Decades prior to today’s political arguments about “coastal elites” misunderstanding “flyover country,” film critic, author, and talk show host Michael Medved made a cultural argument. Medved contended that the cloistered cultures of Hollywood were unresponsive to market demands, and chose to push a narrative—one that would not serve their own financial interests —  about religion, the US, and the human condition.

Will Baird joins the podcast once again to discuss the themes that drew Medved’s ire, the conservative case for irreverence in film, and whether there’s something truly the matter with the film industry in Hollywood.

This lecture was originally delivered in January 1993.