In spite of how well her Globes speech was received, as others have noted, Oprah didn’t quite paint the proper picture when it comes to Hollywood, women, and the truth. I’m here to help. This is the speech Oprah should’ve given:
It is an honor to be here tonight as the recipient of the Cecil B. DeMille Award. As surely almost everyone here well knows, DeMille’s last—and his most successful—film was The Ten Commandments. This 1956 epic is a motion picture classic and one of the most popular films of all time. In the “opening card,” the words of DeMille himself read,
“Our modern world defined God as a 'religious complex' and laughed at the Ten Commandments as OLD FASHIONED. Then, through the laughter, came the shattering thunder of the World War. And now a blood drenched, bitter world – no longer laughing – cries for a way out. There is but one way out. It existed before it was engraven upon Tablets of Stone. It will exist when stone has crumbled. The Ten Commandments are not rules to obey as a personal favor to God. They are fundamental principles without which mankind cannot live together.”
Though they have never been more needed, tragically, such opinions—and certainly the values that such a statement reflects—have all but disappeared in today’s Hollywood. As with the “blood drenched,” war-ravaged world of which Mr. DeMille spoke, there is but one way out of the craven, perverse, sex-obsessed, bitter world that now exists in Hollywood. The Ten Commandments help point us to that way.
In these dark and complicated times, the truth is the most powerful weapon we have. Sadly, we can no longer rely on the media—neither the entertainment media that we represent, nor the news media—to present us with the truth. Like the lies that so permeate the stories that we tell, in order to further a worldview bereft of the notion of absolute truth, the news media rarely hesitates to mislead the public at large.
Thus, it should come as little surprise that, in a world so steeped in deception, many women in the entertainment and news media have become targets of powerful and brutal men. Abandoning the God of the Commandments, and instead making a god of personal pleasure, has led to decades of sexual abuse and assault against countless women in the entertainment industry. Also, with perhaps the most guarded tenet of our worldview being the idea that people should be able to do whatever they wish in the sexual realm, few should be surprised that there are so many Harvey Weinsteins among us.
What modern action, dramatic, or comedic film or television series is devoid of depicting—as C.S. Lewis bemoaned—“four bare legs in a bed?” These days, bare legs alarm almost no one. Many supposed “mainstream” Hollywood productions are now filled with graphic nudity and sex—what used to be called “pornography.” Adultery, fornication, pornography, prostitution, homosexuality, and virtually every other sexual immorality imaginable has long been promoted and celebrated by our industry. This must stop.
Taking their cues from Hollywood—revealing the awesome power and responsibility of those who make a career of entertainment—almost every institution in the United States has been infected with those who see other human beings—especially women—as objects to satisfy their lust. Thus, women across America, whether in homes or on farms, in factories, restaurants, academia, engineering, medicine, science, politics, business, and so on, have suffered and continue to suffer.
What’s more, it makes me very sad to say, many women like myself have been part of the problem. Instead of standing up to the sex-crazed entertainment industry, we have enabled it to continue, and even thrive. Using our bodies to titillate the minds of generations of boys and men, we have debased ourselves and been willing participants in contradicting what God has revealed on sex and marriage.
In both my personal and professional life I have failed to promote the proper view on sex, gender, marriage, and the family. Foolishly ignoring the heart of the message of our Creator, repeating what is perhaps the most frequent lie in the history of humanity, I have told others to “Live life on your own terms.” After all, “Everybody Wants to Rule Their World.”
For far too long, those telling the truth on sex, gender, marriage, and the family have not been heard. For far too long, the powerful in media have lied or suppressed the truth on these grave matters. I wish I could say a new day is on the horizon, but all indications are that Hollywood has yet to see the light.
When that day finally dawns—and I want everyone watching to know, that day is inevitable—it will be because the truth has finally won. Then, referencing the work of the first black man to win this award, I will quote from Sidney Poitier’s performance in "Lilies of the Field," ''Amen, amen. Amen, amen."
Trevor Grant Thomas
At the Intersection of Politics, Science, Faith, and
Reason.
Trevor is the author of the The Miracle and Magnificence of America
tthomas@trevorgrantthomas.com
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