Hollywood heavyweights descended upon USC’s campus Monday for an inaugural symposium of the newly minted Schwarzenegger Institute for State and Global Policy. This institute was created on the basis of bringing diverse thinkers together to find innovative ways to change public policy and will be funded by a 20 million dollar pledge comprised of Schwarzenegger’s personal donation as well as profit from fundraising. 

(Schwarzenegger: "Meaningful Change Takes Balls")

Monday’s symposium took place in the Ronald Tutor Campus Center Ballroom and consisted of two sessions: the morning session focused on bipartisan cooperation and featured some of the nation’s top elected officials while the afternoon session focused on the effects of innovation on the entertainment industry. 

This second session featured notable folks like Chairman of Imagine Entertainment Brian Grazer, Chairman of Interscope Geffen A&M Jimmy Iovine, Co-Chairman of Lionsgate Rob Friedman, the President of Universal Studios Ron Meyer, and of course actor and former governor Arnold Schwarzenegger. Oscar-winning director James Cameron was also supposed to be on the afternoon’s panel, but it appears rewrites for the latest Avatar script were more important. 

(OPINION: Schwarzenegger Would Rather Invest In Private Education.)

The most notable point of the afternoon was brought about by panel moderator Ben Smith, BuzzFeed’s Editor-in-Chief, who argued that the entertainment industry has immense political power. Grazer agreed, citing the 2001 introduction of a black president on the show 24, a character with Asperger’s Syndrome on the show Parenthood, and the emergence of gay television characters as examples of the entertainment industry using its political power to de-stigmatize society and elevate their artistic and cultural point of views.

Schwarzenegger echoed this argument by recalling how the movie Saturday Night Fever inspired people to go from couch potatoes to disco dancers while politicians had previously advocated for people to get more exercise to no avail. Simple takeaway: Hollywood makes people more open-minded, and thus yields more influence on public policy. 

(Read more on the Schwarzenegger Institute.)

Judging by the packed auditorium and copious applause, the event was a hit. Yet, it was hard not to notice the distinctly male presence on the stage. It seems curious to me that an institution created in order to bring diverse thinkers together would assemble a panel that lacked exactly that. Not only were the panelists all highly successful males, they were also of the same general age. 

If we are taught that the greatest ideas and innovations arise when people are surrounded by those with different backgrounds from their own, what kind of message does an all male, middle-aged panel send? Remember guys, you’ve gotta walk what you talk.  

Reach staff reporter Sarah Mickelson here.