Exploiting Hollywood 1980.

"Boss, there is someone outside who wants to sell us an explosive video tape."

Two days later, at KTLA in Los Angeles, the TV executive was chewing his fingernails. The oldest television station in the Los Angeles area is troubled by ratings.

This station is not a member of any national television network, but it still has a large audience in the Southern California area. Spring happens to be a time when programs are scarce. The Los Angeles Angels baseball team, owned by their owner, is still in spring training. Although the NBA's Lakers have an excellent record and are ranked second in the Western Conference, KTLA does not have the broadcast rights. They can only broadcast the game of the Clippers, another team in the same city with a very poor record.

Coupled with the tens of millions of new subscribers added by CUU through the Gulf War, this has had a huge impact on this traditional wireless TV station.

"What video tape?" The supervisor waved to his subordinates to bring in the whistleblower. At this time, having some exciting videos and being on the show can save some ratings. In order to fight back against CUU, KTLA has been conducting an open call for help for some time.

"What's your name? What kind of video tape is it?" Usually those who are brought in are those that have been reviewed by outside assistants and have some news value. The supervisor had some expectations for this person, because the video tape he took out was in Sony's videotape format. This kind of videotape is generally used by people with some professional shooting skills.

"My name is Holiday, and I took the photo last night..." The person who brought his own camera to the Terminator 2 filming scene last night began to introduce it step by step. He himself is a marketer and part-time photographer.

"Play the videotape, I don't have time to listen to your rambling..."

"What kind of crew is this?" The supervisor watched a few seconds of the video. He was a little disappointed and bit his fingernails again. "It seems there is Schwarzenegger? Is it his new movie? The Terminator sequel? Yes, it's good. I can give it. Two hundred dollars for you.”

"No, no, no, what I want to sell is in the back..." Holiday fast forwarded, and the screen showed a fat black man trying to escape after a female police officer warned him with a gun. Pushing and shoving with several LAPD in front of police car. This black man's physical fitness is very strong, and several people can't hold him down.

Several LAPDs didn't hesitate and knocked him down with stun guns. Who knew that this black man did not lie down after being shocked, but got up and rushed toward an LAPD with the stun gun cord on his body. The contrast of that body is like a black football running back rushing into the field.

"Fuxk..." The police officer took out a thick and long baton and slammed it at the black man. Once, twice, all on the black man's back. A companion asked him to stop, but to no avail. The police officer holding the baton opened his stance again and gave the black man a violent blow, causing him to lie straight on the ground.

"Fuxk...Fuxk", facing the black man who fell to the ground, the police officer seemed to want to vent the fear of the impact just now, and continued to beat the fat black man, hitting the black man's knees, ankles and other weak areas with each blow.

The director of the TV station seemed to be shocked and speechless. It took him a long time to react, "How many times did this guy hit him in total? Did the black man die in the end?"

"More than fifty blows in total, but he didn't die. I sent this tape to the Parker Center at the LAPD headquarters, but no one was interested, so I might as well change it for some money..." Holiday, who accidentally filmed this scene, laughed. He made a gesture of counting money.

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

……

KTLA TV station broadcast this news video that day. Of course, most of the previous footage of the "Terminator 2" filming scene was cut off, leaving only a little bit of footage, indicating that this was a real video taken by an eyewitness, not a movie. drama.

The wireless KTLA channel could be watched throughout California, so all TV viewers were immediately stunned by this bold atrocity. Just beat up a suspect who violated traffic rules?

If someone hadn't filmed it, would this have just gone away? What happened to the big black man who was beaten? Was he disabled or dead? Does the LAPD want to give an explanation to the people of Los Angeles and California?

For a time, the office phones of the major representatives of the House of Representatives and the two California senators were buzzing. Even the LAPD Civic Center was called in by viewers to criticize it.

"Wade..." Ronald also saw this scene 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 filmed by that Schwarzenegger fan?"

Ronald immediately called Cameron to remind him to watch the news. Then I found Mario Casal of Carloco Films and made an urgent call to KTLA, asking them not to disclose the relationship between the filming of the Terminator sequel and this violent incident.

KTLA exchanged this for a solo interview opportunity before the release of Terminator 2. In subsequent replays, they were particularly careful not to mention Holiday's status as a fan.

It's not over yet.

This violent scene on TV of beating a traffic rule violator more than fifty times with a baton is really shocking.

The American people felt as if they were watching a science fiction movie and TV series when they watched the US military brutally beating the Iraqi army on the battlefield in Kuwait. The sand, desert, and unique green night vision goggles there all give people the feeling of being in another world.

But this violent beating happened in Los Angeles, right next to us. The stimulation is really great. Especially the scene at the end where all the black people were lying on the ground and howling as they were beaten on the knees and ankles, which made every citizen think, if I violate traffic regulations, will I be beaten like this?

Things progressed very quickly, and by the next day, CUU purchased the rights to play the video tape from KTLA. The footage of the violent beating of a black man was broadcast on a national platform.

As expected of a large national platform, CUU’s post-editing is much better than KTLA’s. After the contrast is adjusted, the black man who was beaten is clearer. Moreover, the rhythm has been re-edited, giving the audience an even stronger feeling of discomfort.

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 getting up from the ground and charging towards the LAPD. The entire film is filled with scenes of the LAPD violently beating a black man lying on the ground.

"That's okay, at least the Terminator won't be involved in this big scandal." Ronald was talking to Michael Gray, his public relations consultant, at home.

"You said CUU didn't do it on purpose, right?" Of course Ronald saw the editing done by CUU.

"The fighting in the Gulf suddenly stopped, and CUU is under great pressure. Their subscriptions can be canceled for free within a month. Without such breaking news, the tens of millions of new subscribers they relied on the Gulf War to unsubscribe The rate won’t be low.”

"What is this?" Ronald felt that this kind of thing was really bad. America is said to be a free place every day, but as a result, people no longer feel safe.

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

He held a press conference and announced to the media that the four officers involved in the incident would be subject to disciplinary action. He said: "We believe that these officers used excessive force when they arrested him. In our review, we found that the officers He was hit with the baton between 53 and 56 times."

But Daryl Gates also pointed out that the black man who was beaten, Rodney King, was not innocent either. His blood alcohol content was measured at 0.075%. Under California law, this shows that King was intoxicated at the time of the initial arrest. Testing also showed traces of Weed (26ng/ml).

Not only did the statement at this press conference fail to satisfy the public, it actually had a very bad counter-effect.

Los Angeles, and even California as a whole, pursues freedom and openness. If you stop ten men randomly on the street, two of them will probably use it. As for drinking an alcoholic beverage and then driving, that's 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 drove under the influence, which was not a felony.

In addition, the report of the Pacific Hospital that treated Rodney King was also exposed. King suffered a total of eleven skull fractures, accompanied by permanent brain damage, broken bones (bones and teeth), and kidney failure... Pacific Nurses at the hospital also told the media that the LAPD officers accompanying King openly joked with each other in the hospital, comparing and bragging about the number of times they beat King.

At this time, the LAPD was completely passive. They had to change their attitude and pointed out that this was an extremely inappropriate action.

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

……

Good things don't go out, and Los Angeles' reputation as a violent city has become a "fact" known throughout the country due to CUU's extensive coverage.

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

Two movements also took off across Los Angeles.

One is a movement against discrimination against black people. Many civil rights organizations suddenly began to give interviews non-stop on local TV stations, radio stations, and newspapers. There is another good reason to raise funds.

The other was a protest against the LAPD's abuse of police power. Several anti-abuse organizations were formed for a time, and they united to demonstrate in front of the LAPD headquarters.

But there is a clear difference in the popularity of the two sports. Activities against the abuse of police power are very popular among the people. No one wants to be constantly pulled over and fined for something as trivial as speeding. So everyone is quite happy to see the LAPD being defeated.

But not many people really support the movement against discrimination against black people. Although in front of colleagues and friends, you still have to verbally support me, but among white people, everyone understands with just one look.

In large cities such as Los Angeles and New York, black people have high crime rates, and the victims of many vicious cases are also black people. No matter how much you support their power, no one dares to walk in the black area at night.

And Los Angeles is a city with many ethnic groups. For those ethnic minorities, black people are not as affected by the affirmative action as white people. Many Asians don't care about racial discrimination when they see black people, and they scold them a lot.

Especially the Koreans from Korea, who have immigrated a lot in recent years, took over some businesses originally run by Chinese and Japanese, and settled down. These businesses, mainly convenience stores and restaurants, are often subject to theft and robbery by black people.

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

The person who was looking after the store at that time happened to be the proprietress named Du Shunzi. She was very angry after seeing this scene and asked the black girl to put down the orange juice. He even snatched her bag of orange juice.

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

Du Shunzi, who was thin and small, fell to the ground after being beaten. Koreans have a strong temperament, how can they stand this? He just threw the chair over.

The black girl Latasha Harlins was frightened, picked up the bag of orange juice and ran away. Du Shunzi's convenience store was visited by thieves like this every day and suffered serious losses. In anger, she took out the pistol her husband used for self-defense and shot the girl in the back.

Latasha Harlins was hit in the back of the head and died at the scene.

This time CUU has more themes. A series of reports were released on the poor security in Los Angeles. He also pointed out that half of the violent felons detained by the LAPD in Los Angeles in the past six months were black.

"This shows the serious consequences of discrimination and prejudice against people of African descent."

"Prejudice and discrimination come from elsewhere. National television networks are covering felons in this violence. But sadly, who is speaking up for these victims?"

Unexpectedly, this time the local media in Los Angeles began to fight back. CUU had previously branded the city a crime capital, which made the local media very dissatisfied. A local TV station made 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 men were shot and killed after complying with the robber's demands.

A black man suspected of robbing an auto parts store on Manchester Avenue was shot to death by his accomplice last Thursday. He and his accomplices were robbing the Korean-American store owner. The accomplice accidentally fired a shotgun blast.

If there were not all kinds of crimes committed by black people against Koreans, how could Du Shunzi, a housewife in her fifties, shoot? She was also punched by eventual victim and robbery suspect Latasha Harlins, who gave her a concussion.

These violent cases have had an impact on society for a while, and it seems that everyone wants to express their opinions. Even Ronald got a call from the Los Angeles Times asking him to talk.

"What, you ask me, what responsibility does Hollywood have for this? What does Hollywood have to do with this?"

"Is the proliferation of guns and violence related to the increasing number of violent images on Hollywood screens? If your Top Gun glorifies violence so much, will those young audiences be adversely affected and regard guns and violence as heroic actions?"

"It's just a movie..." Ronald said, "Are you mentally ill?" He almost couldn't hold it back.

"You praise the army for using large-scale weapons to attack weak people who have no ability to resist..."

"Hey, the signal is not good, what did you say?" Ronald simply pretended to be disconnected and hung up.

He is not the only one who has been pestered by idiot reporters. Stallone, Schwarzenegger, and even James Cameron and Martin Scorsese have all been approached by reporters to ask them to express their attitude towards the violence in the film.

For a moment it was as if those innocent reporters had become the saintly defenders of the most sinful Hollywood action movies.

Ronald had no choice but to hide at home and never accept interviews. The majority of the Korean population is religious and has deep connections with America's conservative religious forces. They quickly suppressed the criticism of Korean Americans.

The media has returned to discussing the black equal rights movement.

Ronald breathed a sigh of relief, as Hollywood was also tangled up in a chaotic press heading into this year's Oscars.