Most cinemagoers head to the movies to escape the real world,
not to get a lesson on politics. That was until last summer’s
“Fahrenheit 9/11″ hit theaters. Recent times have seen
a sharp rise in political debate and awareness across the country,
and it’s almost natural that film and politics have since
collided.
Though “Fahrenheit 9/11″ may have stirred the
greatest controversy, a slew of films, from the remake of
“The Manchurian Candidate” to “Star Wars: Episode
III ““ Revenge of the Sith” have less directly engaged
in the political discussion of this country.
According to political science Professor Matthew Baum, the trend
has to do with the deep division after the recent elections.
“We’re in a very politically polarized climate, and
it’s not a surprise that popular entertainment reflects
this,” Baum said. “This has transcended just film. We
have seen more ideologically tinged entertainment throughout the
popular media over the last couple of election cycles.”
Graduating political science student Erika Aspericueta
attributes the increased political content to a rise in the
political consciousness of contemporary American society.
“Politics are becoming more prevalent in movies because
more members within civil society are conscious about their
importance and how politics affect our lives on an everyday
basis,” she said. “As more members of the community
increase their level of political consciousness, (so too) will we
see overlapping in the realms of entertainment and
politics.”
The current political climate has affected not only the content
of today’s films, but their reception as well. The extremity
of this polarization is in part responsible for audiences reading
political allegories into films.
For example, the conservative group Patriotic Americans
Boycotting Anti-American Hollywood recently called for the
boycotting of “Revenge of the Sith” for its supposedly
anti-Bush allegory.
“Our country is at war and Lucas spouts off this
crap?” asked their official Web site in response to comments
by Lucas that equated America’s presence in Vietnam with that
in Iraq.
However, graduating political science student and former Daily
Bruin columnist Mike Bitondo, for one, doesn’t see the
parallels.
“(Lucas) was inspired by historical examples of how
democracies can turn into dictatorships, like the Nazi takeover of
Germany or Napoleon’s power grab in France,” he
said.
Whether or not the film is a direct attack on the Bush
administration, polarization has resulted in the overzealous
support or denunciation of films like “Revenge of the
Sith” based on America’s current left-right
dichotomy.
Just a few weeks ago, the Mississippi-based American Family
Association decided to lift its nine-year boycott of Disney, due in
part to the company’s forthcoming version of “The
Chronicles of Narnia,” which are traditionally viewed as
thinly veiled Christian allegories. Conservatives have also
generally embraced faith-based films rooted in traditional values
such as “The Passion of the Christ” and “Million
Dollar Baby,” the latter directed by die-hard Republican
Clint Eastwood. Even in the case of “Million Dollar
Baby,” however, there were conservatives who lined up against
the film for its supposedly pro-euthanasia stance.
Nevertheless, Bitondo says that filmmakers are not delving deep
enough into current political issues. “Other than
(“˜Fahrenheit 9/11′), Hollywood for the most part has
ignored the American public’s heightened, albeit shallow,
appetite for contemporary politics,” Bitondo said.
“(But) partisan works from liberal Hollywood films or
conservative talk radio are no substitute for substantive policy
discourse from think tanks and media outlets like National Public
Radio.”
Whether films are currently providing substantive discourse may
be arguable, but the mass appeal of cinema certainly allows for
political opinions to reach larger audiences than media such as
radio.
Sabir Brara, another graduating political science student,
believes that the star power and the reach of politically charged
films lend weight to a certain position due to the audience that
celebrities draw into theaters.
“Films are appealing to political expressionists because
they know that having recognizable actors … will lure in
moviegoers as well as those who are genuinely interested in seeing
a perspective on what is happening,” Brara said.
“They get wider audiences to view these films, thus having
an impact on more people.”