MICHAEL MEDVED

Medved: You can’t win an audience by insulting its values

Jul 10, 2020, 8:26 AM

Lin Manuel-Miranda's 'Hamilton.' (Disney Plus via AP)...

Lin Manuel-Miranda's 'Hamilton.' (Disney Plus via AP)

(Disney Plus via AP)

The entertainment industry regularly ignores a common sense lesson: You can’t connect with a mass audience by insulting a figure they revere.

Multiple reports indicate the upcoming film Habit features Paris Jackson, glamorous daughter of the late King of Pop, as a lesbian Jesus and object of fixation for a drug-addicted party girl.

A petition by Christian believers to block the dubious film’s release has drawn nearly a half-million signatures, and its box office potential looks distinctly limited. Adding to the irony: Paris Jackson, the film’s star, was raised from age 11 by her grandmother, a devout Jehovah’s Witness and mother of 10.

Meanwhile, another film – Disney’s filmed version of the musical masterpiece Hamilton – has set streaming records and drawn near-universal praise with its sympathetic portrayal of rapping and dancing founding fathers Alexander Hamilton and George Washington.

An obvious conclusion: You can attract more filmgoers by respecting their values than by assaulting them.

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