I distinctly remember watching an interview with a top Hollywood executive.  This was sometime in the ‘90s. 

The executive was among the few individuals with the power to approve or “greenlight” films to be made.

Amid the bragging and the self-congratulatory prattling, the executive revealed his frustration with the star system and how it makes even them feel powerless.

He talked about star salaries, star tantrums, and star demands, along with tolerating unruly, unprofessional, and unreasonable behavior.  He spoke about an action star having to jump into a swimming pool during a scene and demanding that the pool contain bottled water.

He also lamented that despite catering to every whim of these stars, the box office returns aren’t always stellar.  Some movies didn’t even recover the amount that the star charged for the picture.

He spoke about the best scripts either not getting made or being ruined because of the star’s demands and insecurities.  He spoke about the risk of making movies with unknown actors, and hence, he had no option but to placate the star.

He ended by saying he hoped for a future where there would be no stars, but rather “I.P.” that were the stars.  Both the executive and the interviewer broke into cynical and helpless laughter. 

Almost three decades later, this dream has come true.  In recent times, the star system in Hollywood has been rendered irrelevant.

The top box office–earners of 2024 are either animated films such as Inside Out 2 and Despicable Me 4, superhero films such as Deadpool & Wolverine, or franchise films such as Dune: Part Two, Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire, and Twisters.  There are no films that rely on the star to draw people into the cinemas.

Today, the executives are in control.  If the lead of any franchise film throws a tantrum, he will be replaced, and few will care.

We now move to D.C.

It is said that politics is showbiz for the not-so-good-looking.  Much like in Hollywood, there are star politicians and character actors.  The stars, owing to their charisma, make it to the top office, whereas the character actors often have to settle for being a member of state Legislature for all their lives.

The D.C. establishment is the equivalent of the Hollywood executive who makes stars.

Once upon a time, the establishment made stars out of John F. Kennedy, Bill Clinton, and Barack Obama.  These stars were charismatic and master communicators, which caused them to have a base that guaranteed electoral victories.

Once elected, the hope was that the stars would follow orders.  But the result of superstardom is the individual begins to believe in his myth.  They assume they are bigger than the system.  They begin to develop an ego.  They begin to worry about their legacy and how history will judge them.

This is where the tantrums begin.  For instance, the star may hesitate to approve military action in a foreign nation.

In some cases, such as Kennedy’s, the refusal is staunch and immutable.  The establishment has a solution for such individuals.  In other cases, the star just makes demands, such as a luxury property in Martha’s Vineyard or in Chappaqua, or the setting up of an expense account that masquerades as a foundation.  The establishment reluctantly complies.

Perhaps it was Donald Trump’s superstardom that woke up the establishment to the perils of having a popular leader.  Hence, the 2020 primary was rigged in favor of Joe Biden.  And then, after much thought, Kamala Harris was chosen as Biden’s running mate.

Neither Harris nor Biden has any fan following or admirers.  Nobody watches YouTube videos of Harris or Biden to admire their oratorical skills.  Nobody looks at them in action and feels inspired.  They are merely placeholders.

The establishment did well with Biden’s puppet — the wars; the open borders, which caused an influx of illegal aliens; the passing of the green agenda; the targeting of political opponents; etc.  They didn’t care that Biden appeared senile and was mostly non compos mentis.  He was the perfect rubber stamp.

They “managed” the primary in 2024 by preventing any top Democrat from competing against Biden.  Biden won with 15 million primary votes.  Those voting for him didn’t vote out of admiration for Joe; they were voting for the individual who had been anointed by the establishment.

When Biden’s decline became obvious, he was replaced with Kamala. 

If Biden were a star, they simply wouldn’t have dared to humiliate him in such fashion.  If Biden were a star, there would have been demonstrations in D.C. and beyond.  Perhaps people would make up their minds not to vote for the replacement in protest.
But Biden’s unceremonious dethroning yielded no reaction.  Some were taken aback, but they got over it quickly.

When Harris was installed as the nominee, it thrilled no one.  But wasn’t meant to be exciting.  She is a placeholder.

When Hollywood stars endorse Harris, they aren’t endorsing the individual; they are endorsing the party.  Even during their speeches, they don’t have any great anecdotes about Harris or reasons why she is the best.  They merely fear-monger about President Trump and talk about abortion.

Some were surprised by Harris’s choice of running mate, Tim Walz.

The obvious primary goal was that Walz presented no threat to Harris, much like how Harris didn’t to Biden and Biden didn’t to Obama.  But the secondary goal was to choose a nobody — i.e., a placeholder with no fandom.

We thus have another situation where two empty suits are running.

If by some miracle Harris wins, she will have to follow orders.  She will not be included in any part of the decision-making.

If Harris is an obedient puppy like Biden, she will be allowed to continue.  Like Biden, she will be given a handsome retirement bonus when her tenure ends.

If, for some inexplicable reason, she develops an ego and throws tantrums, there will be no attempts to placate her.  She will be replaced with Tim Walz.

Nobody will care or even notice, like when Biden was replaced.

Perhaps this is how the party will continue.  The Democrats will not allow the cultivation of stars, but instead look for bland placeholders — i.e., puppets who can be made by their puppeteers to jump.

They have successfully implanted this in Hollywood.  In current times, the character of Batman, and not the actor who plays Batman, is what draws crowds to the cinema.  If the actor makes outlandish demands that his bat-suit be sanitized every morning, he will ruthlessly be replaced by another actor.  The public will not know that the man under the mask was replaced.

This is what they will do with the presidency.  Anyone who isn’t servile will be replaced, and nobody will know the difference. 

This is why, like Hollywood, they will ensure that no party member attains superstardom.

Image via Raw Pixel.