Donald Trump has appointed three individuals as his “eyes and ears” in Hollywood, signaling a push for a political shift in how movies are created and consumed. Regardless of your political stance, this move could have a significant impact on the quality of films produced in the coming years. But why is that?
While cinema is meant for everyone to enjoy, there’s a certain element that elevates a film to the next level: empathy. Conservative viewpoints often prioritize individualism over collective care, which can clash with the deeply human, empathetic storytelling that makes films truly resonate. How could we have a “MAGA” Hollywood when much of the right refuses to sympathize with those who don’t look like them, aren’t in their class, or face different struggles? If the right struggles to empathize with others in the real world, how would this translate to Hollywood? Would it come across as disingenuous, and would that lack of realness be reflected in the quality of the work? There have been successful and extremely talented conservative filmmakers in the past, but have we crossed a line of division that would make that impossible in our current political climate?
A lot of the far-right is anti-diversity. Diversity brings us together. It fuels and merges ideas to create entities no group could achieve alone. Seeing different experiences that are new to the viewer is what makes cinema special. Cinema as a whole cannot be enjoyed if every film tells the same American experience, limiting perspectives and failing to reflect the uniqueness of the world we live in.
Being able to effectively critique societal issues while still catering to a mass audience is something many filmmakers do beautifully. But could this still work if Hollywood started leaning right? Is the current state of the right even capable of critiquing a country they so often glorify? And if conservatives were to express their critiques through filmmaking, would it simply involve tearing down minorities and dismissing science? How can a political party that is so against progress and acceptance create art that resonates with the same groups they refuse to acknowledge as valid?
I want to be clear that I’m not saying every single right-leaning person is incapable of creating good art. What I am saying is that, as a country, if we aim to shift the political stance of an industry that has been producing excellent media for years, we need to acknowledge that there are aspects of film we might lose in the process.
Thinking Weekly 
Leave a comment