Savoring the Victory : At Last, ‘Cultural Elite’ Has a Reason to Rejoice

The “cultural elite,” under siege from Vice President Dan Quayle and the religious right throughout the grueling 1992 presidential campaign, rejoiced Wednesday after Bill Clinton and Al Gore swept to victory in the race for the White House.

No TV Nielsen rating or weekend movie box-office grosses ever smelled so sweet in Hollywood.

The Clinton victory gave Hollywood, which had sustained the brunt of Quayle’s attacks, a chance to savor the moment. One could almost picture Murphy Brown, babe in arms, beaming that sly smile into the camera and saying: “Take that, Dan!”

The Bush years were also marked by repeated attacks in Congress against the National Endowment for the Arts for funding artworks that many conservatives found offensive, and reaction from the nation’s art community was similarly pleased.

Derided by Quayle as “shallow sophisticates” with a liberal agenda, a broad section of the creative community--from Hollywood movie moguls and TV sitcom producers to actors and artists--said the resounding Democratic victory indicated the country wanted to solve the pressing problems of the economy rather than splinter in a divisive debate over family values.

By Wednesday morning, the “cultural elite,” a term that many people in the arts and entertainment community thought was a bogus issue created by politics in the first place, relaxed in the comfort of victory. And they had the most unlikely of people to thank for it--a governor from a small, Southern state who openly embraced the “cultural elite.”

A sampling of reaction:

STEVEN BOCHCO, co-creator of “Hill Street Blues,” “L.A. Law” and “Doogie Howser, M.D.,” said that the whole notion of Hollywood and the media as cultural elites was “bogus.”

“I’ve always felt that we’re an easy target and that the extent to which you take a beating is very often symptomatic of the extent that people are really disaffected by their lives and the quality of their lives. If the new Administration starts addressing, hopefully, an awful lot of social problems, and if the economy turns around, you will find yourself with a generally more pleased population. And I think you’ll begin to see a little more tolerance for the normally divergent points of views that you should get in entertainment.”

DENNIS BARRIE, former director of the Contemporary Arts Center in Cincinnati, now president of Dennis Barrie & Associates, an arts management firm. In 1990, he was indicted and eventually acquitted on obscenity charges for exhibiting photographs of the late Robert Mapplethorpe. Last June, he left the museum over “philosophical differences” with its board.

“I’m very excited about a Clinton victory. He personifies and is concerned about real social and political change in this country, which is long overdue. We’ve created a political/economic climate that has been one of exclusion, and with Clinton it will be one of inclusion for all kinds of groups and attitudes.

“A lot of people don’t know where Clinton will be on the arts but I think his general philosophy reflects a more tolerant attitude toward all types of people, and therefore it will mean a more tolerant attitude toward free epxression in the arts. Battles will continue over federal involvement in the arts but I think Clinton will come at it with a supportive attitude rather than a restrictive, passive at best, attitude that Bush exemplified in the last four years.”

JAY LENO, host of “The Tonight Show” on NBC:

“George Bush has to look on the bright side. This is one of the few jobs he hasn’t lost to Mexico, Canada or Japan.

“It will be interesting to see what the Emmys make fun of next year. It will be a lot shorter show. On our program, we’ve always tried to make fun of everybody equally. We just have to put together more Clinton-Gore jokes.

“Clinton will now enter the national vocabulary in a big way, although it’s a little too early to tell how that will be. I think there will be a lot more environmental jokes. I also think Gennifer Flowers will have a record career, and a 1-800 hot line.”

LINDA BLOODWORTH-THOMASON, creator of the CBS series “Designing Women” and “Evening Shade” and the new political satire “Hearts Afire,” who also produced the Clinton profile, “The Man From Hope,” which was shown before his acceptance speech at the Democratic National Convention.

“I know that Bill and Hillary are very personally interested in traditional family values, and the fact that children be exposed to them in all the mediums possible. Bill will help us all redefine what traditional family values means. It won’t necessarily be more liberal, but it will be more inclusive and compassionate.

“Also, we hate to see Dan Quayle leave the scene. I just did an episode of ‘Hearts Afire’ (in which) I happen to agree with Quayle’s assessment of the cultural elite. I do think it would provide a richer tapestry of entertainment if we were even a more culturally diverse group. He just went about getting his message across in the wrong way.”

TIM MILLER, artistic director of the Santa Monica performance arts company Highways, who was one of the “NEA Four.”

“Oh boy! Very pleased, as a lot of gay people were, and artists were generally. The last 12 years has been genocidal on our community from Reagan’s first salvo--anti-art, anti-intellectual, anti-humanist attacks in 1981 right throught the events of the last months, our own little Dark Age. So I was whooping it up (Election Night).

“I’m 34 now; my adult life has been this strange time. AIDS, the 300% rise in violence against lesbians and gay men, but also the incredible rise of hate crimes against people of color, women, Jewish people . . . has made our country a very violent scary place. But I temper that feeling of optimism.

Hopefully, the overt attacks and this extraordinary year Bush gave to the lunatic right, that will stop, and we will once again reauthorize the First Amendment and stop fussing over what a shamefully tiny federal agency (National Endowment for the Arts) is doing.”

LUTHER CAMPBELL, leader of the Miami rap group 2 Live Crew, which was unsuccessfully prosecuted for performing and selling obscene music in 1990.

“ I guess this morning I feel a little better about the country’s future. But you never know what’s going to happen. Tipper Gore has never been a fan of mine or other rappers but I think her husband and Clinton are smart enough to see that the majority of politicians who attacked rap and the First Amendment all lost their jobs. I think Clinton and Gore realize that there are more important problems to solve in this country and that they don’t have any time to waste picking on the music industry.

DAVID GEFFEN, founder of Geffen Records and the David Geffen Company, whose label roster includes Guns N’ Roses and Nirvana .

“I’m thrilled to death with the change in the White House. The issues confronting the country right now are far more important than merely what affects the entertainment industry. I think Bill Clinton and Al Gore are two incredibly smart and decent guys who are capable of inspiring the nation, which is exactly what the country needs now.”

PETER GUBER, Sony Pictures Entertainment chairman and chief executive officer returned to his Culver City offices Wednesday morning after an election night visit to Little Rock .

“I believe that President Clinton at the forefront of his Administration will create important ties to the cultural community that will allow us both to benefit from each other’s influence, expertise and vision.”

ROBERT G. DeMOSS, youth culture specialist of the Colorado Springs-based Focus on the Family, a “pro-family” media watchdog group founded by psychologist and Christian radio host James Dobson .

“I think this is a big setback for the family. I believe that Clinton will be more lenient with FCC obscenity policies and will not seek the kind of enforcement of decency standards that Bush did. I believe Clinton is going to be more permissive on the issue of sales of hard-core pornography and therefore even audio porn. Regarding Tipper (Gore), I think her critics will be in for a big surprise. I do not expect Tipper to be an advocate for restraint in the music industry as she has been in the past and I think that is regrettable. I predict she will play it as safe as she can.”

JACK VALENTI, president of the Motion Picture Assn. of America, who describes film and TV entertainment as the nation’s second biggest export (to aircraft sales) with more than $7 billion in revenues annually.

“President-elect Clinton and his top people have a clear understanding of the great trade value of American film and television overseas. I think (Clinton and Gore) are convinced that this trade asset must be protected in any kind of agreements or accords with foreign countries. It must be protected in the sense that restrictions, barriers and quotas are not in the long-range interests of free and fair trade. I’ve discussed this with his people and on one occasion with Gov. Clinton himself.”

MICHAEL MEDVED, film reviewer on PBS’ “Sneak Previews” and author of “Hollywood vs. America” which deals with issues of morality as projected on the screen .

“It’s very clear that the attempt to politicize the family values issue failed. Hollywood bashing failed. But (the Clinton victory) shouldn’t lead to a sense of complacency (in Hollywood) about the continued disillusionment and alienation of a substantial segment of the potential (moviegoing) audience. The one lesson of the election is that even though it’s true that many Americans are resentful and suspicious of Hollywood, they are even more resentful and suspicious of opportunistic politicians.”

MIKE MEDAVOY, chairman of TriStar Pictures, whose studio released the steamy thriller “Basic Instinct.”

“If there is such a thing as the cultural elite, they certainly became the scapegoat for failed policies (of the Bush Administration). All of us who get involved in this kind of stuff, we do it not because it serves a certain constituency, but because we hope it is going to help the country. How good can our lives be if people stand on the corner of Sunset and Beverly holding signs that say, ‘I’ll work for food?’ ”

BRUCE CHRISTIANSEN , president of the Public Broadcasting Service .

“Regardless of the Administration, these are tough economic times, and any program will have to justify itself (for funding). In Arkansas, Clinton uses public television (at the state and local level) extensively in educational reforms, from instructional television in classrooms to locally produced ‘afterschool specials’ to a hot line to help kids with their homework. PBS is expanding its instructional programming, and I would think that these activities might be more likely to get funding (under Clinton) than even some of our prime-time series.”

DOUGLAS BENNET , president of National Public Radio .

“My sense is that Clinton envisions a society of open access to the arts and arts education. I believe the right-wing attacks on public broadcasting and the arts will die down because they turned out to be wild-goose chases. Attacking the arts will be less remunerative politically because our other needs as a society are so great.”

ROBBIE CONAL, Los Angeles painter who has become famous over the past decade for plastering American city streets with sardonic broadsides of public figures such as Presidents Ronald Reagan and George Bush and Vice President Dan Quayle.

“In terms of the half-life of a neutrino, I believe this is a move in a better direction. But I still think that the Southern fried beefcake ticket of Clinton and Gore needs to be watched and held accountable. I think the Bush/Quayle and Reagan/Bush obscenity of the last 12 years could have stood much better grass-roots accountability. And I will be glad to play pin-the-tail-on-the-donkey the first time Clinton or Gore abuses their power.”

JACK THOMPSON, anti-obscenity activist and Coral Gables, Fla., attorney who played a key role in the legal battle to ban sales of allegedly violent and sexually explicit albums by rappers 2 Live Crew and Ice-T .

“If America thinks its popular culture has been degraded in the last two decades, just wait. In the next four years, we’re going to see exactly how much sewage this country can actually swallow. Bill Clinton is the candidate beholden to the radical left. His FCC is not going to enforce the decency standards. His Justice Department is not going to prosecute obscenity. His ideological underpinnings are not beholden to the religious right in this country. And everyone knows that the religious right has really been the motivating force egging Bush to do what he should regarding prosecution of pornography. The Clinton presidency is going to turn the phrase ‘family values’ into an oxymoron.”

ROB HALFORD, heavy metal singer whose rock band Judas Priest was sued in Reno, Nev., in 1990 for creating music that allegedly influenced two Nevada youths to commit suicide .

“I suppose the Clinton-Gore ticket presents us with the lesser of two evils. But on the other hand, as an artist who has been on the receiving end of Tipper Gore’s PMRC (Parents Music Resource Center, a media watchdog group), I get a very ominous feeling about what lies ahead under a Clinton-Gore Administration. The PMRC has had a considerable amount of success in the things they have set out to achieve, such as interfering with our artistic freedom of expression. And obviously, when someone like Tipper gets her foot virtually inside the front door of the White House, then the amount of influence and power such a move will enable her organization to wield is a very heavy thing to consider.”

Contributing to this report were Times staffers Daniel Cerone, David J. Fox, Jane Hall, Robert Hilburn, Judith Michaelson and Chuck Philips.