Saturday, August 03, 2002

The problem is that things like the entertainment industry is, in fact, a form of monopoly. There are relatively few producers of mass entertainment and a relatively vast number of consumers. You want to get Hollywood's attention? Call a one month boycott of all movies and television shows other than news or sports broadcasts. If you could claim 60% compliance by the general public, Hollywood would feel the bite in their pocket books. Of course, it wouldn't work. It wouldn't work for two reasons. First, although a month would put a big dent in their income streams, it would not be enough to make 'em scream "uncle!" No, for that the boycott would probably have to last for at least a year. And that brings us to the second reason this would not work: I doubt that 60% of Americans would give up TV watching and/or movies for a year. We consume TV and movies relentlessly. I truly don't think the majority of Americans would give either up for the requisite time needed to bring Hollywood to its knees.

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