Media Matters: Why Is DEI Bad for Hollywood and America?
By Dr. Tom Snyder, Editor
Apparently, the folks that run the Oscars ruled that the movie REAGAN, a political biopic about President Ronald Reagan and his lifelong Christian and patriotic opposition to communism, was ineligible for any Oscar nominations, because of their DEI policies.
The Academy of Motion Pictures and its DEI rules (rules favoring vague notions of “Diversity, Inclusion and Equity”) order that, to be eligible, nominees must have certain numbers of women, “people of color,” “minorities,” foreign nationals, homosexuals, “transgender” people, “nonbinary” people, and “intersex” people work in front of the camera and behind the camera.
This seems really and truly silly.
For example, although the movie REAGAN had a low favorability score among “film critics,” it had one of the highest audience ratings on Rotten Tomatoes, 98%! If the people who run the Oscars want the show to get higher ratings, shouldn’t they nominate more movies like REAGAN, not fewer. After all, honest criticism of the movie should have recognized that, at the very least, Dennis Quaid did a great job in the title role.
Be that as it may, this issue brings up at least two important questions. Why is DEI bad for Hollywood? And, why is it bad for America?
In the first place, these DEI rules reportedly made more than 30% of the movies released in 2024 ineligible for an Oscar, even in arguably “minor” technical categories.
Does that seem fair to you?
Secondly, DEI is based on a Marxist construct of Oppressor/Oppressed. Thus, under DEI, Christians in Hollywood and in the United States, especially Christians who are white and male and pro-capitalist, are automatically considered “privileged,” inherently oppressive and, therefore, evil. As such, they are unworthy of respect and undeserved, no matter how talented, capable, experienced, or hard working. Unless, of course, they support Marxist, socialist, radical feminist notions about race, sex, gender, economics, culture, or politics. Which also means, unless they totally support the DEI rules created by the approved Marxist, socialist do-gooders and “experts.” (As someone once said, power tends to corrupt, folks, and absolute power corrupts absolutely.)
In the third place, DEI notions of “diversity,” “inclusion” and “equity” are not only Marxist. They also contradict the American Motto of “E Pluribus Unum,” or “Out of Many One” and the American, biblical notion of equality, where God specifically commands people to show no favoritism to the poor, not just to show no favoritism to the rich and powerful and “privileged,” and where the Declaration of Independence clearly supports equality under the law, not a system of “equal outcomes.” Under equity, for example, it would be okay for the government to take rich people’s wealth and the wealth of the middle class and divide it “equitably” to people of lesser wealth. Also, Marxist DEI doesn’t include or even focus at all on notions of Individual Merit, Experience, Hard Work, Reward, or Personal Responsibility. As such, it’s irreparably and inherently flawed. For example, the sex, skin color or sexual behavior of my teacher, my airline pilot, my surgeon, or my film director, writer or producers should not matter at all. His or her competence, ability, diligence, dedication, determination, experience, and endurance are what should matter most.
Also, by focusing on Utopian Marxist notions of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion instead of Individual Merit, Ability, Competence, and Experience, DEI results in many negative, false and unjust outcomes. The above example of making the movie REAGAN ineligible for an Oscar is a perfect example of a negative, false, unjust outcome.
Furthermore, according to many promoters of DEI, and its sister movements of Critical Race Theory and Critical Gender Theory, Math and Logic are themselves just “social constricts.” Not only that, but they’re social constructs of White, Christian, European Culture, and they’re used to “oppress” women, people of color, minorities, Non-Christians, and Non-European societies. Contrary to this belief, mathematical truths like 2 Plus 2 Equals 4 and the laws of logic transcend race, sex, gender, class, nationality, culture, and ethnicity. To deny this is to use math and logic to deny math and logic. It’s self-contradictory and, therefore, inherently false. Math and the basic laws of logic work because they are absolutely true. No one is trying to consciously or even unconsciously oppress other people when he asserts these truths.
Finally, the concept of DEI includes LGBTQIA++ concepts of gender and human sexuality, including the inherently self-contradictory category of “non-binary.” All of these concepts violate the reality of Human Biology and Human Nature, and therefore violate the basic laws of logic and don’t fit the actual facts.
Hollywood and America should reject DEI not just because it violates Scripture, biblical morality and traditional American values such as E Pluribus Unum, equality under the law, liberty, freedom of speech, freedom of assembly, the right to due process, the right to own property, or the creation of a colorblind society. They should also reject it because it’s Marxist, irrational, factually false, and results in a myriad of negative consequences and outcomes that threaten health, life, liberty, socio-economic wellbeing, and emotional and mental stability. Also, using DEI just might turn off half your audience, the moviegoers that support traditional values.
People should choose their surgeons, airline pilots and filmmakers based on their talent, ability, competence, experience, and knowledge, not on their sex, skin color, ethnicity, nationality, or cultural background.
And, Hollywood should choose its Oscar nominees based on merit and whether they meet traditional, biblical standards of Truth, Goodness and Beauty, not on how they fit into some Marxist or radical political ideology.
Bibliography
https://www.heritage.org/progressivism/report/the-radicalization-race-philanthropy-and-dei, “The Radicalization of Race,” By Katharine Gorka and Mike Gonzales, Heritage Foundation, 10/21/22.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xbby7yFrIxM, James Lindsay, “The Marxist Roots of DEI,” New Discourses, YouTube, 03/13/23.*
Heather MacDonald, THE DIVERSITY DELUSION. Griffin, Reprint edition, 2020.
Christopher F. Rufo, AMERICA’S CULTURAL REVOUTION, Broadside Books, 2023.
Carol M. Swain and Mike Towle, THE ADVERISTY OF DIVERSITY. Be the People Books, 2023.
Liz Wheeler, HIDE YOUR CHILDREN. Regnery Publishing, 2023.
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