The View from Sunset Boulevard: America as Brought to You by the People Who Make Television

by Ben Stein

Television

Genres: History, Tv

Hardcover

First published January 1, 1980

About the author

Benjamin Stein is a multifaceted American figure known for his work as a writer, lawyer, actor, comedian, and commentator on politics and economics. He began his public life as a speechwriter for Presidents Richard Nixon and Gerald Ford, later gaining widespread recognition in the entertainment world for his deadpan comedic style. Stein became a pop culture icon through his role as the monotone economics teacher in Ferris Bueller’s Day Off and as the host of Win Ben Stein’s Money, a game show that earned multiple Emmy Awards. He also played Dr. Arthur Neuman in The Mask and its sequel. A Yale Law School valedictorian, Stein worked as a lawyer for the Federal Trade Commission and taught law and economics at Pepperdine University.
A prolific columnist, Stein has contributed to The American Spectator, Newsmax, The New York Times, and The Wall Street Journal, among others. His books, often co-authored with Phil DeMuth, address financial planning and economic commentary. In 2008, he wrote and starred in Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed, a controversial documentary criticized for promoting intelligent design.
Politically conservative, Stein has defended Nixon's legacy, expressed strong views on U.S. foreign policy, and advocated higher taxes on the wealthy to support military initiatives and reduce national debt. During the 2008 financial crisis, he came under scrutiny for downplaying early warning signs and misjudging the scale of the economic collapse.
Stein has also had an extensive voice acting and television career, appearing in series such as The Wonder Years, Seinfeld, and Family Guy, and voicing characters in The Fairly OddParents, Rugrats, and Animaniacs. His personal life includes a long-standing marriage to entertainment lawyer Alexandra Denman and homes in California, Idaho, and Washington, D.C. Though often polarizing in his opinions, Stein remains a recognizable figure across political, academic, and entertainment domains.

Reviews

[Joel · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was harder to find than expected, and not cheap. Stein wrote about something almost no one else explored through a journalistic approach of personal interviews, etc. it is very accessible, a bit dated of course, but clearly shows a real difference between the views of Hollywood elites in the 70's and the general public. Several things, like the reason business people are so often depicted in disparaging ways, becomes very clear.

[Elizabeth Lund]

Good premise (TV does not reflect society but rather reflects the views of a few producers and writers) but the execution wasn't particular interesting to me, focusing on things like views of the military and clergy instead of gender roles, women, consumerism.

[Jeff Greason · Rating 4 out of 5]

Quite an interesting book. While some of the details are dated (broadcast TV no longer holds the cultural heights, and the ideas in fashion among media content creators of the 1970's are no longer those of today), the underlying theme is timely and clearly expressed. At any given time, the pool of people who write, direct, and choose for distribution what comes out of mass media is very small (on the order of less than a thousand people). They 'write what they know' and 'write what they believe', and that is distributed, not just as one entry in the marketplace of ideas, but as the overwhelmingly dominant norm of what ideas and beliefs are acceptable to be expressed. And when such a small group has such a disproportionate influence, asking what it is that they know and believe, where they come from, and why some of those ideas are at such wide variance with traditional culture, was then and is now a highly relevant question.

[Dean Anderson · Rating 3 out of 5]

I loved the show, "Win Ben Stein's Money", but this is an interesting relic. TV has changed so much in this time. Not necessarily for the better, as far as cultural impact, but there arguably more diversity these days.