[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 83 (Thursday, May 18, 1995)]
[Senate]
[Pages S6838-S6839]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


                       THE ENTERTAINMENT INDUSTRY

  Mr. DOLE. Mr. President, this weekend, an important advertisement 
will be appearing on our television screens. The ad will feature two 
prominent Americans--Dr. William Bennett and C. Delores Tucker, chair 
of the National Political Congress of Black Women.
  Dr. Bennett is a Republican. Ms. Tucker is a Democrat. Both agree 
that the entertainment industry must be held accountable for the 
mindless violence and loveless sex it serves up each day to our 
children.
  Of course, there are many fine people in the entertainment industry 
and there are many fine movies, songs, and television shows. And, 
thankfully, it appears that Hollywood is finally beginning to 
understand that family-friendly films can also be box office hits.
  That is the good news.
  The bad news is that too much of today's entertainment continues to 
operate in a moral vacuum, without a redeeming hope, and without any 
suggestion that virtues are important, that morality is, in fact, 
preferable to immorality.
  We cannot ignore this simple truth: culture does count.
  Cultural messages can and do bore deep into the hearts and the minds 
of our impressionable young. And when these messages are negative 
ones--repeated hour after hour, day after day, month after month--they 
can rob our children of that most precious gift of all: their 
innocence.
  One of the leading cultural influences in America today happens to be 
one of our largest corporations, Time-Warner.
  Now, Time-Warner has produced much entertainment over the years that 
has enriched the cultural life of our country. But unfortunately, 
through its affiliation with companies like Interscope Records, Time-
Warner is now on the cutting-edge of the misogyny business. As Ms. 
Tucker will explain in her television ad, and I quote:

       Time-Warner's music division promotes music that celebrates 
     the rape, torture, and murder of women. The lyrics are 
     vulgar, offensive, and do terrible harm to our children.

  Columnist John Leo puts it another way. He calls Time-Warner's 
affiliation with Interscope the ``cultural equivalent of owning half 
the world's mustard gas factories.''
  Last month, I urged all Americans to join with me in refocusing the 
spotlight on the entertainment industry. I said that ``shame is a 
powerful tool and [[Page S6839]] we should use it.'' So, it is 
gratifying to see two concerned Americans, with different backgrounds 
and different political views, joining forces to put some much-deserved 
public heat on one of the giants of the entertainment industry.
  Let us also be very clear that Government censorship is not the 
answer. We have more to fear than to gain from putting Washington in 
charge of our culture.
  But just as Time-Warner has the right to produce and sell its harmful 
wares, concerned Americans like Bill Bennett and Dolores Tucker also 
have the right to call upon the executives of Time-Warner to think less 
about short-term profit and more about the long-term good of their 
country.
  So, I want to congratulate Dr. Bennett and Ms. Tucker for taking this 
initiative. I know that Dr. Bennett cites courage as one of the great 
virtues in his great ``Book of Virtues'' and with this bold advertising 
campaign, he has proven that courage and good citizenship are alive and 
well in America today.
  Mr. President, I will just say, maybe as a suggestion, it would be 
well for the Time-Warner executives and Bill Bennett and Ms. Tucker to 
sit down and talk about this, try to work it out, try to have a dialog. 
I hope that there will be some meeting of the minds and some agreement 
to start this discussion, to start a dialog because, as I have 
indicated before, it is very important to Americans, particularly 
America's children.

                          ____________________