Hollywood Vs. America: Popular Culture and the War on Traditional Values

In its glorification of violence and casual sex and in its disparagement of the family, Hollywood is profoundly out of touch with the values and lifestyles espoused by most Americans, charges Medved, a film critic and co-host of PBS's Sneak Previews. Movies and television, he argues, malign marriage and religion, encourage out-of-wedlock births and wallow in ugliness, gore and selfish hedonism--all with devastating social consequences. He also condemns pop music, especially rap, for its obscene lyrics, misogyny and promotion of promiscuity. Medved ( What Really Happened to the Class of '65 ) is frequently wrongheaded or heavy-handed in his criticism. Yet he is often on the mark, and one need not be a conservative or a religious fundamentalist to find much to ponder in his critique, which is chock full of examples of pop culture's gratuitous pandering to the public's worst instincts. Instead of censorship, Medved advocates boycotts and public shaming to force the entertainment conglomerates to act more responsibly. First serial to Forbes and Reader's Digest; author tour. (Oct.)