A recent article in The New York Times puzzles over the bad news at the Hollywood box office. An occasional hit like “Wicked: For the Good” may keep the industry afloat, but for the most part, no one’s going to the theater.

“25 Movies, Many Stars, 0 Hits: Hollywood Falls to New Lows,” says the Times headline. And the subhead: “It has been a brutal three months for dramas and comedies.”

The article goes on to blame the pandemic, the internet, streaming, and so on. My witty friend Stephen Green over at PJMedia made a better suggestion: “Dear Hollywood. Have you tried not sucking?”

Stephen’s right, of course. But The New York Times can’t see the problem, because The New York Times embodies the problem.

An example.

Another friend of mine, the very talented rebel writer-director Cyrus Nowrasteh, recently directed the film “Sarah’s Oil,” which he co-wrote with his also talented wife, Betsy. Based on a true story, the film tells the tale of a black girl in Jim Crow Oklahoma fighting against bigotry to find and keep the oil on her land. The picture is well-made, touching, and inspiring.

Given a smallish release, the film surprised the industry by doing excellent business. It has an 83% fresh rating from critics on Rotten Tomatoes, and a stunning 98% rating from actual human beings.

But here’s an excerpt from one of its few bad reviews in — you guessed it — the New York Times. Natalia Winkelman writes:

Sarah’s Oil is a movie that will surprise nobody. Viewers might even make out a regressive strain reinforcing the feel-good mood: Let alone the incidental worship of fossil fuel… the movie’s emotional core is a Black girl’s belief in her white protector.

Horrors!

Could there be a more small-minded, small-souled reaction to a poignant story of a child’s triumph over prejudice? Miss Winkelman could just as easily have written: “No opinions allowed in the arts but my opinions! No ideas but those approved by the cultural establishment!”

But those ideas are not just anti-art, they’re anti-human. No women who act like feminine women. No men who act like manly men. No stories that explore themes of freedom, individualism, traditional marriage, motherhood, fatherhood or faith.

As a result, you get films like “Nosferatu,” a gorgeous and talented remake that falls apart because it can’t include the God who makes vampire stories make sense; “Frankenstein,” a gorgeous and talented remake that falls apart because it can’t stick to Mary Shelley’s superior plot and its theme of rebellion against God and womanhood; “Running Man,” a gorgeous and talented remake that falls apart because it can’t point to what’s ailing society because imagine what Miss Winkelman would say about that!

No new stories. Just good old stories ruined by bad new ideas. The human spirit yearns to hear tales of freedom and male-female love and faith. The querulous clerisy only wants to wallow in their own dyspeptic imaginations.

You want good movies? Break these losers’ monopoly on the arts.

* * *

This article was originally posted on “The New Jerusalem” on Substack.

Andrew Klavan is the host of “The Andrew Klavan Show” at The Daily Wire. Klavan is the bestselling author of numerous books, including the Cameron Winter Mystery series. The fifth installment, After That, The Dark, is NOW AVAILABLE. Follow him on X: @andrewklavan

The views expressed in this satirical piece are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.

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President Donald Trump aims to prevent conflict with China over Taiwan and the South China Sea by building up U.S. and allies’ military power, according to a new U.S. strategy document.

The Trump administration laid out its approach to one of the world’s most sensitive diplomatic issues in an official National Security Strategy document, released on Friday. It comes as Beijing ratchets up pressure on democratically governed Taiwan and Japan, deploying vessels across East Asian waters this week in its largest maritime show of force to date.

“Deterring a conflict over Taiwan, ideally by preserving military overmatch, is a priority,” said the document, a periodically updated vision statement from the administration to Congress and the first since Trump took office in January.

China views Taiwan as its own, and Beijing has never renounced the use of force to bring Taiwan under its control. China also has vast regional claims, including almost the entire South China Sea, which are disputed by many of its smaller neighbors.

The United States has no formal diplomatic ties with Taiwan but Washington is the island’s most important international backer and is required by law to provide Taiwan with the means to defend itself. The issue has been an irritant in U.S.-China relations for years.

The document’s language on Taiwan is stronger than the national security strategy produced during Trump’s first term in office. The document in 2017 mentioned Taiwan three times in a single sentence, echoing longstanding diplomatic language.

The updated strategy, however, mentions Taiwan eight times across three paragraphs and concludes that “there is, rightly, much focus on Taiwan” because of its strategic location in trade-rich waters and dominance in semiconductor manufacturing.

“We will build a military capable of denying aggression anywhere,” in the chain of islands stretching from Japan to Southeast Asia, said the latest document. “But the American military cannot, and should not have to, do this alone. Our allies must step up and spend – and more importantly do – much more for collective defense.”

That will reinforce “U.S. and allies’ capacity to deny any attempt to seize Taiwan” or any other steps that would “make defending that island impossible,” the report said.

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Trump, a Republican, has largely avoided directly saying how he would respond to a rise in tensions over the island.

Trump’s penchant for dealmaking and effort to seek closer ties with Chinese President Xi Jinping have kindled fears in the region of weakening U.S. support for Taiwan and regional allies from Tokyo to Manila. Trump plans to travel to Beijing in April, where the leaders will discuss extending the truce in their trade war.

Last month, Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi drew Beijing’s wrath when she told parliament that a hypothetical Chinese attack on Taiwan that threatened Japan could justify a military response. Trump privately asked Takaichi not to escalate the dispute with China, Reuters previously reported.

But Trump also signed a new law requiring his administration to regularly review how it interacts with Taipei. It also approved the sale of fighter jet and other aircraft parts to Taiwan for $330 million. Both were seen as signs of support by Taiwan. Trump has also pressed Japan and South Korea, two key regional allies, to hike defense spending.

(Reporting by Trevor Hunnicutt; editing by Philippa Fletcher, Don Durfee and Diane Craft)