To have a legitimate conversation about the state of movies, we need to get one baseline assumption out of the way. Cinema can be and (almost) always is political. If you are a self-interrogative, artistically aware person then search your feelings. You know it to be true. Exceptions are unicorns. This is controversial and shouldn’t be, because it waylays interrogation as to the nature of these political viewpoints. To say movies shouldn’t be political is to say Christmas songs shouldn’t have sleigh bells.
Many of you right now are already defensive and turning over arguments about movies being pure escapism, how modern movies are, or how your favorite films have no politics at play. Denying political connections exist, intentional or not, in every level of a movie’s text and subtext is naive. And look, I get that you don’t want to think about Back to the Future’s Reagan Era ‘50s nostalgia, ‘70s gangster movie’s distrust of police, screwball comedy’s comments on women’s rights, etc. but there is no way to seriously think that politics in movies are a recent development. They have existed in every era of filmmaking and pervaded just about every single film you can think of.
Nearly every piece of art has a political perspective, but there is certainly a spectrum that can be tracked. Let’s take Tom Cruise’s career for example, as he’s a man with a varied blockbustery career. Okay fine, Born on the Fourth of July is obviously critical of the U.S. government, but that doesn’t mean Top Gun’s comparatively subtle praise of it doesn’t exist, which is still louder than Cocktail’s quietly pro-capitalist fable,, or Jerry Maguire’s criticism of work culture. The latter’s politics are taken even further by The Firm’s bleak “the American Dream is a lie” perspective. Cruise’s movies are even reactive in their time; War of the Worlds exists within the shadow of 9/11, using the fresh imagery there to fuel its fear. The Mission: Impossible movies might seem countryless, but they’re all about Ethan Hunt’s necessary rebellion against an untrustworthy government that still maintains a status quo of freedom. Very American. Even as a straight white man, he’s made plenty of stories about representation too: Rain Man, Interview with a Vampire, and The Outsiders all share ideas about how to deal with those that mainstream society cast off for their differences. Every one of those movies has “an agenda” with its viewpoint; to act like Disney or modern studios invented politics in movies is pitiable.
I understand not wanting to pay attention to these viewpoints so long as they’re the ones you agree with, the same way I understand the impulse to eat, drink, smoke, snort, or boff your problems away. But if your goal with every movie is pure escapism without a care about what you watch then you’re a dream to those who seek to control you; any low-talent propagandist could use a clay-like brain such as yours. Do not get angry when these come to the surface because you don’t want to know what goes into your movies. Paying attention to these subtleties is what criticism is. If you read these dismissively and get annoyed when politics and film mix in analysis, then you’re reading a list of ingredients, health recommendations, and serving suggestions on the back of the bag and then scoffing at their usefulness when they make you feel bad about eating a party-size helping of Doritos.
My hope is that we can have intelligent conversations about problems with whatever the latest live-action remake’s representation politics are, or the thematic implications of Godzilla, a patron of Japan, and King Kong, America’s take on an angry African American, teaming up against Mechagodzilla, which should be pretty self-explanatory. Just don’t try to say that movies aren’t or shouldn’t be or just recently have become political serving spoons just because you don’t like what you’re eating.
More Anthony:
This Christmas Eve, spend some time with my cohost Sean and I as we do the first annual Always See Everything Christmas Special! Our comedic duo is dropping an audio commentary watching the tremendously terrible Star Wars Holiday Special with hot cocoa, botched Christmas song covers, and plenty of ho ho hos. Be sure to follow the podcast so you don’t miss it!