We were having an interesting discussion from the old blog in re Hollywood and culture and who to blame for the corruption of the American soul. Although the discussion began with my surprisingly (at least to me) laudatory review of Jon Stewart's Oscar performance, I took the position that Hollywood was capable of great good and was more of a mirror to our depravity than an evil force intent on undermining virtue in America.

This morning C-SPAN aired a panel discussion from last December taking on the question of the "Pornification of America." Although C-SPAN has not archived this seminar, I am including a C-SPAN link with information on the colloquium and the authors who participated (all of whom seemed worth further investigation).

Although the topic was pornography, and its impact on society, nearly all the panelists acknowledged that pornography was merely one element in a corrosive American culture of marketing sex to children and adults (which includes music and toys and clothing and "strip culture"). Thinking back to the conversation linked above, I am convinced that we sometimes conflate Hollywood with Madison Avenue and corporate greed. But it brings up the greater point: are we not getting exactly what we want? If the genius of the market is that we reward agents who give us what we desire, is it fair to blame the entrepreneurs who feed our addictions to unsavory and unhealthy and destructive distractions?