Film Genre Politics

[Trotsky]

Interesting. I'd like to see this fleshed out. I found TDK to be boring to the point of being unwatchable. Literally couldn't stay awake all the way through in two attempts. But, like @Kafir-kun, I'd heard the opposite claim made about it.

Do you mean TDKR? That's what he (and I) had mentioned bearing a distinctly right message.

If so, I agree, although with any of them, it's not so easy to say that the antagonist vessel of the (leftist) message is dispositive on the film's overall purpose: exactly the opposite is true for TDK and you could argue the same for TDKR (that the powerfulness of the villain comes from the coherency of their existence).

If you're saying you found The Dark Knight to be boring to the point of being unwatchable, then we're going to have to take this to the streets. Because I have literally never heard of anyone other than my parents and my very gay friend who weren't both very entertained and moved by TDK. Just an extraordinarily impressive directorial and acting feat for the genre.

 

[Social Distance Warrior]

After doing a little research, it seems that the vast majority of sci-fi authors are liberals and the vast majority of horror authors are religious.

That's pretty much in line with what has been said in this thread.

REally? Isaac Asimov, Arthur C CLarke, Michael Crichton were liberals?

I could have swore Crichton was more of a conservative...

I might have to research...

 

[Social Distance Warrior]

how would you guys classify the first Matrix in terms of political ideology?

there are obvious striking religious undertones...but politically, what do you guys think?

 

[splendica]

It's pretty obvious that most films nowadays are left-leaning.

 

[Jack V Savage]

Do you mean TDKR? That's what he (and I) had mentioned bearing a distinctly right message.

If so, I agree, although with any of them, it's not so easy to say that the antagonist vessel of the (leftist) message is dispositive on the film's overall purpose: exactly the opposite is true for TDK and you could argue the same for TDKR (that the powerfulness of the villain comes from the coherency of their existence).

If you're saying you found The Dark Knight to be boring to the point of being unwatchable, then we're going to have to take this to the streets. Because I have literally never heard of anyone other than my parents and my very gay friend who weren't both very entertained and moved by TDK. Just an extraordinarily impressive directorial and acting feat for the genre.

TDK. I remember it being talked about as a defense of W. But it was just too boring for me to even pick up any message. Didn't watch TDKR because TDK was so bad.

 

[Jack V Savage]

how would you guys classify the first Matrix in terms of political ideology?

there are obvious striking religious undertones...but politically, what do you guys think?

Far left. Kropotkin territory.

 

[Ice That Jaw]

This thread is useless unless you actually give specific examples of films.

You rate Comedy as hard left. Why? Because most comedians vote democrat or because there are an overwhelming number of comedies that excude leftist political ideologies?

 

[aus101]

That's fair. I assumed your response was in disagreement but in hindsight could be more a clarification. I think he does have a point about the relationship to progressive values and the genre but at the same time the genre does often depict dystopias, both of the right and left variety, and that could be seen as an anti-statist undercurrent which is characteristic of either left and right wing libertarianism depending on the context.

I was so young when I first saw that movie that my memories were sufficiently vague for me to doubt the movie's very existence. I thought it was a fake movie from a dream cobbled together from elements of Disney movies I saw irl until someone mentioned the name and the plot and it all came back to me more clearly.

Yep future set sci fi like in planet of the apes, a clockwork orange, Logan's run, escape from New York, blade runner, alien, Brazil, robocop, the running man, they live, demolition man, starship troopers, minority report, v for vendetta, a scanner darkly, all lean towards right or left wing libertarianism (although at the time of creation most were viewed as left).

 

[the ambush]

List of genres:

Action / right
Adventure / right
Crime / right
Horror / left
Fantasy / left
Sci-Fi / left
Comedy / left
Thriller / left
Western / right

 

[Madmick]

I would say Action is right of even horror, from the hyper-conservative gender roles, ultra-nationalism, obsession with self-reliance, fetishism of law enforcement and firearms, offensive portrayals of foreigners and exploitation of xenophobic fears, similar protagonist/antagonist setup as horror films. More than anything, I think that, of all genre audiences, action crowds are definitely the most disproportionately conservative, well in excess of horror audiences.

No. For every action film and cliche like that there is another on the opposite end of the spectrum: dirty, racist cops; corporate suits (or politicians) that always fill the role of the "mastermind" villain setting the people against one another for personal profit; excessively empowered female protagonists (for no other reason than being female); offensive portrayals of natives to the domestic market; the glorification, humanization, normalization, and whitewashing of "criminal" allies (or protagonists), especially those who aren't favored by establishment powers; "might makes right" military malfeasance and its consequences; etc.

Action films and Horror films aren't at all alike in what makes the latter conservative.

Vengeance and violence aren't inherently conservative principles, and these are the central principles to the Action genre. The guns are there as a device for entertainment, not political discourse. In a way, they're a MacGuffin.

 

[Madmick]

But honestly the only movie genre that truly leans right are Westerns, because they are all about personal responsibility. Most Westerns are about communities regulating themselves. Some of their plots are even telling the government to fuck off. And they actually show the differences in culture and the disputes that rise up between them rather than just showing an Indian and a Mexican and an American holding hands and braiding their hair.

IMO Westerns are the most realistic depiction of the melting pots we see today. Segregated communities living and working together, with their own small disputes and agreements between them. And that is what the leaning right is truly about, realism (not a specific religion or banning gay people).

No, Horrors are far more conservative, in the sense of a cinematic tradition.

 

[all caps]

Maybe a bit off topic but, I used to love horror, serial killers, death and dismay. Now I can hardly watch. It makes me cringe and kinda freaks me out.

Am I becoming a pussy? Low T? Growing up? All of the above?

 

[HomerThompson]

how would you guys classify the first Matrix in terms of political ideology?

there are obvious striking religious undertones...but politically, what do you guys think?

Left leaning for sure. The Matrix is basically unfettered capitalism.

 

[HomerThompson]

Maybe a bit off topic but, I used to love horror, serial killers, death and dismay. Now I can hardly watch. It makes me cringe and kinda freaks me out.

Am I becoming a pussy? Low T? Growing up? All of the above?

I'd say low T, and being a pussy. But, you know what they say, two out of three ain't bad.

 

[all caps]

I'd say low T, and being a pussy. But, you know what they say, two out of three ain't bad.

Personal attacks, bro?

 

[HomerThompson]

Personal attacks, bro?

I'm just trying to help you deal with your changing role as a man with low T, and vaginitis. I'm trying to be supportive here, dammit!

 

[Islam Imamate]

Weird how they never make any Western movies these days.......

They do but you can't just make any ole Western. Tarantino made two and they were hits, its just that the days of pumping out Westerns is gone. Hopefully superhero movies go the same route soon.

Interesting. I'd like to see this fleshed out. I found TDK to be boring to the point of being unwatchable. Literally couldn't stay awake all the way through in two attempts. But, like @Kafir-kun, I'd heard the opposite claim made about it.

 

[Cuauhtemoc]

After doing a little research, it seems that the vast majority of sci-fi authors are liberals and the vast majority of horror authors are religious.

That's pretty much in line with what has been said in this thread.

Robert A. Heinlein was a fascist. He wrote starship troopers and created the scifi concept of "power armor" and space marine, prevalent in Starcraft, Fallout, Doom and Warhammer 40k.

 

[Scheme]

They do but you can't just make any ole Western. Tarantino made two and they were hits, its just that the days of pumping out Westerns is gone. Hopefully superhero movies go the same route soon.

Tarantino's movies were hits because they were made by him. And he kind of made them parodies. The original Django was amazing, the remake was just alright in my opinion. The Hateful Eight was straight garbage.

The best Westerns used to be minimalist, nihilistic and packed with masculinity. Maybe that's why they don't make em anymore. Same reason movies like Predator wont be made in this age.

The Dollars series was probably the best series of movies ever made. Sad that people can't seem to capture the same cinematic brilliance they did back in the 60's, especially since they were pretty cheap movies to make.

 

[Cuauhtemoc]

They do but you can't just make any ole Western. Tarantino made two and they were hits, its just that the days of pumping out Westerns is gone. Hopefully superhero movies go the same route soon.

I don't get superhero movies, nobody I know ever read comic books. They're were the stuff of geeks of the lowest kind. Now all of a sudden everybody is a fan of Batman or even some obscure superheroes like Deadpool or that slut with a baseball bat.