Exploiting Hollywood 1980

"Boss, there's a guy outside who says he has an explosive videotape to sell us."

Two days later, at KT TV in Los Angeles, the TV program manager was biting his fingernails. This earliest TV station in the Los Angeles area was worried about the ratings.

This TV station is not a member of any national TV network, but it still has a lot of viewers in Southern California. Spring is a time when programs are scarce. The Los Angeles Angels baseball team owned by their boss is still in spring training. Although the Lakers of the NBA have an excellent record and are ranked second in the West, KT does not have the broadcasting rights. They can only broadcast the games of the other team in the same city, the Clippers, which have a very bad record.

In addition, the tens of millions of new subscribers added by CUU through the Gulf War have had a significant impact on this traditional wireless TV station.

"What videotape?" The manager waved his hand and asked his subordinates to bring in the whistleblower. At this time, if there are some explosive videos, the show can also save some ratings. In order to fight back against CUU, KT has been publicly recruiting for a while.

"What's your name? What videotape?" Generally, those who are brought in are those who have been reviewed by assistants outside and have some news value. The supervisor had some expectations for this person, because he took out a Sony videotape format, which is usually used by people with some professional shooting skills.

"My name is Holiday, I took this last night..." The man who brought his own camera to the Terminator 2 shooting site last night began to introduce himself in a serious manner. He is a marketing person and a part-time photographer.

"Play the videotape, I don't have time to listen to your long-winded talk..."

"Is this a crew?" The supervisor watched the videotape for a few seconds, a little disappointed, and bit his fingernails again, "It seems to be Schwarzenegger? Is it his new movie? Terminator sequel? Yeah, not bad, I can give you two hundred dollars."

"No, no, no, what I want to sell is in the back..." Holiday fast-forwarded, and a fat black man appeared on the screen. He tried to escape after a female police officer warned him with a gun. He was pushing and shoving with several PDs in front of the police car. The black man's physical fitness was very strong, and several people couldn't hold him back.

Several PDs were not vague and knocked him down directly with electric shock guns. Who knew that the black man didn't lie down after being electrocuted, but got up and rushed towards a PD with the wire of the electric shock gun on his body. The contrast of the body is just like a black football running back rushing.

"Fuxk..." The police officer took out a thick and long baton and hit the black man fiercely. Once, twice, both hit the black man's back. A companion asked him to stop, but it was useless. The police officer with the baton pulled out his posture again and hit the black man with a critical hit, and he lay straight on the ground.

"Fuxk... Fuxk", facing the black man lying on the ground, the police officer seemed to vent the fear of being hit by him just now, and continued to beat the fat black man, each time hitting the black man's knees, ankles and other weak places.

The TV station manager seemed to be so shocked that he couldn't speak. It took him a long time to react, "How many times did this guy hit him? Did the black man survive in the end?"

"More than fifty times in total, he survived. I sent this videotape to the Parker Center at the PD headquarters, but no one was interested, so I might as well exchange it for some money..." Holiday, who accidentally filmed this scene, smiled and gestured to count money. ….

"This is really exciting, here you go..." The manager issued a large check on the spot and asked Holiday to sign the agreement.

…

KT TV broadcast this news videotape that day. Of course, most of the footage of the "Terminator 2" shooting scene was cut out, leaving only a little footage, indicating that this was a real videotape shot by an eyewitness, not a TV show.

The whole of California can watch the wireless KT channel, so all TV viewers were immediately stunned by this bold brutality. Just beat a suspect who violated traffic rules like this?

If it wasn't filmed, would this matter just pass? What happened to the beaten black man in the end, was he disabled or dead? Does PD have to give an explanation to the people of Los Angeles and California?

For a time, the office phones of various congressmen and two California senators were bombarded with calls. Even the PD's civic center was called and cursed by the audience.

"Ward..." Ronald also saw this picture on TV, and it was Little Bud who reminded him to watch it.

"This seems to be the flood control dam, it seems to be the day we went to Cameron's set. Could it be that Schwarzenegger's fan took it?"

Ronald immediately called Cameron to remind him to watch the news. Then he found Mario Casar of Carloco Films and called KT urgently, asking them not to reveal the relationship between the filming of the Terminator sequel and this violent incident.

KT exchanged this for a separate interview opportunity before the release of Terminator 2. In the subsequent replays, he was particularly careful not to mention Holiday's fan identity.

The matter is not over.

This violent scene of beating a person who violated traffic rules with a baton for more than 50 times on TV is really too shocking.

When Americans watched the U.S. military beating up the Iraqi army on the battlefield in Kuwait, they felt like they were watching a sci-fi movie or TV series. The dust, desert, and unique green night vision goggles there all gave people a feeling of being in another world.

But this beating happened in Los Angeles, right next to us. It was really shocking. Especially at the end, the black man was lying on the ground, and was hit on the knees and ankles and screamed. It made every citizen think, if I violate the traffic rules, will I be beaten like this?

The matter fermented very quickly. On the second day, CUU bought the broadcast rights of the videotape from KT. This video of the beating of the black man was broadcast on the national platform.

As a national platform, CUU's post-editing is much better than KT. After the contrast adjustment, the beaten black man is clearer. And the rhythm was re-edited, which made the audience feel more uncomfortable.

And I don't know whether it was intentional or unintentional, CUU cut out the first few seconds of the fat black man pushing and shoving, and the scene after he got up from the ground and rushed towards the PD. The whole film is the scene of the PD beating the black man on the ground.

"This is okay, at least the Terminator will not be involved in this big scandal." Ronald talked to Michael Gray, his public relations consultant at home.

"You said CUU didn't do it on purpose?" Ronald certainly saw where CUU had edited the video. ….

"The fighting in the Gulf suddenly stopped, and CUU was under a lot of pressure. Their subscriptions can be canceled for free within a month. If there weren't such explosive news, the cancellation rate of tens of millions of new subscribers they developed through the Gulf War would not be low."

"What kind of thing is this?" Ronald felt that this kind of thing was really too bad. America is said to be a free place every day, but it makes people feel insecure.

There are definitely many people who feel the same way as Ronald. After CUU played this video, PD Chief Daryl Gates had to apologize.

He held a press conference and announced to the media that the four police officers involved in the incident would be disciplined. He said: "We believe that these officers used excessive force when arresting him. In our review, we found that the officers hit him with batons between 53 and 56 times."

But Daryl Gates also pointed out that the black man who was beaten, Rodney King, was not innocent. His blood alcohol content was measured at 0.075%. According to the definition of California law, this means that King was intoxicated at the time of the initial arrest. The test also showed traces of EED (26ngl).

The statement of this press conference not only failed to satisfy the public, but also had a rather bad counter-effect.

Los Angeles, and even the whole of California, is a pursuit of freedom and openness. If you randomly stop ten men on the street, it is estimated that two of them have used it. As for drinking alcoholic beverages and then driving, it is also very common.

Moreover, the alcohol content standard for drunkenness in California is 0.08%. Strictly according to the law, Rodney King was not drunk, but just driving after drinking, which is not a felony.

In addition, the report of the Pacific Hospital where Rodney King was treated afterwards was also exposed. King suffered a total of eleven skull fractures, accompanied by permanent brain damage, fractures (bone and teeth), and renal failure... The nurses of the Pacific Hospital also told the media that the PD accompanying King joked with each other in the hospital openly, comparing and bragging about the number of times they beat King.

The PD was completely passive now, and they had to modify their attitude and pointed out that this was an extremely inappropriate action.

The PD chief had to hold another press conference and promised that the four detectives involved had been suspended, and three of them would face criminal charges.

…

Good news never goes out. Los Angeles' reputation as the capital of violence has become a "fact" known to the whole country under the extensive coverage of CUU.

As a result, the housing prices on the Hansen Flood Control Dam have fallen a lot. It used to be a very lively entertainment area with many large bars and KTVs from Japan, but now the business is bleak.

Two movements have also been launched throughout Los Angeles.

One is the movement against discrimination against blacks. Many civil rights organizations have suddenly started to be interviewed on local TV stations, radio stations, and newspapers. There is a good reason to raise donations.

The other is a protest against the abuse of police power by the PD. At one time, several organizations against abuse were established, and they united to demonstrate in front of the PD headquarters.

But there is a clear difference in the popularity of the two movements. The activities against the abuse of police power are very popular. No one wants to be stopped and fined for trivial matters such as speeding. So everyone is still very happy to see the PD suffer a setback. ….

However, not many people really support the movement against discrimination against blacks. Although they still support it verbally in front of colleagues and friends, white people can understand it with just a glance.

In large cities such as Los Angeles and New York, the crime rate among blacks is high, and many victims of vicious crimes are also black. No matter how much you support their rights verbally, no one dares to walk in the black area at night.

And Los Angeles is a city with many races. Those minorities are not as affected by the equal rights movement as white people are by blacks. Many Asians don't care about racial discrimination when they see blacks, and many of them curse them badly.

Especially Koreans from Korea, there have been many immigrants in recent years, taking over some businesses originally run by Chinese and Japanese, and settling down. These businesses are mainly convenience stores and restaurants, which are often stolen and robbed by blacks.

Just two weeks after Rodney King was beaten, a black girl named Latasha Harlins went to a Korean-owned convenience store and secretly put a bottle of orange juice into her backpack when no one was paying attention.

The owner, Du Shunzi, was watching the store at that time. She was very angry after seeing this and asked the black girl to put down the orange juice. She also snatched the bag of orange juice from her.

Although Latasha Harlins was only fifteen years old, she was a track and field athlete in the school. Her dream was to play basketball and she was very strong. She punched Du Shunzi in the face twice.

Du Shunzi was thin and small, and fell to the ground. Koreans are strong-willed, how could they bear this? They threw a chair over.

The black girl Latasha Harlins was frightened and took the bag of orange juice and ran away. Du Shunzi's convenience store was visited by such thieves every day. The loss was serious. In a rage, she took out the pistol her husband used for self-defense and shot the girl from behind.

Latasha Harlins was shot in the back of the head and died on the spot.

Now CUU has more material. Various series of reports on the poor security in Los Angeles have been released. And it is pointed out that half of the violent felons detained by the PD in Los Angeles in the past six months are black.

"This shows what serious consequences discrimination and prejudice against African Americans have caused."

"Prejudice and discrimination come from other places. National TV networks are reporting on the felons of this violent incident. But sadly, who speaks for these victims?"

Unexpectedly, this time the local media in Los Angeles began to fight back. CUU previously labeled the city of crime, which made the local media very dissatisfied. The local TV station did a series of reports:

Two months ago, two employees were shot at a liquor store near Central Avenue. The two victims had recently immigrated to America from Korea, and the murderers were two black robbers. The two were shot and killed after they met the robber's demands.

Last Thursday, a black man suspected of robbing an auto parts store on Manchester Avenue was shot and killed by his accomplice. He and his accomplice were robbing the Korean-American store owner at the time. The accomplice accidentally fired a shotgun shell. ….

If there were no various crimes committed by blacks against Koreans, how could Du Shunzi, a housewife in her 50s, shoot? She was also punched by the final victim, Latasha Harlins, who was also the suspect of the robbery, and suffered a concussion.

The social impact of these violent cases was difficult to calm down for a while, and it seemed that everyone wanted to talk about their opinions. Even Ronald received an interview call from the Los Angeles Times, asking him to talk.

"What? You're asking me what responsibility Hollywood should take for this? What does Hollywood have to do with this?"

"Is the proliferation of guns and violence related to the increasing number of violent scenes on Hollywood screens? Your Top Gun praises violence so much. Will those young audiences be adversely affected and regard guns and violence as heroic behavior?"

"It's just a movie..." Ronald almost couldn't help but say "Are you mentally ill?"

"You praise the army's use of high-powered weapons to attack the weak and defenseless..."

"Hello, hello, the signal is bad, what did you say?" Ronald simply pretended to be disconnected and hung up the phone.

He was not the only one who was entangled by the brainless reporters. Stallone, Schwarzenegger, and even James Cameron and Martin Scorsese were all approached by reporters and asked to express their attitudes towards the violence in the film.

For a while, it seemed that those innocent reporters had become saints and moralists who judged the sinful Hollywood action movies.

Ronald had to hide at home and refused to accept any interviews. Most of the Korean population believe in religion and are deeply connected with conservative religious forces in America. They quickly suppressed the criticism of Korean Americans.

The media returned to discussing the black equality movement.

Ronald breathed a sigh of relief. Hollywood was also being entangled by the messy journalists and entered this year's Oscars ceremony.

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