Breitbart knew instinctively, as people in Washington and most other places did not, that movies, television programs, and popular music send out deeply political messages every hour of every day. They shape the culture, and then the culture shapes politics. Influence those films and TV shows and songs, and you’ll eventually influence politics.
The Left had known that for generations, but on the Right, so many people in politics thought only about politics. To Breitbart, that was folly. “The people who have money, every four years at the last possible second, are told, ‘You need to give millions of dollars, because these four counties in Ohio are going to determine the election,’” Breitbart told the National Policy Council in October 2009. “I am saying, why didn’t we invest 20 years ago in a movie studio in Hollywood, why didn’t we invest in creating television shows, why didn’t we create institutions that would reflect and affirm that which is good about America?”
Breitbart knew conservatives would have to change, to pay more attention to the culture, to win. That’s what he tried to teach, every day.
I grew up in the '50's and '60's. The films of my youth taught people the Golden Rule, about personal responsibility, about the nobility of having courage and being a good person. The books we read in school echoed these same principles.
Film, television, music, theatre.... capture the hearts and minds of your audience with your message, and you will alter how people think. Breitbart understood this so well. It is up to the rest of us, now, to put these principles into action and do our best to change the world for the better.
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