Is Clooney Right About Hollywood's Social Agenda?

March 6, 2006 — -- Is proud liberal George Clooney on the winning side of history? When accepting his Oscar for best supporting actor, the Kentucky native took on the critics who say Hollywood is out of touch with America.

"We're the ones who talked about AIDS when it was just being whispered," the 44-year-old star told the audience. "And we talked about civil rights when it wasn't really popular. This academy -- this group of people -- gave Hattie McDaniel an Oscar in 1939 when blacks were still sitting in the backs of theaters. I'm proud to be a part of this academy, proud to be part of this community, and proud to be out of touch."

But does Hollywood take the lead on social issues, and do its movies change American society? Scholars who study the industry express doubts.

While McDaniel received an Oscar for her role as Mammy in "Gone with the Wind," the impact on civil rights was minimal, said Rick Jewell, a film professor at the University of Southern California.

It "did nothing for segregation or for the plight of African-Americans," he said. "She was rewarded for playing a stereotypical role." Regarding AIDS, Jewel was also skeptical of Clooney's claim. The most serious film on AIDS was 1993's "Philadelphia," he said, "which was well into the crisis."

Jewell said this year's best picture Oscar winner, "Crash," seemed "retro" to him. "It took on issues that have been pretty well dealt with by the media for 30 years."

Jewell believed that "Capote" -- not "Brokeback Mountain" -- was the most challenging film this year, because though both movies centered on gay protagonists, "Capote" also dealt with "important ambiguities in the world of media and reporting."

Culture watchers continue to debate whether Hollywood is out in front or out of touch on the issue of gay rights, but in the past the industry has clearly been ahead of the curve at times.

Jewell pointed to the 1939 film "Confessions of a Nazi Spy" about an investigation into a Nazi espionage ring in the United States. Executives across Hollywood told Warner Bros. not to release the film, Jewell said. The studio did anyway, and World War II broke out within months.