Citizen Journal Blog

David Brooks observes that while popular culture is ever more sex-drenched and hedonistic, people's actual behavior is moving in the other direction:

When you actually look at the intimate life of America's youth, you find this heterodoxical pattern: people can seem raunchy on the surface but are wholesome within. There are Ivy League sex columnists who don't want anybody to think they are loose. There are foul-mouthed Maxim readers terrified they will someday divorce, like their parents. Eminem hardly seems like a paragon of traditional morality, but what he's really angry about is that he comes from a broken home, and what he longs for is enough suburban bliss to raise his daughter.

In other words, American pop culture may look trashy, but America's social fabric is in the middle of an amazing moment of improvement and repair.MORE

Movie and TV audiences often watch spontaneous seductions in which not a word is said about either contraception or the possibility of pregnancy. In real life, of course, both contraceptives and a small risk of pregnancy typically accompany sex. Suspension of disbelief is characteristic of fiction. But it is as if we are expected to imagine that movie characters inhabit a world where human biology is different, where sex is not linked to child-bearing, and where, consequently, the role of sexuality in a complete human life is completely different too.

Kudos to David Brooks for noticing, not that Hollywood's hedonism is morally objectionable, but rather that it is out-of-touch and fantastic. I am reminded of the late Roman Empire, when the mythology surrounding the Greco-Roman pantheon, with Zeus's endless womanizing, became gradually more elaborate and decadent, until it collapsed under the weight of its own absurdity.

Replies: 4 Comments

Posted by: Aaron On Thursday, April 21st

More of kids these days taking their parents' examples, instead of recognizing that their parents footsteps are the wrong path to follow:

http://www.cnn.com/2005/HEALTH/parenting/04/21/drug.survey.ap/index.html

Posted by: Aaron On Wednesday, April 20th

What's this "agenda" that Hollywood has? Are they trying to 'corrupt' America? Is that what you're trying to say? Because that's a completely ridiculous idea. Hollywood's agenda, as a whole, is to make money. They put out what people want to see. Now, for individual writers and directors, it may be different... but I'm sure that Sam Mendes (who is, by the way, British) didn't sit down with his cast before directing American Beauty and have a roundtable discussion about his plans to use the movie to destroy the morals of America.

Posted by: scooter On Wednesday, April 20th

"behaviour"?

I'm not sure Brooks supports the idea that "America's social fabric is in the middle of an amazing moment of improvement and repair." I wish this were true, but I don't think Brooks is in a position to judge. In any event, he certainly doesn't offer proof.

Nor do you, though, Aaron, offer proof he's wrong. Your anecdotes are helpful but they're only anecdotes and don't prove much of anything in terms of a national trend. I know kids and I've seen what can happen (and when it does) but this doesn't mean Brooks' thesis is invalid.

One other point - Hollywood doesn't reflect, it preaches. I didn't see "13" and while that might be a fair reflection of what can happen, it's a mistake to believe Hollywood doesn't assemble a world of its own liking in order to make points about how the world is, and should be. That's precisely what drama does these days. One recent example: American Beauty which, despite the rave reviews, was little more than an indictment of suburban America as a repressed, hopeless swamp of lost dreams. You'll probably disagree but there's a pointed agenda behind MOST of what Hollywood produces. And it's not a "strawman" - "Hollywood" refers to the vast majority of producers and directors, the kind who will reject anything with a "conservative" message and ruin the careers of anyone who doesn't tow the line.

Posted by: Aaron On Tuesday, April 19th

The ignorance here is unbelievable. I know many teenagers, and I hear about a lot of what goes on. The anger towards parents at raising children in broken homes does NOT translate into better behaviour. Quite the contrary - those raised without love will look for happiness in physical relationships, drinking, and drugs. Plus, the drugs are getting stronger and cheaper. How many young teenage girls do you know, Good Samaritan? Have you ever had to watch one get depressed, suicidal, resort to cutting? Have you ever watched one slowly lose her personality to the urge to get high on crystal meth?

My younger sister had two suicidal friends in seventh grade. All these broken homes and divorces and abuse may make for anger and resentment, but that's certainly not manifesting itself in action.

Media reflects this more than ever. Movies like Thirteen tell it like it is, not how some crazy Hollywood liberal wishes it were.

I think it is you who is out of touch with reality.

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Hollywood's Hedonism is Out of Touch