Remember George Clooney‘s self-important Oscar speech? He’s got nothing on UCLA screenwriting professor Richard Walter — 
For better and for worse, American film is world film. For better because American films rightly merit their reputation for high-end film art and craft. For worse because their power overwhelms international markets and promotes the homengization of world culture. …
Entertainment and information are our nation’s greatest export. Contrary to what Hollywood bashers would have us believe, the values they expound are generally life affirming. The vast majority of American films extoll middleclass values and the American dream. What precisely are middleclass values? A certain materialism to be sure, and what’s wrong with that? Is not a fundamental amount of material wealth — food, clothing, and shelter for example — necessary for a people truly to be free? Do not societies lacking the basics turn to the first tyrant who promises them a coq in every pot? …
And what is the American dream? It is the notion that people who get educated and work hard can rise above their station. It is the notion that merit alone wins success in even the most competitive arenas. And what is more competitive than Hollywood? Here is a place where people get paid for what others are scolded: daydreaming. In film and television people literally traffic in their own imaginations. …
More than any other American enterprise, Hollywood contributes favorably to the balance of trade and to reducing the budget deficit. It produces not a smidgen of smog; it does not befoul the aquifer. It employs the largest number of workers in the most populous state, and thousands more in states throughout the land.
Shouldn’t pundits who purport to love America honor her film and TV industry rather than slander it?
So let’s all take a moment to honor the industry that produced "Saw," "Very Bad Things," Adam Sandler, Jim Belushi, Sharon Stone, "Fear Factor" and "Entertainment Tonight." Praise be the crass and commercial.
Hey, if I lived in Syria and saw two minutes of "My Super Sweet 16" I’d be tempted to strap a bomb onto my chest.
Those in Hollywood who are so quick to criticize our foreign policy should first look in the mirror. Impressions are made via our films and television shows, and no doubt we’re leaving a sour one.
