Do Hollywood Movies Reflect Liberal Slant?

Convinced that Hollywood producers are politically biased in the kinds of movies they are willing to produce, a group of conservative producers are banding together to make and distribute movies that reflect "traditional values" and are far friendlier to Republican ideas than they believe Hollywood has been.

They give their companies names such as American Pride Films Group (APFG) and RightSide Video. The Hollywood Congress of Republicans holds luncheons, with celebrities like Ben Stein and Morgan Brittany offering moral support, according to the Hollywood Reporter.

To make the case that Hollywood produces mostly movies with liberal values, designed to erode confidence in Western Civilization and American patriotism, producer Steve Finefrock has a long list of movies that he claims glorify or make heroes of liberal activists and demonize or makes fun of conservatives. Finefrock, who produced films for the Department of Homeland Security before moving to Hollywood, told the Hollywood Reporter these movies reflect Hollywood's liberal bias:

"Footloose" (1984), about an uptight preacher who juices up a conservative American town so much that it outlaws dancing.

"American Beauty" (1999) features an American marine as a homophobic lunatic;

"Reds (1981) and "The Motorcycle Diaries" (2004) glorify communism;

"Norma Rae" (1979) makes union-active employees the heroes;

"Wall Street" (1987) makes the capitalist system look evil;

"Dirty Dancing" (1987) extols the virtues of abortion and 1990's "Pretty Woman" makes prostitution look normal.

"Carrie" (1976) is about a girl who was "made a geek by her mother's overprotectiveness and wackiness, again derived from religion -- specifically Christianity," Finefrock said. "We're still waiting for the dysfunctional-family movie derived from bad Islam."

But a number of Hollywood producers assert that the conservative producers' claims are absurd. Larry Gelbart, a prolific writer-producer in Hollywood, whose credits include the TV sitcom "M*A*S*H, the 1977 feature "Oh God!" and the 1982 feature "Tootsie," says the only ideology that governs Hollywood is money-making.