
Still from A Stranger Among Us, starring Melanie Griffith and Eric Thal. The film was written and produced by Robert J. Avrech and directed by Sidney Lumet.
Act I:
Exposition—In Which the Main Characters and Primary Drama Are Introduced
It’s Shabbat morning. I’m in synagogue, praying, where an undertone of chatter is definitely not the norm. For me, a frum-from-birth screenwriter, this synagogue, where my wife and I have been members since we moved to Los Angeles from Brooklyn, is my fortress of solitude. It’s where my Hollywood identity is securely tucked away and I can revert to my true self, which is: husband, father and grandfather, shomer Shabbos Jew, Religious Zionist and a man who tries to live a Torah life as best as he can.
In the midst of praying, a friend whispers: “I just saw that movie you made a few years ago. Very exciting story. ”
“Um, thanks so much.”
I figure the conversation is over and go back to my prayers.
“The thing I was wondering is,” continues my friend, “what’s she really like?” She being the famous and glamorous star of the movie my friend has recently seen on Netflix.
Several possible answers pop up in my head, as if on a TV game show board:
1. She’s very nice.
2. She’s crazy as a loon.
3. Why on earth were you watching that movie?
I go for number one.
My friend nods his head as if I’ve just explained a difficult Tosafot, puts a gentle hand on my shoulder and says, “We’ll talk more later.”
The purpose of this scene is not to denigrate my friend, who is a wonderful and charitable person, nor is it an attempt to bolster my credentials as a pious man. I confess: I’ve been known to talk in synagogue on occasion.
This anecdote illustrates the mesmerizing allure Hollywood exerts over, well . . . everyone! Hollywood movies are the most powerful tools of social and political propaganda the world has ever known. Think about it: America wins wars only when Hollywood believes in them and puts itself squarely behind America’s war effort. During World War II, every studio in Hollywood backed the Allied effort against the Axis. Hollywood stars raised money for war bonds, and studios produced films that went all out for freedom and liberty against the tyranny of Nazi Germany and Imperial Japan. Hollywood played a huge role in America’s victory.
Contrast Vietnam. Hollywood, which was overwhelmingly antiwar, produced a series of movies that undermined the American effort against the spread of Communism in Southeast Asia. America lost Vietnam. Hollywood knew that with a few clever, glossy films (such as Coming Home, (’78) starring Jane Fonda) and carefully manufactured imagery, it could undermine American foreign policy and turn heroic GIs into psychotic baby killers.
More recently, Hollywood has made about a dozen movies that condemn America’s military conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan. Not one of them was profitable, but the damage was done: America withdrew from both fronts. Islamic tyrannies will fill the vacuum—and Hollywood will never take notice or assume any responsibility.
Even women’s fashion is a reflection of what they see on the screen. Ever since Manolo Blahnik stilettos featured prominently on HBO’s hit show Sex and the City over a decade ago, middle-class women have been willing to walk through fire and water for a pair of Manolos—at something like $1,000 a pop!
Act II:
Conflict—In Which Our Little Drama Is Developed Into a Narrative Arc
Let’s be clear: Hollywood influences practically every aspect of life in the United States. As an award-winning screenwriter and producer who has been working in Hollywood for over twenty-five years, I can claim an authentic knowledge of Tinseltown and the people who make it work.

n A Stranger Among Us, Melanie Griffith plays a New York cop who goes undercover as a ba’alas teshuvah in order to solve the murder of a Chassidic diamond merchant. In this scene, Griffith enjoys a Shabbos meal. On Griffith’s lap is Offspring #3, playing a role in daddy’s film.
And I am here to tell you that whether your head is inside a Borsalino or under a knitted kippah, Hollywood is inside your head. And there, slowly but surely, it is executing a brilliant, insidious stealth attack on the core values that make up not only the bedrock of Torah Judaism, but also the foundation of American culture.
Here’s one example from my life as a screenwriter. A few years ago, a big studio hired me to write a drama about the dangers posed by Islamic terrorists. The studio executives wanted me to write the script because they knew it would be not just entertaining but also a cautionary tale for modern times. Still, one studio executive took me aside and whispered a warning: “Just don’t, y’know, malign all Muslims.”
My script was a beauty. Lots of action, a romance between a rugged American CIA agent (think a young George Clooney) and a beautiful Mossad agent (imagine Charlize Theron as a brunette), a few killer car chases, an evil Muslim terrorist and a decent Muslim kid who gets blackmailed into becoming a suicide bomber. A few weeks after I handed in my first draft, a studio executive called me and said that the studio was not going to go ahead with the project as currently written.
“We feel it’s too controversial. It might be seen as anti-Muslim. Now maybe if you turned the Muslim terrorists into Christian terrorists, we might reconsider.”
“Christian terrorists? Like whom?” I asked.
The studio exec said, “Oh, y’know, you can just make it up.”
“Christian terrorist organizations do not exist. I have done the research.”
“Yeah, well, there’s another problem: the stuff about Israel, your Mossad character. What about the Palestinians? You really have to present their side of the story.”
“The character of the Mossad agent is there for romance and to emphasize the global nature of Islamic terrorism,” I said. “It is, after all, Palestinians who invented modern jihadist terror.”
The studio exec sighed. “Robert, what can I tell you? You’re a great writer, but this script—well, unless you turn it inside out, it’s dead.”
TV is also the place where . . . children are either preternaturally wise or sadly jaded—sometimes both—but they never turn to their parents for advice or guidance.
A few days later, an inside source at the studio told me that someone had slipped a copy of my script to the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), an American group that presents itself as a civil rights organization but is actually a front for the Muslim Brotherhood. CAIR read my script and put pressure on the studio to drop the project or suffer some unnamed consequences.
My script was dead, killed off by a new set of values that have colonized Hollywood the way cancer cells multiply and devour healthy tissue. If you go to the movies, Islamic terror barely appears. And when it does appear, it is so tentative and mild that you would think that Muslim terrorists were an aberration on the world stage.
Hollywood sells glamour and sizzle. The women are beautiful, the men are handsome and the plot lines are, one hopes, clever and compelling.
But Hollywood also sells a set of core values.
Turn on the TV and you will see happy gay couples on almost every show. Since most of Hollywood believes that gay marriage is a human right, writers, producers and stars inject gay characters and couples into their storylines in order to convince viewers that gay couples are just like straight ones. Look at the ABC hit sitcom Modern Family. It’s clever and touching, and who in his right mind is going to object to the lovable gay couple who are featured players on the show?

Still from The Devil’s Arithmetic, starring Kirsten Dunst and Brittany Murphy. The film garnered rave reviews and earned yours truly the Emmy Award for best screenplay.
TV is also the place where Dad is a clueless, lovable buffoon while elegant, long-suffering Mom puts up patiently with his childlike behavior. The children are either preternaturally wise or sadly jaded—sometimes both—but they never turn to their parents for advice or guidance. Watch a few hours of TV and you will come away believing that the nuclear family does not really function, if it exists at all.
Here are a few more messages that Hollywood endlessly projects:
1. No one goes to church or synagogue. Any character who worships is the butt of jokes. Exceptions are made for Buddhism, ill-defined spiritualism and, natch, Islam.
2. The greatest threats to our planet are overpopulation and so-called global freezing/global warming/climate change. Mankind is doomed because selfish people—that’s you and me, not the Hollywood elite—do not separate their trash with proper devotion.
3. Republicans are stupid, nasty bigots, usually with very bad skin.
4. Democrats are glamorous, brilliant, tolerant and the saviors of mankind. (Try telling that to Detroit, which has been ruled by Democrats for more than forty years.)
5. A woman’s place is in the workplace. Motherhood is sooooo Leave It to Beaver.
6. There are no Torah Jews in the greater Hollywood imagination. If we do show up, we are usually there for stupid bris milah jokes.
7. Zionism is invisible. When it does appear, it is usually treated like the plague.
Hollywood glamorizes and sells its values. These values make their way into your home—if you have TV, if you go to the movies, if you watch online—in such a way that you do not even realize that your gray matter is gradually being shaped into the fashionable conformity that animates Hollywood.
From where does Hollywood get its values?
Almost every Hollywood executive, director, producer and writer I’ve ever met has attended an Ivy League university where secular, leftist thinking dominates, and where genuine education—the search for knowledge—has been replaced by a not-so-subtle intellectual brainwashing.
A few months ago, a high school girl and aspiring screenwriter came to me for advice. She mentioned that she loved the hit TV series Modern Family and would “love to write stuff like that.” This girl is from a solid Torah family. She’s active in Bnei Akiva and volunteers with Bikur Cholim—an admirable young woman in every way. I asked her what she thought about gay marriage. She knew exactly what I was getting at. Smiling self-consciously, she said that she knew it was wrong, but she really loved the gay characters on the show and would feel as if she were betraying them if she came out against gay marriage.
“They’re not real,” I chided gently.
“They’re real to me,” she said.
The gay characters on a fictional TV sitcom have become real to this fine young woman and to millions of viewers around the world. The fantasy world of television and movies that emanate from a giant screen, TV panel, computer, tablet and smartphone have become a simulacrum of the real world—a parallel world that worms its way into our consciousness, replacing traditional morality with alien values disguised as the new normal.
None of this happens by chance. We who write movies and television shows weigh each word and image with excruciating care. I have managed to inject my values into several films and get away with it, even winning an Emmy Award for The Devil’s Arithmetic, a time-travel Holocaust drama. But I and a few like-minded friends are in the minority, outgunned and outnumbered.
Act III:
Resolution—In Which a Satisfying Closure Is Achieved
After services, my friend comes over to continue our discussion. Mostly, he wants to hear about the star. He’s delighted that I know her, that I know and have worked with dozens of stars. He thinks it’s just great that a guy from shul hangs with Hollywood royalty.
“What are they really like?” he asks.
I decide to tell the truth. “Not one of them is anything like they seem on screen. Mostly they are self-absorbed narcissists who can barely make their way from their limos to the sidewalk without powerful pharmaceuticals. If you spend ten minutes with any one of them, you would be shocked at how shallow, ignorant and one-dimensional they are. What they do well is act. They are actors. Without a role, without someone like me to write their dialogue, they practically cease to exist.”
My friend is shocked and baffled. Am I joking?
“Don’t make the mistake of confusing reality with a carefully-tailored image. That blurring can warp the mind.”
That’s when he asks the sixty-four-thousand-dollar question.
“Then why do you do it?”
“Because I love movies—and I know the difference between reality and fiction.”
He smiles, nods and heads off to Daf Yomi.
I walk home. In my head, I’m already plotting my next script.

Movies are a moral landscape where stories convey powerful messages. Every movie begins with a script. Here is a sample page from my Emmy Award-winning screenplay for The Devil’s Arithmetic.
Listen to Robert J. Avrech speak about Hollywood at www.ou.org/hollywood-screenwriter.
This article was featured in Jewish Action Winter 2013.







Ariel Chaim Avrech, ZT'L, May His Righteous Memory be a Blessing.








37 Comments
“They’re real to me” is a testament to the power of the dream factory. That’s what Hollywood is all about, providing an escape from reality.
A very thought-provoking piece, Robert, thank you. You’ve set me to wondering about why my tastes in movies and music (and automobile design and clothes and so much more) mostly pre-date 1973. I think it has something to do with the culture-wide loss of self confidence.
Extra thanx for confirming what I’d always suspected about actors. Empty vessels make the most noise, right?
I’d love to read your unproduced script. The studio in my head does some great work!
Like or Dislike:
1
0
Robert:
You’re certainly correct that pro-Israeli films seem to have become a thing of the past. What a shame. I was hoping one day you would help bring Daniel Silva’s Gabriel Allon book series to the big screen. It’s obviously very popular, but perhaps it’s easier for that to be the case due to book purchases being private, as opposed to movie viewing (at least initially). Surprisingly, I thought the movie “World War Z” portrayed Israel in a positive light. Years’ ago I was in desperate need of reading material and picked the Max Brooks book off-of my son’s bookshelves; I particularly noted the section of the book set in Israel ~ thinking to myself that it would probably be cut when the movie was made because of anti-Israeli Hollywood sentiment. Presently, it seems as-if the entire world (on many different levels) is conspiring against Israel, doesn’t it? Our government was previously supportive of Israel and now obviously isn’t. An inspiring movie such-as Exodus would never be made now. Being pro-Israel is no-longer “politically correct” ~ and most people are veritable “sheep” (goodness knows they couldn’t possibly ‘think for themselves’, could they?). A Charlton Heston quote I’m fond of is: “Political correctness is tyranny with manners”. Appropriate to the current state of affairs.
Like or Dislike:
2
0
I can understand your friend’s curiosity. She was a beautiful woman, and now she’s … well, probably the most object lesson in how Hollywood’s warped (and cravenly hypocritical) values encourage women to self-mutilate.
Like or Dislike:
1
0
Rick:
My friend was actually not asking about Melanie. He was asking about another famous actress with whom I worked. I should have made it clear in the article that Melanie is not the lady in question. My very bad.
Like or Dislike:
0
0
Another movie of fairly recent vintage (2007) that doesn’t shy away from the subject of Muslim terrorists killing Amerians is “The Kingdom“. Fantastic cast though I have to wonder how Jamie Foxx endured the slightly-to-the-right ideology in the film. I find the film to be fairly well-balanced with an Arab/Muslim character who is the heart & soul of the film yet still showing the Muslim terrorists in the light they belong in – harsh, glaring and unflinching. And it doesn’t go overboard on the “American As Cowboy” theme you see so often as the counter-balance.
Like or Dislike:
2
0
The “Kingdom” is actually a movie that made money. In contrast to all the other anti-Iraq and anti-Afghanistan films that were pumped out by Hollywood in a show of self-hatred and self-righteousness.
Like or Dislike:
0
0
I watched Ender’s Game a couple of weeks ago. I liked it, but I noticed that the religious elements of the original story were carefuly scrubbed.
Before that was The Hobbit. I liked it, I guess.
Before that was the Star Trek reboot. Hated it.
That’s it. Three films in four years. And I regretted one of them.
We really need better films. And it sounds like we aren’t going to get them.
Like or Dislike:
1
0
I went to see About Time yesterday – an entertaining movie – I wouldn’t rave about it but worth seeing. Had some religious elements and after reading Robert’s post all the way though I am thinking that this came from the UK – developed and made outside Hollywood.

I don’t know a lot about the movie business but distribution is a key – maybe the key. If you have made a great movie but can’t get it out there nobody knows about it.
I’ll have to read Wm Goldman’s book again – Read it years ago but really had some interesting anecdotes about the bizness. One thing I do remember was a quote from him, “Nobody knows nuthin”
Like or Dislike:
1
0
If you like Science Fiction, but didn’t care for Star Trek, may I highly recommend something you may care for:
Babylon 5
(in my humble science-fiction fan opinion, it is incomparably way beyond better than Star Trek, Star Wars, Stargate, etc. )
It went through 5 seasons, five movies, and one spinoff (the Crusade).
It has an underlying spiritual voice, and some quite overtly positive Catholic theologic moments, as well as a few traditional Jewish moments.
The creator/producer/screenwriter, John Michael Straczinski is Catholic, and his portrayal of the alien race Minbari, has an underlying reminiscence of the presence of a Trinity in nature.
Unfortunately, no plans (yet) for a renewal or film. ;-(
If you are completely unfamiliar with it, start with The Gathering as it was the pilot movie for the original series, and wait to watch the movies until you have seen all 5 seasons.
Available on Netflix, or several streaming sites on the web.
Hope you enjoy it.
Like or Dislike:
1
0
I don’t really remember there being much in the way of religious elements in the book. A little about how Ender’s parents were religious, but that was barely mentioned even in the book; it was a bit of ammo Graff used to convince Ender to go to Battle School, and not much else. They probably just took it out to streamline the storyline a bit, which doesn’t bother me.
One thing I wish they *had* taken out was Alai saying “salaam” to Ender in the movie. Not because it’s a Muslim thing; I wouldn’t have wanted him to say “shalom aleicha” either. But I felt that in the movie, Alai and Ender hadn’t built up enough of a connection for Alai to make such a gesture towards Ender, and also that the gesture lost a lot of its context when the movie could not go into the issue of how the expression of religious faith had been severely curtailed on Earth by the Hegemony and the International Fleet.
Like or Dislike:
1
0
I don’t watch TV at all, and not many movies (I actually would watch more movies, except most of the time I don’t know what’s coming out when, since I don’t see the ads on TV). But I read lots and lots of books, and (as I’m sure you already know) similar things are done there. One of my favorite authors is actually becoming annoying in that respect: once upon a time, she would write stories that happened to be influenced to a degree by her social justice views. Which was fine, since it’s not really possible to write a book and NOT have it influenced by your values. These days however, it’s more like she’s writing her social justice views in the form of stories. Which is irritating enough, to be lectured at for 500 pages, but the quality of her work is also suffering thereby.
I think there is an author you’d like, Naomi Ragan. Particularly her book “The Covenant.” Heck, you might even enjoy making a screenplay out of it. The theme is not so different from your screenplay that got rejected by CAIR, and I think the subject matter would be right up your alley.
Like or Dislike:
1
0
I know Naomi and have read several of her books. Difficult movie material.
Like or Dislike:
0
0
I agree with you in that the cinema and TV are vast wastelands of trite and demeaning story lines and morals.
But one show tries to counter that trend to some degree, though it has its politically correct moments, namely Blue Bloods on CBS. You would need to DVR it or watch it on line (though you cannot zap the commercials online) but if you have not seen it I recommend. It is one of the few shows with religion – Catholicism – playing a significant role as does family, both in a positive light.
Like or Dislike:
2
0
Yes – I would agree. Just about anything Tom Selleck has been involved with has been good. Was watching one of the Jesse Stone movies on Netflix – wish he would make more but I am sure Blue Bloods takes all of his time.
Like or Dislike:
1
0
I will seek out “Blue Bloods.” Good title. Thanks so much.
Like or Dislike:
0
0
Thanks Robert for this.
Like or Dislike:
3
0
You’re welcome.
Like or Dislike:
0
0
I wonder if you think the present generation of Hollywood “talent,” my mother-in-law’s term, is significantly different from those of the studio era. I knew Jane Russell pretty well through my mother-in-law and, for example, attended her second wedding. My own wedding reception was at her and Bob Waterfield’s house in Sherman Oaks. She was very earthy and practical, buying a lot of real estate in the days when it was cheap. She was certainly self indulgent, not letting the adopted kids wake her up early and so forth. Still, she struck me as very family oriented and very practical.
When Kim Bassinger ventured out of the control of her agent, she wound up bankrupt. Jane was always in control of her life. I don’t remember the subject of politics ever coming up but she seemed practical. My mother-in-law, who traveled with Jane for most of her career, was very conservative.
Like or Dislike:
2
0
Michael:
The classic generation of Hollywood people were mostly very poor or from humble circumstances. They rose to the top of their fields through talent, ahrd work and insane tenacity. They lived and appreciated the American dream. So yes, they were deeply patriotic and despised the intellectual movements given to us by Europe: Marxism, Socialism, Fascism, and Nazism. The Communist movemmet in Hollywood was the product, almost exclusively, of Ivy league educated elitists, many of them were Stalinists.
Jane Russell was an active Republican.
Like or Dislike:
1
0
So, Robert do you agree with my suspicions that Americans were being prepared to vote for a black man as president with the police, csi, L&O, NCIS type shows that had black department heads?
Like or Dislike:
2
4
Batya:
America is the least racist country on the face of the earth. That Americans would vote for a (sorta) black president is not a surprise. The problem is with people who voted for Obama only because he is (sorta) black. TV black presidents helped prepare the already fertilized ground. There is no cause and effect that can be conclusively demonstrated.
Like or Dislike:
1
0
In some ways this is a depressing overview. Surely you know more than I do working there. But I also watch very few movies – going to see one today about Time Travel. But I think – for the reasons you have cited – a lot of America rarely goes to the movies. Does Hollywood have influence over them?
When a movie does “have legs” the reasons are (1) it doesn’t have any of the baggage you mention (look at Taken, for example), (2) People talk about it and that brings more in (3) they are generally uplifting in one way or another.
Perhaps you don’t see this from your vantage point but millions of people despise Hollywood’s values.
I have learned enough about actor’s private lives that I have assumed the “Be careful what you wish for” mantra when reading about them.
Family lives that are usually in tatters, substance abuse….I don’t think I would want to trade places.
In fact I ran across an interesting article while researching something – from 1975. It was an interview with Goldie Hawn, and she was saying how once in, Hollywood can really twist your life. She was a chorus girl – happy – and her “break” was the Laugh In part. And her fame started when she flubbed her lines, giggled, and the producers kept it in.
I would imagine there are a few who have managed to keep a level head (secret ignore virtually everything around you?) but they are few & far between.
Well-loved. Like or Dislike:
5
0
a lot of America rarely goes to the movies. Does Hollywood have influence over them?
They may not “go to” the movies, but they still watch movies at home, on cable or DVD.
Like or Dislike:
1
0
I know a lot for whom the movie headliner is a turn-off
Like or Dislike:
1
0
Do they watch TV?
Like or Dislike:
1
0
If you go to the movies, Islamic terror barely appears.
The recent two where I can think of where they did appear, were
Taken (I and II)
Taken I, had Albanian Muslim terrorists in sex slavery rings with wealthy Arabs,
and even had a corrupt French official working with the terrorists.
Taken II was with the same Albanian Muslim terrorists in a revenge plot in Turkey.
Maybe CAIR didn’t get to the see the scripts until after production ??
Like or Dislike:
2
0
Some producers have the guts and moral center that gives them the courage to tell CAIR to stick it.
Like or Dislike:
2
0
Excellent piece, Robert. It deserves wider dissemination.
Well-loved. Like or Dislike:
5
0
K:
Thanks so much. The OU magazine in which it has been published reaches over 100,000 mail subscribers. Their website has even more daily viewers.
Like or Dislike:
0
0
Mr. Avrech,
I read this article in the Jewish Action, and I found it fascinating — especially your description of most actors/actresses. I have two followup questions if you have a chance:
1) Do you think there is some causation/correlation between being an actor and being so shallow? That is: do you think shallow/ignorant people tend to gravitate toward acting because acting provides them with some identity they would otherwise be lacking, or do you think actors tend to become more and more shallow as time goes on, as their entire identity is subsumed within their world of fiction to the point that they cease to have any true reality, or is there no connection?
2) It is well know that most actors/actresses lean heavily left. Do you have any thoughts as to why that is? Is it plausible to suggest that actors live their entire existence in a world of fantasy and make believe. The ideology of the left as well, centers around a utopia, a world they wish existed, a fantasy world. As such, actors are drawn to that ideology.
Like or Dislike:
3
2
I have known several of these people, some quite well, and found them to a person, to be kind, informed, intelligent, attractive, morally and physically, and altogether more than a pleasure, but an honour to know.
Like or Dislike:
2
0
I know and have known quite a few level-headed, wonderful actors. But far too many are deeply damaged characters with no discernible center of gravity.
Like or Dislike:
0
0
I think we are talking about different things, place and people. The actors to whom I’ve referred are of a prior generation.
Like or Dislike:
1
0
Further thought:
Of course, I am older, so it would stand to reason that an earlier generation would be in play. Frankly, whether in the business or not, I don’t always get the new people.
Like or Dislike:
1
0
1. Many actors become actors because they don’t know who they are. They need a role and they need the love of an audience. Like all generalizations, this has notable exceptions. I have quite a few friends who are actors and they are deeply thoughtful people whom I greatly admire.
2. People without a center of gravity of their own will tend to go with the herd. The Hollywood herd mentality is fashionable leftism. So that’s how Hollywood rolls.
Like or Dislike:
1
0
Your description of what happened to the script reminds me of what happened to Clancy’s novel “The Sum of all Fears” when it became a movie. The difference is that the script writer in that case surrendered to the established biases.
Well-loved. Like or Dislike:
6
0
That happens all the time in Hollywood. Clancy’s story was only the beginning of the trend of Hollywood’s cowardly appeasement to Muslim terrorists.
Like or Dislike:
3
0