Reel Talk: All Art is Political

All movies are political. So why would someone claim theirs isn't?

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Scott's Self-Indulgent Movie Podcast · Episode 938: Reel Talk: All Art is Political

The Terrifier franchise is one of the feel-good stories of the horror world. A series that start with a short film, made their first film on a shoestring, and has made two well-received sequels that have brought more box-office success and turned its lead character Art the Clown into a generational slasher villain. And now, the mood has soured. In response to Art the Clown actor David Howard Thornton's public comments decrying Donald Trump, apparently the MAGA crowd has gotten up in arms and bombarded franchise creator Damien Leone with messages asking him to speak out about it, denounce Thornton, or recast the actor. Leone's response was the worst of all world's. In response, Leone said that the Terrifier franchise is not meant to be political and that everyone of all walks of life create and enjoy the films. He 'both sides' it. 

I could do an entire write-up about why Leone's statement is dogshit, but I'll go with bullet points before getting to my main point.

• Anyone who decides on being in the "middle of the road" in the current political climate is a coward. The MAGA people didn't like your star critiquing Trump and you couldn't bring yourself to defend him?
• "Not being political" is a political stance.
• Not everyone feels welcome if you don't stand-up to people harassing your star for using their First Amendment rights.

And finally the big one:

• All art is political

Folks with even a modicum of media literacy understand that all art has politics attached to it. Because the moving images on screen, how the film got made and distributed, and beyond all play a part in the movie's overall message. A movie indicating that something is good, while another thing is bad is political. That's just the rules. Governments do not need to be discussed or involved.

So why would any kind of artist insist that their work isn't political? Here's the only reasons I can think of.

They're Trying To Please A Certain Kind of Person

Leone's line that Terrifier isn't political falls neatly into a certain kind of viewpoint that you'll see regurgitated about video games, movies, music and anything else. That "x thing I like is better without politics."

But what they really mean is that is doesn't feature ideas that personally challenge them or their understanding of the world.

One of the most infamous examples of this is video game developer Ubisoft claimed that it's latest Tom Clancy shooter, The Division 2 didn't have politics in it. A game that featured paramilitary groups completing violent execution missions to maintain order in the United States after a massive bioweapon attack, claimed it wasn't political to please its potential players and fans.

What they really meant was that their game wasn't going to do things like challenge the purpose of the military, included queer characters, or indirect critiques of ongoing issues in America.

Saying any piece of art isn't political is a promise to the assumed di-facto consumer, a white cis man, that their perspectives will remain intact. Therefore any kind of variation from what pleases them or feels comfortable is political.

This is why trans people existing is a hot button political issue in America. For a lot of people it requires moving away from their mental autopilot and they do not like that.

So as cover, people looking to "avoid offending people," which is antithetical to making a gore-fest like Terrifier by the way try to sate their audiences and loudest bad faith critics by insisting that their art doesn't have "politics."

But maybe Leone and folks like him aren't that cynical and truly believes their movies aren't political...Well then that gives me even more pause because that means.

They're Not Thinking

It's entirely possible that Leone doesn't think his movies are political. There are plenty of people who create art that view it purely as entertainment and aren't trying to say anything.

But as I already alluded to, all movies say something, whether you want it to or not.

What's so wild is that Leone is claiming his movies aren't saying anything. You know, the slasher movies where a demonic, unkillable murder clown that dresses up like Santa in the last one and is only bested by an angelic warrior of god where people do things like wear Jesus' crown of thorns.

You could write an entire master's thesis on what all of those images means all smashed together. Because, wouldn't you know it, religious imagery is very very political and has a lot attached to it.

The mean of what Leone either willfully or unintentionally is missing is that messages and politics don't need to be intentional to be there.

1956's Invasion of the Body Snatchers is considered by many to be one of the greatest commentaries on American anti-communist paranoia. And it is very easy to see why. The entire premise is that your neighbors can/would be killed and replaced by aliens who would then pretend to be their victims and try to turn you next. Which is perfectly in line with McCarthy-era thinking about how communists and communism worked. They were trying infiltrate and destroy life as we know it and they could be anywhere. And in fact they are everywhere. Now tell us who else went to a commie meeting.

When asked, director Don Siegal or screenwriter Daniel Mainwaring said that they were just trying to make an alien invasion picture. Too bad fellas, because while you did make an alien invasion movie, you also captured the paranoia of your era.

The bottom line is that whenever you make a piece of art, that art is made within a political context that can and will be applied to your work.

You can say that you're not aiming to make movies for a certain demographic or support a political audience, and I'm sure that's true. But that doesn't make your movies a-political. It just means you're not trying. But why does this matter?

What Stays In? What Gets Left Behind?

One of my favorite stories and admissions in the movie business came from Richard Donner. Donner was in the midst of casting Lethal Weapon and was trying to find the right person to play the "too old for this shit" veteran Murtaugh. His casting director suggested Danny Glover. And, in a moment Donner admits made him feel ashamed, he said "but the script doesn't say that he's black." To which his casting director said, "it doesn't say he's white either."

And I think that little moment and interaction is a perfect ecapsulation of what happens when creators trying to be "colorblind" or "non-political." Either they miss out on a fresh perspective, deny a talented individual a shot at a career defining role, or leave in something that feels like it's from another time or a culture that's completely removed from our own.

It's like when you listen to sitcom characters refer to a bunch of movies that characters of that age would never use as a cultural touchstone...but the writers of that show definitely would. That's the best case scenario. Worst case scenario you end up kicking a hornet's nest and offend a bunch of people and lose money because it turns out your movie's politics, when actually identified and analyzed sucked...or perhaps didn't jive with your "apolitical audience"

In her analysis of the Daily Wire's Run Hide Fight, media critic/analyst Mariana Colín notes that even the right wing Daily Wire's intended audience rejected the movie because as much as it is a gross attempt to make a school shooting a Die Hard-esque action movie, it still features a young woman in the lead role with a black love interest. And the intended conservative audience hated it. Because it wasn't a man. And the love interest wasn't white. That was "too much politics" for them.

There's never any pleasing that crowd, so you might as well stand for something, even if you don't think your art does.

All art is political, and people who claim theirs isn't are either ignorant, cowards or both. And with Leone...it might be both.