Hollywood Content? Do you agree?

[JosephConroy]

Not to enter the Yea or Nay fray here, BUT I do have an interesting first hand experience with Hollywood.

Through a very unusual experience I became friends first over the Internet and later and for some time now personal close friends with several Academy award nominated screenwriters/directors IN Hollywood.


We had met on a writers group on Yahoo, and they really enjoyed my stories and stuff. they knew I lived in Europe, I had NO IDEA who they were other than their first names. And we would joke around back and forth over the months on the net. When I mentioned I was back in America for a short spell, they said they would like to meet me personally, and eventually we did.

They made a dinner at one of their homes and had quite an interesting array of guests, including not only screenwriters and a few actor friends but some Beverly Hills physicians and of all things a Biologist who was really fascinating I must say.


Anyway, in the midst of dinner the host kind of raised his voice and said "Joseph....tell us one of your stories!" Oh man, NO!" I said. But he kept on, "Come on Joe, that's why were here, we read you and think your stories are great!" Sooo I told them alright, I WILL tell you a story, BUT this story is TRUE! And I know it'strue because it happened to ME! I want to tell you how I got the Holy Ghost! And for the rest of the dinner I told my testimony how God had brought me step by step from darkness into this marvellous light!

After dinner we just talked and talked and talked... The two main screenwriters/directors were brothers and they are also Orthodox Jews, so we talked about all kinds of Biblical subjects, they asked me if I believed in Angels, I gave them some of my personal experiences with Angels and the intervention of God, talked about healing, Elijah and the messiah, on and on.


Anyway at about 4 am I really had to go, so the four of them (By then every one else had gone home.) But the two brothers and their wives were walking me down a gentle hill from their home to where I had parked my car. I was talking with the oldest of the two brothers and he asked me "Have you ever seen any of my movies? And I told him, "You're going to think I am so backward, but no I never have." He started naming them..."You mean you've never seen any of them???"

I said , I had heard about them or read about them and had seen them advertised , but no I never had. he said , "Even on television??? you've never seen them on TV?" I told him, "You're going to think I'm like Amish or something but, I don't have a TV" he was flabbergasted! he said "What You DON'T have a TV????!" I was kind of embarrassed because it kind of shocked him. I said "No, I don't." He said "Why not?" I told him I just don't like the atmosphere it brings into my home , or my mind. His brother was walking in back of us with the two wives, so the guy calls back to his brother "Stephen! you have to hear this!" So he kind of catches up to us and the Older Brother says, "Joseph, tell Stephen what you just told me! " Kind of frustrated I said "I don't have a TV!" The Brother says "Tell him WHY!" so I did. Then the older brother calls his wife, "Wendy Wendy come here you have to hear this!" So she kind of trots up to us leaving the last wife walking behind.
"Joseph tell Wendy what you told Stephen and I!" I said "I don't wanna!" " "Oh go on, Wendy you have to HEAR this! go ahead Joseph" "I don't have a TV." "Tell her WHY!" I said "because I just don't like the way I feel or the atmosphere in my home when there's a TV blaring." So Wendy turns to her sister in law who is wondering what we all are talking about and says to her "You have to hear what Joseph just told us! tell her Joseph!'

I said "NO! You guys won't really understand!" "Oh come on Joseph, tell her!" well now the other wife is all curious, "Tell me What? tell me What!?"

So I said it once again "I DON'T HAVE A TV! I don't like the subtle philosophies injected in every message from cartoons to corn flakes commercials, I don't like that it tends to want to do my thinking for me, I don't like the spiritual atmosphere that it brings into my home!!!!!! I DON'T HAVE A TV!!!!!"

At which they all start cracking up, the oldest brother put his hand on my shoulder laughing and said with one of those end of laugh sighs..."Oh Joseph, you're too funny! Listen you know why we are so amazed is that Neither my Brother or I have a television in our homes either! It robs us of our creativity, and it DOES create such a negative aura in the home! Do you know he continued that when I got rid of our TV within just a few months my daughter and my sons school performance accelerated unbelievably! Now Teddy's a published author and budding scientist in her field and my son Leo is following right in her footsteps! We wouldn't have a TV in our home if you held a gun to our heads!"

Since then I have visited them countless times, participated in some of the most interesting Hollywood get togethers in their homes and in fact was on the yahoo Messenger with one of them just before I checked on this group tonight!

We have all heard it and I think it bears some consideration, but Pentecostals are NOT the only people who have felt to omit television from their life style.

Anwyay just thought to throw my two cents in....
Joseph Conroy