Is It Just Me?

BY TIM DAVIS

I love old Hollywood.

There are many reasons for this. Foremost is the fact that there seemed to be an attitude of gratitude and respect in the general population which is reflected in so many ways - from manners and etiquette to how one dressed and certainly the way one spoke. The cultural norms were that of kindness and politeness. What happened to those ideals? When did they become unattractive?

As an actor, writer, and producer with my own media group, I have been working on honing my vision statement, and this is how it has gone so far:

“To create film, television, and live entertainment at the highest level in storytelling and visual and sonic excellence, which reflect the ideals of joy, human kindness, and sophistication which were much more prevalent at the dawn of the entertainment industry.”

It still does not sound quite right. So, I think about it some more…

Whenever I turn on the television, I instinctively brace myself to be assaulted by gratuitous visuals and dialoguewhether relevant to the story or not. It’s stressful for me, particularly when my kids or in-laws are in the room.

It has always been an elevated virtue to be an envelope pusher:

“Push the boundaries!”

“Rail against the norm!”

I get it. But how much further can we push? And what is proved by this pushing? When will “the more extreme, the better” finally have run its course?

When I see a show or a film that is beautifully written and produced but doesn’t contain gratuitous content, I have instant respect for the creators. I know it takes more effort to write intelligent dialogue that isn’t riddled with the f-word and “Jesus Christ”, and this leads me to another thought: how is the use of a religious figure’s name as a curse word not considered “hate speech” in today’s culture? I’ll just leave that there for thought and possibly another article. Maybe I’m a prude. Probably so.

But there are millions of people in the world just like me - people who love good storytelling and riveting content but could do without the extreme language, violence, and sexual content that are present in 90% of media today.

And hear me out - my senses are just as offended when I watch a faithbased film that sacrifices all production value in order to promote a message. In my estimation, their horribly produced piece does more damage to the faith than anything else.

All these beg the question - Isn’t it possible to produce amazing content that isn’t offensive to millions but has the highest production value?

When I watch series like “Man In The High Castle”, I am captivated by the level of excellence in cinematography, acting, storyline, and masterful character development - but then the foul language is gratuitous. Does it really need to be done like this in order to tell the story? Does it make it better? This is an honest question.

“Come on, Tim. Are you that out of touch? Everyone talks this way”.

Do they? I don’t. Actually, very few people I know do.

I’ve lived and worked in the industry in LA for the last 24 years, and I know some people who use the f-word occasionally and humorously. But if you ask me if I have met anyone who rhythmically inserts the word in every sentence, I would say no.

I heard once that “curse words are power words”. People use curse words when they feel powerless. Honestly, I believe it. When I encounter a person who constantly curses, I wonder if they feel powerless or insignificant, and using that language somehow makes them feel seen and heard. That’s again another thing to consider.

I love period pieces, particularly about the early part of the 20th century. I search out every film and tv show I can find that centers around those periods. I am baffled, however, when the language in the piece is entirely inaccurate to the period.

Matthew Weiner’s “Mad Men” was full of mature themes, which could have been very real in the day, but he stayed away from extremely foul language because it was not as commonly used in that time period. Writing powerful dialogue without using such power words takes much more thought and effort.

With the proliferation of foul language, sex, and violence, Instead of art reflecting culture, it seems that there is an aggressive campaign to have culture reflect art - to push the boundaries to the absolute edge.

It’s interesting to me that after all the loss and hopelessness brought on by the second World War, the hunger in our country for renewed hope and joy were palpable, and the public rushed in droves to experience the beautiful images, joyous music, and happy people on the silver screen.

Entertainment was a healing agent in those days. What about today?

I’ve been pondering about our emotional and psychological state as a culture. Coming out of one of the biggest pandemics in our planet’s history, it seems that an epidemic has emerged – that of fear and hopelessness. Now, more than ever, we need a resurgence of hope-filled, joyful entertainment.

Is it just me? Or are there others who want great storytelling at the highest levels of production excellence without having to navigate an assault to your senses? Perhaps our silence has signaled to the world that we don’t exist. I wonder.

So, this op-ed is more about a series of questions I am leaving for the reader to ponder. Still, I believe there is a way to create the highest level of artistic expression without using the lowest common denominator standards for pervasive language, sex, and violence. That’s what I want to create. What do you think?

About the author:

Tim Davis has been arranging and producing vocalists and music on film, television, and artist recordings for countless projects for the past 26 years. An accomplished singer himself, Tim has sung on hundreds of projects and still performs with artists like Jane Lynch, Idina Menzel, and Barbra Streisand.

Currently, Tim is an actor and screenwriter for his own production company, Tim Davis Media Group, and is attached as a producer to several films, series, and live entertainment projects.