Bristling Over Perot

The 1930s were said to be Hollywood’s Golden Era. Social Climes had never heard an exact definition of the current ‘90s less-than-golden epoch until a woman made a comment at a recent dinner party.

The discussion had come around to Paramount Pictures’ decision to pull all its advertising from the Hollywood Reporter and Variety. The studio is displeased--really, really displeased--over reviews and stories.

One woman’s observation was that Hollywood was entering “the new, thin-skinned Ross Perot era.”

If this is true, look for bristling crew cuts to begin replacing ponytails on males on the screening circuit.

TV Viewers Strike Back

One of the more arresting bumper stickers that’s come to our attention is the black-and-white “Kill Your Television” message spotted at the Highland Hall School in Northridge.

This is a private Waldorf school that encourages parents to get rid of the boob tube for the good of flowering young minds. Though this isn’t an official school sticker, it was on the car of chemistry teacher Mikko Bojarsky who believes TV is “destroying thinking and language skills.”

No mention is made of the best way to execute your TV, though a thorough submersion in culture might be the way to go.

A Bang for Baby Busters

“We want the next generation of everything” is the line that intrigued us.

Though it sounds like something a high-tech weapons shopper might say, it was spoken by Kevin Koffler, the editor of bang! magazine which is set to launch July 20.

Koffler’s creation will enter the local freebie magazine wars as a slick monthly aimed at the 18-to-32 “baby buster” generation. The focus will be on lifestyle, fashion and probably anything Keanu Reeves might find interesting.

When Koffler says he wants the next generation, he means he wants to do “what Jann Wenner did with ‘Rolling Stone’ and create our own Annie Leibovitzes.”

In fact, photographer Leibovitz abandoned Rolling Stone for Vanity Fair. But this might be a little early for bang! to worry about personnel changes.