How does Holden feel about his brother D.B.’s having become a screenwriter in The Catcher in the Rye by J. D. Salinger?

Holden Caulfield is repulsed by his brother's profession as a screenwriter.

In the opening chapter, Holden explains that his brother D. B. lives in Hollywood, not far from the hospital where he is. Holden relates that D.B. was a "regular writer" when he lived at home, and he wrote a "terrific book of short stories, The Secret Goldfish." But, Holden remarks, "Now that he's out in Hollywood, D. B. [is] being a prostitute." He adds,...

Holden Caulfield is repulsed by his brother's profession as a screenwriter.

In the opening chapter, Holden explains that his brother D. B. lives in Hollywood, not far from the hospital where he is. Holden relates that D.B. was a "regular writer" when he lived at home, and he wrote a "terrific book of short stories, The Secret Goldfish." But, Holden remarks, "Now that he's out in Hollywood, D. B. [is] being a prostitute." He adds, "If there's one thing I hate, it's the movies."

What Holden probably means is that when he was a freelance writer, D. B. expressed his own ideas and exercised his own creativity, so there was a genuine quality to his writing; however, now, as a screenwriter, D.B. writes what is demanded by other people, such as directors and producers. Thus, he has "prostituted" himself.

When Holden mentions his hatred for movies along with his disgust for his brother's being a screenwriter, these remarks seem to foreshadow his repulsion for phoniness as well as his cynicism that is expressed later in the narrative.