The
Golden Rule has Lost it Lustre
It’s
funny how many spineless phonies there are in the world. I met a women recently- she must have been in
her late 60s and we got to talking. As
the discussion evolved, it came out that she was a writer and a member of the
Screen Actors Guild. When I asked what
that meant, she explained that her job was to write screenplays based on
outlines given to her by the big studios.
She quickly followed that with a complaint saying that she never felt
that she was truly writing anything that would resemble literature or anything
of merit, but it was her life and profession for many years to write these
screenplays.
“That’s
interesting though. Did many of your
screenplays make it onto the big screen?”
I asked.
“Oh
yes. Very many.”
“Would
I know some of them?”
“Probably.”
“Tell
me a few, let’s see.”
“I’d
rather not. I don’t like sharing my work
with others.”
“Really? Why?”
“Let’s
just say that I’ve been in the business so long and know many, many people
throughout all levels of the industry and I’d prefer not to get into what I did
and with whom.”
“But
aren’t you proud of the films you wrote?
I don’t understand why you wouldn’t be, but it’s your call I guess.” This got me thinking though, as I’m soon going
to need to find a publisher or literary agent for my novel. So I asked, “Do you know many publishers or
literary agents?”
“Oh yes.
Many, many publishers and agents.
I’ve worked in the industry my whole life.”
We
spoke for a couple hours about a wide range of things, but as the night
was coming to an end, I had to ask, “I’m sorry to even ask this, but considering
you know many publishers and literary agents and have worked in the industry
for so long, maybe you would be willing to read a short story or two of mine
and let me know your thoughts? I’m soon
going to finish my first novel and need to find a---”
“Oh
no, I cannot do that.”
“Are
you sure? I’d really appreciate someone
in the industry giving me some honest feedback.”
“I’m
a screenwriter, not a fiction writer.”
“It
doesn’t matter. Good writing is good
writing isn’t it?”
“I
can’t do it.”
“I
get the impression that if I offered you a screenplay I’d written, you'd
say “no” as well.”
“You’re
right. I wouldn’t read it either. I wouldn’t feel comfortable with the
responsibility of undermining someone’s writing.”
“But
aren’t you kind of doing that by assuming it’ll be bad and thus refusing?” I said this kind of as a joke. She didn’t say anything and just kind of
shrugged her shoulders and remained silent.
After
a little while longer of stilted conversation, I paid my bill and walked
out.
Earlier in the evening, we had spoken about how
incestuous the publishing and film industries are and how it seems to me, as an
outsider, that you really need to know certain people to gain entry into it no
matter how talented you are. She said that
my opinion was unfortunately often the case. I also spoke about Maxwell Perkins and how he shaped so many of our
great writers like Hemingway and Fitzgerald and how that type of editor no
longer exists….she again agreed. It was only until she realized that I was a
writer and wanted some feedback and guidance before she went cold and stopped
talking.
I
replayed our conversation over in my mind as I walked home. The problem with writing today is that the
few writers getting published are often very egotistical (and just as often lack graciousness
and humanity). They build walls
around themselves, which makes it a total insider’s game. If you’re lucky and rich, maybe you will
happen to meet a literary agent in Cannes or some other high-end ego circus and
get a helping hand, but for most writers, the barriers of entry are daunting to
say the least. It’s a sad state of
affairs. This woman agreed with all
these things, but even so, she was unwilling to lend a helping hand in any
way whatsoever. She wouldn’t even provide a contact
or reference an agency or two for me to cold call without mentioning her name. What a world we are living in.
Does
anyone even wonder where are all the great artists of our day are? We are engaged in the longest wars of our
nation’s history backdropped against massive geopolitical shifts and not one timeless
novel has been written about them.
Movies are focused on mass market global sales and thus, they are all
roughly the same storyline and pretty much exclusively involve
superheroes. Small independent films
based on universal life struggle and truth rarely seem to make it out of the
gate, while fiction writers struggle to get someone, anyone to even answer their calls or emails. It seems that most of the
gatekeepers and successful artists consider themselves above the masses, which flies in the
face of history, as many of the greatest artists of the 20th century
embraced society in all its forms and shunned the arrogant and elitist
hierarchy of the industry. They were
afraid that if they became part of that cabal, they would lose their moxie- but
today it seems like many are only in it for the elitism.
Sadly, this isn't limited to the arts, just look at our politics, economy and society today and you will see how those who have power continue to build up these barriers against those who do not-
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