‘Mother!’ Nature’s wrath strikes Hollywood

Published 10:46 am Monday, September 25, 2017

The editorial in the Sept. 14 edition of the Niles Daily Star, “Stop Politicizing the Suffering of Others,” was timely, insightful and right on the money.

Thank you for your thoughts, but because of the natural disasters that have brought misery to millions in Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin  Islands, the Leeward Islands and Mexico City, I would like to take your remarks on celebrity abuse of human suffering to its next logical step.

Jennifer Lawrence is in her mid 20s, and is reported to be the highest paid actress in Hollywood.  I am sure she has millions of followers in  her social media network and deserved her Academy Award.

However, she has no basis for her misguided and selfish political views.

In the Sept. 14 editorial, you reported how she blames Hurricane Harvey and Hurricane Irma as a sign of God’s wrath against the voters who support Donald Trump.

That’s right. She took advantage of these natural disasters to make political points with other celebrities and those who follow  her every movement.

What your editorial did not get to do was finish the thought about Ms. Lawrence’s ill-advised use of  disasters as proof of God’s wrath against Donald Trump’s politics.

Since Ms. Lawrence’s remarks were made, Mexico City has experienced its worst earthquake since 1985, Hurricane Maria revisited several Caribbean islands with mass destruction and Jennifer Lawrence’s latest movie, “Mother,” bombed at the box office big time. Some respected movie reviewers called it the worst movie of the century, and its only 2017.

Was it God’s wrath against Jennifer Lawrence’s political remarks that caused her gore-filled movie to tank? If Jennifer Lawrence can blame Donald Trump for bringing about God’s vengeance, I can blame Jennifer Lawrence’s political opinions for bringing about the rage of Mother Nature.

Two facts come to mind quickly.  First, Hollywood is suffering its worst box office returns in 25 years, according to Variety magazine, the Bible of all things regarding entertainment.  Secondly, Donald Trump kept his mouth shut for 10 days during the apocalyptic weeks of the hurricanes Harvey and Irma, and his popularity grew by 4 percent.

I suggest that the entertainers who think they are best qualified to make political prognostications are destroying the movie industry.  I don’t want to hear the political views of Tom Hanks, Merle Streep, Jimmy Kimmel, Jennifer Lawrence or Kid Rock.  I pay to be entertained, not preached at.  Evidently, I am not alone.

For full disclosure, the last movie I paid to see was “LaLa Land,” starring Emma Stone and Ryan Gosling.  I have no idea what their political leanings are because they keep their politics private, knowing that if they say the wrong thing, they may flop at the box office — just like Jennifer Lawrence did last week.

A native of Niles, Jack Strayer moved back home in 2009 after living and working in Washington D.C. since 1976. Strayer has served as a congressional staffer, state legislative press secretary, federal registered lobbyist and vice president of the National Center for Policy Analysis. He is a nationally recognized expert on federal health policy reform and led the fight for the enactment of Health Savings Accounts.