Politics have been woven into populist art forever. People just don’t notice them because they’re either not paying attention or they agree with the politics of the art.
TERMINATOR 2 is a good example.
TERMINATOR 2 is a good example.
TERMINATOR 2 makes its inhuman, villain wear a police officer’s uniform...trying to kill a kid in a PUBLIC ENEMY t-shirt.
None of that is an accident. Look up interviews from James Cameron.
None of that is an accident. Look up interviews from James Cameron.
Many of you are too young to know what PUBLIC ENEMY meant back in the 90’s. They were a flashpoint of social commentary and a target of scorn. They were an activist music group. “Fight the Power” “By the Time I get to Arizona.” “Fear of a Black Planet.”
Having Miles Dustin, the creator of Skynet, be a black man was not a common casting choice in the 90’s (or now, really). Showing his family was definitely not.
All of that is intentional. Cameron doesn’t do accidents in his work.
All of that is intentional. Cameron doesn’t do accidents in his work.
The first LETHAL WEAPON is subtle, but it nods to Vietnam, PTSD, police action, and the plight of a middle class black family in America.
Part two is explicitly about apartheid.
Part three about police corruption and racial violence.
Part two is explicitly about apartheid.
Part three about police corruption and racial violence.
*Myles Dyson
Auto-correct hit me.
Auto-correct hit me.
RAMBO: FIRST BLOOD PART II is basically a propaganda film for Reagan-era “ethics” meant to both erase the stain of the Vietnam War and buttress the Cold War.
RAMBO III has John Rambo working with the mujahideen in Afghanistan.
RAMBO III has John Rambo working with the mujahideen in Afghanistan.
THE LIVING DAYLIGHTS is a Bond film where Bond also works with the mujahideen against the Russians.
Because the west was empowering them against the Russians in the real world.
Because the west was empowering them against the Russians in the real world.
ROBOCOP is a violent satire speaking to gentrification, civil unrest, police brutality and corporate dogma.
It’s about a man that become the product of a militarized police force and has to find his humanity again.
It’s about a man that become the product of a militarized police force and has to find his humanity again.
It might be “Miles Dyson.”
Apologies to Mr. Cameron.
Apologies to Mr. Cameron.
My basic point is if you’re complaining about politics in entertainment as a sudden phenomenon, you probably missed the politics that have always been there.
Or you just don’t like THOSE politics, which is fine, but it’s not a new thing.
Or you just don’t like THOSE politics, which is fine, but it’s not a new thing.
I’m an idiot, but if you really want to explore this is actual detail from someone smart —> look up @renegadecut on YouTube.
Apologies for “Professor Hill entering the chat” but I thought this was worth discussing.
