Does anyone else feel that the new series “Hollywood” should end with someone waking, realising the whole thing was a dream?
I started watching it at the beginning of the week while working on my teaching material. At first, I didn’t mind the usual political correct elements because it was weaved into the story as part of the era. By political correct elements, I mean the homosexual couple (no new TV show can run without one) and the strong emphasis on racism and sexism.
Since this series is set decades ago, these were indeed very important issues to fight for and it’s always nice to see imposing personalities commanding change. However, in Hollywood, a total of 7 episodes — and what seems like less than a year — are enough for a black actress to be recognised for her talent, for homosexuals to come out openly at one of the most publicised events of the year and for a woman to take over her husband’s company without any objection.
By making it “so easy” for these things to come true in a mere matter of months, I feel the show belittles the long and arduous battle that the blacks had to endure to actually gain the same rights as whites. It belittles the agression and disgust homosexuals faced for centuries. And it belittles how women continue to fight for the same pay and recognition as men in the professional world.
Maybe they thought they wouldn’t get permission to film a second season but still wanted to represent the entire plight of these different social groups. In the end, they definitely missed the mark. I’m surprised anyone is giving Hollywood positive reviews.
It’s difficult to feel anything for the characters, or to even understand their stuggles. Every single one of them gets what they want and they barely have to work for it. On the day of auditions for the lead role in Peg, the two female rivals magically get on and Claire intentionally fails her performance so that Camille will be cast. There is no explanation for this sudden altruism, despite Claire spending the entire night practising for the part. She is more than arguably better than Camille. So then, what are we supposed to infer from this? Why include a passage, which shows us that Camille isn’t actually the better actress?
Another female character is Avis Amberg, who gets her husband’s studio handed to her on a platter while he is in hospital. When he returns, not only does he approve of her decision to make a movie he vehemently rejected because of the black writer, but he even agrees to let her take over half the business. Just because she asked for it! Furthermore, they embrace passionately and he suggests what she has wanted to hear for years: “let’s give it another go!”. Talk about make believe!
One of the first characters we meet, Jack, also fulfils his dreams with only minor hiccups along the way. He gets a lead role, he becomes friends with powerful people, he doesn’t have to do anything too unpleasant (only sleep with decent-looking women) and even the problem of his marriage is solved by his wife being a bigger cheate than himself. How fortunate!
I could go on, but there really is no need. If you have Netflix or any kind of TV really, watch something else. Hollywood is a waste of 6 perfectly good hours of your life!