-Caveat Lector- >Monday December 25 >Bart: One nation, divisible, with niches for all > >By Peter Bart, Daily Variety Editor-in-Chief > >HOLLYWOOD (Variety) - Everyone would like to forget the >excruciating presidential election. >Now that we're about to anoint our new president, however -- the >``accidental president,'' as the >Economist calls him -- we'd all do well to take a final glimpse >at the numbers, and here's why: > >The returns reveal a nation divided, but the division is more >cultural than it is political-- a >phenomenon that holds serious implications for showbiz. > >Indeed, given the regionalism, if not tribalism, gripping the >U.S., some strategic re-thinking about the >nature of TV and film fare seems overdue. > >Here are the facts that the election put on display: > >- Three-fifths of city-dwellers voted for Al Gore, while >three-fifths of the rustics voted for George >W. Bush. > >- Gore won the coasts while Bush won the middle of the country >plus every Southern state. Gore >carried 71% of the electoral votes outside the South. > >- Men preferred Bush by 11%, while women favored Gore by 12%. > >- Singles backed Gore by 23% while married voters were in Bush's >camp by 8%. > >- Bush won fewer than one in 10 black votes. > >- Three-fifths of gun-owners backed Bush while the same >proportion of non gun-owners favored >Gore. > >- Bush won the majority of those who attended church at least >once a month and 79% of whites >who attended church once a week or more. > >``There is no majority in this country; there are two deeply >divided blocs,'' Morris Florina, a >Stanford political science professor, told Ronald Brownstein of >the Los Angeles Times. > >For those charged with the responsibility of coming up with hit >TV shows or blockbuster movies, the >conclusions are intriguing. This is not a nation that is >coalescing in terms of tastes or values, but rather >one that is pulling further apart, which helps explain why >network programmers find it increasingly >difficult to come up with an across-the-board hit shows and why >the niche-marketers of cable >continue to gain ground. > >Across our pop culture there are clearly enormous opportunities >for black or Latino entertainment, >for urban comedy aimed at singles or for other niche programming. >On the other hand, the hix in the >sticks will increasingly nix those pics that offend their >heartland values. > >The over-riding question is this: Should the stix have veto power >over the coasts? Given the fact that >two nations hover under one flag, both must be tolerant of the >other's tastes and proclivities. > >Clearly this sort of cross-cultural tolerance will not exist if >Lynne Cheney or her ilk assume moral >leadership of a new Bush regime. The multinational corporations >that rule show business will have to >use their economic heft to resist pressure for censorship. > >Thanks to our two-party system, a culturally divided nation >remains viable politically. This is in >contrast to a country like Israel, whose political structure >gives the Orthodox minority a >disproportionate say in policy formation -- a dilemma that may >ultimately immobilize that nation >socially and politically. > >There were times in the past when U.S. studios and networks found >it much easier to command a >vast ``habit audience'' that encompassed coastal dwellers as well >as the ``fly-over'' country. >Hollywood studios in the '30s and '40s could pull in two-thirds >of the population for a mega-hit like >``Gone With the Wind.'' The networks in the '60s and '70s >exercised similar reach. > >Political leaders like Roosevelt and Eisenhower also displayed a >remarkable ability to overcome the >constraints of regionalism and command broad followings. > >All the signals of the new millennium, however, point to a >growing intensity in terms of cultural >divides. It isn't just that people in Los Angeles or New York >think differently from the proverbial >hayseed in Iowa, it's also that each seems to feel more >passionately protective about his position. > >Given the facts, should most movies cost $100 million to produce >and market or should more >attention be turned toward the niche audiences? Is the >blockbuster mentality an anachronism? > >The signals from the election provide a reminder that the new >millennium may nurture a new era of >the rich niche. <A HREF="http://www.ctrl.org/">www.ctrl.org</A> DECLARATION & DISCLAIMER ========== CTRL is a discussion & informational exchange list. 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