, a date movie.” was certain amount of exaggeration as well as a double whammy of sexism as well as a tendency to go after oneself and other racism.) The MacFarlane Academy Awards roasters, the hosts of the Oscars never quite remain notable in its deep-rooted negativity seem to be successful in their teasing. The towards it’s institution, prodding directly infamous Jame Franco/Anne Hathaway at its soft spots. It was an uncomfortable co-hosted awards opens with a bit about night, awkward and almost physically Hathaway’s lack of nomination. There’s an painful in its vitriol, so much so that in attempt at levity within it, but in the end the following days MacFarlane formally it feels more like a haphazardly tacked on withdrew from any future hosting duties. 4. ‘just kidding’. This sentiment seems to ring are fair game to the Hollywood criticism through in most Oscar presentations, with machine. With everything everyone did hosts and presenters making jabs at each the night before the subject of intense other in a way that never feels entirely criticism and debate, one starts to wonder fake. whether or not celebrating a year of film even is the reason the event exists at all While the rest of the Franco/Hathaway anymore. The telecast so often feels like telecast limps along and surely does not it is going through the motions that it is have the same amount of hatred in it as difficult to believe that anybody wants MacFarlane’s would in the future, it is to be there in the first place, pans to the noteworthy that so often Hollywood’s audience accentuating this fact. It is a long, biggest night never quite seems to treat absurd process, and it seems aware of it. Typically elaborate Academy Awards staging as seen at the 84th Annual Academy Awards. itself well. Behind the glittery facade of one Through its mean spirited hosting of the greatest platforms through which mechanics and its generally disinterested the film industry claims to celebrate and audience, it seems as if the Oscars has advertise itself is an odd sort of hate. The always held some contempt for itself. It Oscars seem on some level aware of their just took a push to bring that to the surface. performativity, and seems to consider HBH itself (or at the very least its televised presentations) vapid and distasteful. This is further exemplified in the feeding frenzy that is the post-Oscars news cycle, wherein anyone (especially the hosts) 5. Ruminations on Fame; Three Careers, Three Essential Profiles he celebrity profile is one method through which Hollywood T markets itself. Often released in conjunction with the release of some new project the star is backing, the profile serves the purpose of giving the average viewer a glimpse into the “hidden lives” of these seemingly untouchable figures. While usually fairly propagandistic and seemingly shallow, often associated with the celebrity going over their beauty routines etc., occasionally a profile will show up that offers surprising depth into its subjects. Following are three such profiles, each examining a different stage in a career, each producing a similar sense of ennui. A Billboad Magazine profile looks into the world of a child-star repenting his past and attempting to build a new future, and a New York Times Magazine article looks at what happens when these attempts continue to fail. Meanwhile, ESPN the Magazine paints a portrait of a celebrity whose time in the sun has most certainly passed. All three are portraits of people at different stages in their lives, and all three end up striking a balance between the critical and the lauding, bringing their subjects into a surprisingly human context. 8. “The Rebirth of Justin Bieber’” - Chris Martins, Billboard Magazine. Nov. 5, 2015 hris Martins’ profile of the newly rebranded Justin Bieber C paints a surprisingly tender portrait of America’s least favorite import. Although easy to write off as another stop on Bieber’s penance press junket, there are moments wherein the young pop-star shows a surprising level of self-awareness, and where Martins’ observations begin to strip away the polished facade that is Bieber and start to show us the young man behind it. One particularly noteworthy example of this occurs when Martins describes offering Bieber a taste of his meal. When he samples my meal – seared ahi, which he has never tried before – he “picks it up with his hands. The taste of rye whiskey in my cocktail makes him wince.” The profile’s relative neutrality-- Martins does not shy away from pointing out Bieber’s egotism-- places it into a different realm from the standard publicity tour pit-stop, questioning both the validity of Bieber’s industry and to an extent his public persona, while working to sell his product. 9. “Here is What Happens When You Cast Lindsay Lohan in Your Movie” - Steven Rodrick, The New York Times Magazine. Jan. 10, 2013. imilar to Martins’ piece on Bieber, Steven Rodrick’s 2013 profile S on Lindsay Lohan attempts to cast a light on the internal struggles of a celebrity seemingly forever branded with the label of ‘Trainwreck’. Following the production of the 2013 Bret Easton Ellis film The Canyons, Rodrick details the various ways in which Lohan falls apart during filming, from her consistent tardiness to her inability to take direction. However, rather than the overly critical light we often see Lindsay cast in, or even the oddly vindictive one, Rodrick works to reveal the inherent sadness to Lohan. I mentioned the scene at the house where she dissolved into tears.” he writes. “I may “have said that she still had a gift and that it shouldn’t be squandered. Lohan’s eyes filled. ‘I know. I’m trying. I’m really trying.’ ” 10. “Michael Jordan Has Not Left the Building” Wright Thompson, ESPN The Magazine. Feb. 22, 2013 nlike the Lohan and Bieber pieces, Wright Thompson’s profile U is a look at a man still coming to terms with having once been one of the most famous people on the planet. Taking place over the weeks preceding Jordan’s 50th birthday, the piece reflects not only on Jordan’s career, but on his present position. Frequently returning to the question of whether or not Jordan remains the best player the sport of basketball has ever seen, the profile seems as unsure of it as Jordan. In his frankness, Thompson seems to distill the living struggle that is Jordan, bringing to the forefront the question “what does the man who had everything do now?”. HBH 11. Netflix’s Bojack Horseman's Critique and Admiration of the Celebrity Game Show etflix’s original series industry, with its critical acclaim Bojack Horseman has putting it squarely in the mainstream. N It is interesting then, that a series so become a key text in self critical of the construct of Hollywood, reflective, self parodying works has found a home here, rather about Hollywood and Hollywood than on, say, YouTube, which has become home to many “alt” cartoons.