Hollywood not in touch with morals, religion

[IDrinkaRum]

Hollywood isn't in touch with our morals or our religion!

The majority of Americans (according to the Anti-Defamation League) thinks Hollywood is out of touch with the "real America". They feel Hollywood's morals is out of sync with the rest of America and they think the media and Hollywood is bringing religion down (doesn't mention if the religion Americans are talking about is Christianity or not or just religion in general as in: "Hollywood hates all religions in America").

What does everyone else think?

[Boozy]

Do people pay money to see Hollywood movies?

Yes.

Do movies featuring sex, violence, and cursing make a profit?

Yes.

So I would say that a good portion of Americans have no problem with the morals they see depicted in movies.

[protege]

So I would say that a good portion of Americans have no problem with the morals they see depicted in movies.

I don't think it's so much that...but rather that they realize Hollywood is all about fantasy. Also, Hollywood will do whatever it takes to make a buck.

[Slytovhand]

OMG!!! You're kidding??

-- 61% of respondents agree that "religious values are under attack in this country," while 36% disagree with that statement.

63% disagree with the statement that "the movie and television industries are pretty much run by Jews," while only 22% agree with that point. When ADL conducted its first survey on anti-Semitic attitudes, in 1964, nearly half of the respondents believed that the television and film industries were run by Jews.
-- Nearly 40% support the notion that "dangerous ideas should be banned from public school libraries," and nearly the same number disagree with the statement that "censoring books is an old-fashioned idea."

-- Nearly half of those surveyed -- 49% -- believe that the United States is becoming "too tolerant in its acceptance of different ideas and lifestyles; 47% disagree with that statement.

Did you see those percentages??

And the 'almost half' comments...

Wow!

I mean - 'almost half' is about 140 Million...

And a mere 1000 people were able to tell us this!

After all, that's how many they surveyed....

(of course - if it's a phone poll, that automatically excludes anyone poor enough to own a phone.. or has been foreclosed on recently. Or are homeless. Or was actually out working when they rang. Oh, and apparently they only asked adults - so there goes our younger generation what they think of how thier view of the world is depicted).

Meh - crap 'survey'... crap presumptions.

[AFPheonix]

It also rules out those of us who have only a cell phone (which is a lot of younger adults these days) and are off the grid.

I'm sorry, but I don't think religious ideals are under attack. I think that this idea is reinforced by church leadership to have a cause to rally their flock around so they're easier to control. I know this because I've seen it firsthand when I was in the Plymouth Brethren. It can be quite effective.

Besides, it's easy to block out traditional media anymore. Especially in this day and age, you can really pick and choose what media you wish to view. I think Hollywood's influence is waning if anything.

[AdminAssistant]

Art reflects society, not vice versa.

Besides, Hollywood serves one purpose - to make money. Lots and lots of money. They need movies that sell well. What sells? Sex, violence, hot girls in tight, revealing clothing, massive special effects, adaptations, and glittery vampires (sorry, couldn't help myself :P).

The truth is that today, a moralizing tale lifted straight from the Bible (or Torah or Koran or...) is probably not going to make a lot of money unless it can incorporate some of the above elements.

[IDrinkaRum]

There are plenty stories from the Bible (not sure of the Koran or Torah or any other religious book) that have sex & violence.

The last movie I saw was "The Dark Knight". It was okay. I've also seen Iron Man & The Incredible Hulk.

Normally I just watch children videos & older movies. (Like from the silent film era to the 1960's). I prefer musicals from the 1940's to the 1960's. My favorite movie of all time is "Auntie Mame" from 1958.

I don't like a lot of the movies that are out today so I don't watch/rent them.

Don't like them? Don't think they are part of your "moral compass"? Then don't watch. Write to the studios to let them know you're disappointed. Be proactive. Don't whine and give your opinions in surveys.

Also, the bit about how books should be banned? That's scary. Very very scary.

[anriana]

Even if this was a well-conducted study, I wouldn't be alarmed at similar results (well, other than the book banning part - that is scary.) People try and make themselves look good on surveys. Obviously far more than 41% of Americans partake of Hollywood media, they're just too ashamed to own up to it an official survey.

Look at premarital sex - something like 96% of Americans participate in it, but how many people support abstinence only education? Far morethan 4%.

[Sylvia727]

The wording of the survey is slippery, too. As for "religious values"--is that the values unique to a specific religion, or is it moral values that most people, including most religious people, agree with? Murder is against religious values; so is women in the workplace. Which one is under attack?

[DrT]

I think it was in an episode of Penn and Teller 'Bullshit' that they had this professional surveyor ask the same question with two different wordings and get exactly the answer he wanted each time.
I recommand watching that to any who'd like to trust a poll again.

Now, I do agree that Hollywood is not in touch with morals and religion: that's why I enjoy watching movies. (albeit not all of them, far too many are crap, but still)
A flick that would actually be defending the idea of moral you find in religious books would very likely bore me to death.
Hollywood is about business, and they're good at it. I believe the wallet vote (the one that doesn't lie, or rarely at least) is vastly in their favor.

Now the part about the books.... good lord. 40% say it outright: it's outdated to censure books. Which means if you include the ones saying it because they're too scared of expressing their real opinion.... you reach the majority ?
Even if taking into account the (likely) event that the pollsters biased their sampling to get more of the religious/moral people into the mix, it's bloody scary.

[smileyeagle1021]

And a mere 1000 people were able to tell us this!

After all, that's how many they surveyed....
.

actually, assuming that the pollsters didn't bias the sample or the questions (not likely) 1000 would be more than enough to get an accurate result... you know the exit polls that are accurate within 3 percent (most of the time)... nationwide they survey not more than 5000 people, pre-election polls are done with only a few hundred and are decently accurate.

If I had more initiative I'd haul out my stats book from last semester to look up the exact formula but I remember that a poll with only two outcomes could be accurate to within 5% with a sample as small as 30 people is properly chosen (I may be mistaken on that... like I said, I have to look up the formula again).

[Flyndaran]

...
If I had more initiative I'd haul out my stats book from last semester to look up the exact formula but I remember that a poll with only two outcomes could be accurate to within 5% with a sample as small as 30 people is properly chosen (I may be mistaken on that... like I said, I have to look up the formula again).

For most major but simple statistics, I remember 30 as being an adequate sample for something on the order of a 90% or 95 % confidence interval. But ONLY when chosen completely randomly with no self selection going on.

The problem with election polls is that you can't make people answere, right there creating a self selecting skewed result. For example, the elderly, often at home and more likely to answer stranger's questions would be overrepresented, while uptight youths busy with their own life would be underrepresented.

Besides, a 95% confidence interval does not mean accurate to within 5%. It means that the correct answer, whatever that may be, is 95% likely to be within the range you came to. The plus minus given for the public is usually two standard deviations, and not an abosolute in any form. The real answer could be three st. deviations away... horribly unlikely but possible.
Even with a random group of people, they could technically all be left handed.

[Jadedcarguy]

.............doesn't mention if the religion Americans are talking about is Christianity or not or just religion in general............

In America, Christianity is religion. Most religious Americans choose it as their religion, or some derivative of it.

[Jadedcarguy]

Even with a random group of people, they could technically all be left handed.

True dat. It also depends on where this poll was taken. Rural Georgia? Downtown Seattle? The results will differ dramatically.

[Flyndaran]

True dat. It also depends on where this poll was taken. Rural Georgia? Downtown Seattle? The results will differ dramatically.

Mccury Family Reunion would not give good results on any study. So many obnoxious superstitious asses... and my tiny section that would not be enough to skew the results to normalcy.