PR Disaster: Meryl Streep Set Back the Film Industry to the Michael Moore-Era

The late-aughts were disastrous for the movie industry, a disaster Hollywood was just starting to recover from when a shrill Meryl Streep came along Sunday night to lie about Donald Trump, and did so in front of the whole world at the Golden Globe Awards. Streep is now the Face of Hollywood, and many of those peer-pressured into applauding and defending her, did so with a sick feeling in their gut: Oh, no, not another decade of this crap.

The seething hatred a large portion of the population felt towards the film industry just a few years ago, was starting to recede a bit, along with the memories of Michael Moore winning Oscars, and dozens of narrative and documentary films — all of which flopped — that portrayed America as the bad guy in the War on Terror.

The numbers don’t lie.

Just 25 years ago, only 1 billion tickets were sold. By 2004, admissions had climbed steadily to 1.5 billion. That’s a massive jump well ahead of population growth. The year 2004 is important because that was the year Moore released “Fahrenheit 9/11,” an Oscar-winning blockbuster (by documentary standards) that seemed to open a floodgate of hate and derision; not only towards George W. Bush, our country’s war efforts and the troops themselves, but the values and humanity of everyone who dared disagree with Hollywood’s demented worldview.

There seemed to be no escape from Hollywood’s bigoted, cultural supremacism. Forget the art houses, even “Star Wars” movies hurled insults our way. Superman himself was stripped of his American identity. “Avatar” depicted our own Marines as terrorists felling an obvious stand-in for the Twin Towers. Off-screen, things were just as bad. Movie stars attacked us. The Academy Award ceremony became unwatchable — insulting, partisan and pretentious.

In 2005, the year after “Fahrenheit 9/11,” admissions that had steadily risen for a quarter century, plummeted to just 1.37 billion. By 2011, they were down to just 1.28 billion. Home video sales, the backbone of the industry, cratered.

Because Hollywood is not the news media, the movie industry could either change or die.

The failing and failed news media is largely subsidized by leftist billionaires and a racket called bundled cable (which I detail here). Although this rigged system won’t last forever, for now, the national media can pretend it will, and can therefore continue to be bigoted, dishonest, partisan, and wrong. Unlike CNN and The New York Times, though, the movie industry actually has to attract customers to stay alive, and so they did.

For about 5 years now, I’ve been giving the industry the credit it deserves for adapting. While there are exceptions that prove the rule, by and large, partisan sucker punches were removed from blockbusters, Christianity is treated with respect, and movies about the War On Terror — from “American Sniper” to “Lone Survivor” to “Zero Dark Thirty” — were rewarded handsomely at the box office because they tossed aside the anti-American propaganda in exchange for moral truth.

In favor of purely escapist fare (franchise films, low-budget horror, animated kids movies, and R-rated comedies), and relegated to straight-to-video or urban art houses, were the arts-fartsy, narcissistic Message Movies. Unless you were paying close attention, it was as though the Leftwing Message Genre (which is so disliked, even 60 million Obama voters can’t make it profitable) had disappeared entirely And when it did rear its unwelcome head, as a potent reminder, these titles predictably bombed in the most spectacular fashion. And I do mean, spectacular.

Suddenly movies seemed less hostile towards us, and among the more forgiving, a certain amount of goodwill returned. Admissions never recovered to their former 1.5 billion glory, but the numbers crept up, ever so slightly. The bleeding had stopped and revenues increased. Moreover, in New Media, Hollywood became less of a punching bag. Oh, every once in a while a Jennifer Lawrence would expose herself as a supremacist-hater, but overall we joined the rest of America to lay down our money for all things Marvel and Star Wars and Fast and Furious.

The healing wasn’t over … but the healing had begun.

And then Meryl Streep came along.

Because they must, because there is no choice other than to lose your career, even if you disagree, all of America has now witnessed all of Hollywood stand and applaud Streep’s lies. Moreover, every movie trade and entertainment section is filled with lavish praise. And by extension, they have all made Dame Meryl the Face of the Movie Industry, that which their supremacist culture and beliefs revolve around.

Make no mistake, Streep’s overwrought lying Sunday night is a massive setback. Let me illustrate my point this way: imagine if Ronald McDonald came out and made that speech.

Would that hurt or help McDonald’s?

Of course millions offended by Ronald McDonald’s lying would go to Wendy’s. Of course millions angry at being sucker-punched with a partisan lecture would go to Burger King. Of course millions who resent filthy rich Ronald McDonald playing the victim would go to Jack In the Box. Of course millions justly furious over Ronald McDonald demeaning their culture through cheap shots directed at the NFL and MMA, would go anywhere but McDonald’s.

And so, just as we did in the late aughts, we will choose Netflix and video games, and our own personal video collections. A special thumb in Hollywood’s eye will come in the form of an increase in piracy (which I do not approve of).

What I am saying is this: It is on again, baby! If for no other reason than the fact that Trump enjoys more fervent support than Bush ever did, the culture war between Hollywood and Middle America, that had at least been turned down to a simmer, is now red hot again, and will likely remain so for years.

And never forget the following…

We don’t hate Hollywood.

We are merely hating Hollywood back.

We didn’t start it. They did.

Follow John Nolte on Twitter @NolteNC