Hollywood, Avatars & the Politics of Entertainment

California became the home of the movie industry because it provided a way for early filmmakers to escape a movie monopoly. The immigrants who founded Hollywood claimed they wanted to create films that offered escapism, fantasy and an idealized America. In reality, they often established stratified studio systems and reproduced images and narratives that sustained rather than challenged the status quo. Though the entertainment industry consolidated over the years and shored up its connections in Washington through lobbying, campaign contributions and the election of celebrities, the number of those who participate in the development and creation of the simulations we see on the silver screen still do not adequately reflect the larger society. This Matrix Map will provide opportunities for you to explore how the entertainment industry has appropriated and repackaged culture and marketed it for amusement, propaganda and politics. Also, it reveals how some of the ethnic communities that influence Hollywood and popular music continue to face challenges inside and outside the industry.