Senator Ron Johnson not happy with Hollywood

Is Hollywood anti business? That's what Senator Ron Johnson recently suggested at an event in Cedarburg. Senator Johnson told the crowd of a phone call he once shared with a local businessman horrified by last year's The Lego Movie. The man, Johnson recalled, was upset to learn that the film's villain was a business person named Lord Business.

The Republican from Wisconsin went on to call the film \"propaganda\" that \"starts very early,\" and is \"corrosive to what makes this country great.\" Johnson suggested The Lego Movie was emblematic of a Hollywood not on the side of conservatives.

His comments have drawn the attention of the national political press, some of which argue the film is filled with product placement advertisements and is anything but hostile to corporate America.

But Johnson is not alone. Conservatives raised similar complaints about the film Avatar in 2010, a movie centered on a corporation's plot to ruin the home world of an alien race for profit. In fact, some argue this kind of thing has been going on for decades. Remember evil Mr. Potter from It's a Wonderful Life? The 1946 film featured a heartless banker in the role of villain.

This week, Johnson responded to criticism of his Lego Movie comments and didn't back down. In a blog post the Senator said, \"The Lego Movie was an especially grievous slam on business,\" and he pointed to several other journalists who agreed with him.