Entertainers don't entertain anymore

 Many years ago—I can’t recall exactly when—I tuned in to The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson. His guest was Tom Selleck, a hot property due to his role in Magnum PI.  Carson asked Selleck a question about one of the political controversies of the day. I don’t remember what that was either, but Selleck replied that he was an actor who played people he was not. His job was to do that as well as possible, so he couldn’t imagine why anyone would care about what he said about politics.

I’ve bought every one of his DVDs since.

One would hope every entertainer would demonstrate such humility, self-awareness and responsibility rather than becoming full of themselves and thinking everyone has a right to their political opinion and an obligation to slavishly praise it. That would be entertainers like Bruce Springsteen:

Graphic: X Post

No, Bruce. That’s not why they’re there. Sure, some in his audiences are present because they share his politics, but many, perhaps most, attend concerts for the music and the shared experience. They’re there because the music has touched them, perhaps even inspired them. They’re there to once again, for a few hours, feel those days of rock and roll and teenage angst, confusion, intense but often dopey feelings, and rebellion. And when that’s over, they can go safely back to their responsible adult lives.

Yes, there are plenty of wastrels and lost souls at such events, people still trying to live those teenage days in a drug-induced haze, but thankfully, that’s not most of America. And even those people somehow manage to have enough money to gain admittance to a Springsteen concert, and it’s leftist hectoring: 

There was a bit of sticker shock for some when they logged into Ticketmaster over the weekend and were put into queues that sometimes backed up to over 100,000 wanna-be ticket buyers at a time, with a message to study on the app while they waited: “Tickets for this event have been priced in advance by the tour from $84.55 – $3,007.20, including service fees.”

Three thousand dollars to be told how awful America is? No thanks. I’ll just buy the Greatest Hits CD and skip the political nonsense altogether. I’ve always liked Born to Run, Springsteen’s attempt to write the classic rock song, at least in part for Clarence Clemons’ classic sax solo, but I like my music, rock or classical, without politics of any kind, thank you.

The same goes for other entertainment, like movies. I watch very little TV. While the small screen tends to be more leftist politically these days, the big screen seems to be relentlessly woke--or insulting, sometimes both.

Consider the debacle of Snow White, whose star, Rachel Zegler, was not only woke, but petulant, insulting potential audiences before and after the movie was released for their lack of appreciation of her and the production. The result of her juvenile tantrums was one of history’s biggest flops. Milly Alcock, the new Supergirl, before its release, is also insulting the potential audience and blaming them—specifically Christian dads--for not seeing her movie. She apparently didn’t learn from Zegler, or she knows the film is a bomb because she’s seen it. One suspects Christian dads aren’t going to be taking their daughters to that film.

Supergirl is a DC property, and that company has always had difficulty competing with Marvel, which mostly stuck with non-overtly political entertainment, until it was bought by Disney. Disney, which used to know how to entertain people, is now among the wokest companies ever and quickly tanked the Marvel Universe, but Disney’s real achievement was obliterating, with few cinematic exceptions, the Star Wars franchise. 

They did it the old-fashioned way. They abandoned good writing, admirable characters, and all the epic literary elements that made Star Wars one of the most successful franchises in history. Just to make certain they’d driven it into the ground, various stars, directors, and producers insulted audiences for refusing to praise their bad offerings and toxic politics. 

Disney also damaged Marvel and Star Wars by insisting on inserting gay and trans characters, and by such innovations as lesbian space witches, an underserved minority audiences really didn't want to see get their 15 minutes of fame.

We occasionally see something like Top Gun: Maverick prioritize exciting entertainment over contemporary politics. Despite the financial rewards of giving audiences what they’ve always wanted, companies like Disney don’t care. In an industry that used to relentlessly copy what works, they’re apparently in business to be original and lose money.

And so, Springsteen hectors at exorbitant prices, and people continue to pay for that privilege. But fewer people are willing to pay less exorbitant prices for that dubious privilege in movie houses. 

In the meantime, I have a Tom Selleck DVD to watch—Quigley Down Under, perhaps?

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Mike McDaniel is a USAF veteran, classically trained musician, Japanese and European fencer, life-long athlete, firearm instructor, retired police officer, and high school and college English teacher. He is a published author and blogger. His home blog is Stately McDaniel Manor. 

https://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2026/05/entertainers_don_t_entertain_anymore.html