Hollywood and politics have always shared a strange love affair especially when it comes to liberalism as Hollywood is as famous for its films as it is for its outspoken left wing artists. The town also has had an unfortunate history with what is perceived as right wing politics (the blacklist from the McCarthy era) and now conservative leaning actors and artists either remain silent or choose to keep their values away from their films.
But, does that mean the films we see from Hollywood are influenced by left wing values? Usually no. However, any art will be influenced, however minor-ly, by an artist’s own ideals and views on the world. This may mean that politics organically can work their way into a film or an artist can throw story to the wind and just put an agenda forth. So, at times, some films have been more heavily influenced than others when it comes to politics albeit right or left wing. But, mainly we don’t notice unless we really examine the underlying themes in the film.
So without further ado, let’s take a look at five films you probably didn’t notice had left wing values.
Let us also note that these are theories on films as opposed to fact. True art is meant to be open to interpretation and a true artist would be just as ready to accept a conservative’s view of their product as a liberal’s. So here goes.
5. G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra
The Politics: The reboot of the successful toy line, comic books and television series about an elite group of soldiers defending American freedom took a different turn when director Stephen Sommers (The Mummy, The Mummy Returns, Van Helsing) grabbed the reigns. We were presented with a film that downplayed the American patriotism inherent in G.I. Joe and given patriotism on a globalist scale. G.I. Joe had become an elite group of soldiers from around the world each representing their countries to fight Cobra and his minions.
Besides the obvious political correctness at play, this film was left wing because it was a globalist feature. It presented a world where America was not a dominant force (a Republican view) or a shining city on the hill (a libertarian view). It was a world where the United Nations and the World Bank had probably received even more influence than they already have. Sommers pretty much vindicated the left wing nature of the film when he stated the following: “this is not a George Bush movie — it’s an Obama world.”
Is It Any Good? I think liberals and conservatives can agree that G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra is hard for anyone to enjoy that is over the age of 13.
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11 Comments
I have never even heard of Tiny Furniture… the title alone makes me wonder how I could have never even heard of it.
Skip it. Trust me.
Props for defending Dances With Wolves. Of all the “feel good” Best Picture winners over the last twenty years or so, it’s the least deserving of a film snob backlash.
I wouldn’t call X-Files: I Want To Believe a great movie, it’s too slow and plodding, with little suspense – but I’ll give credit to any mainstream summer film that takes on such philosophical debates with sincerity. It truly has some to say – and that more anything makes it worth watching.
Dances with Wolves is a great film, plain and simple. And I know I’m in the minority on X Files. Trust me
Dances With Wolves wouldn’t have caused controversy any other year except when it just happened to be up against Goodfellas which, in my opinion, in the best film of the last 25 years
True. I just think Dances with Wolves gets a bad rap for being such a great film. Goodfellas is a masterpiece though so I understand the point
Shall we expect a corresponding article about films with conservative/right wing values then?
I don’t see ‘…I Want To Believe’ as an anti-religious movie, and neither does writer/director Chris Carter, who stated it was about both the search for and yearning for belief in the power of faith not opposition to it. That being said, I thought it was a refreshingly atmospheric, intelligent, and thoughtful little movie that should have been released either before ‘The Dark Knight’ (not the weekend after, what were FOX thinking?) or later that year, but it wasn’t what either the audience or the hardcore X-Philes wanted to see, and suffered accordingly, a pity because it was a nice coda to the Mulder and Scully saga…
Is ‘The X Files: I Want To Believe’ really so anti-faith, let’s ask the film’s writer and director, Chris Carter about his vision for the film, to quote;
“I think that this movie is in some ways informed by those ideas: (of) science and faith.”
Where does Chris Carter stand in that debate?
“I would call myself a spiritual person. I used to call myself a non-religious person looking for a religious experience. I’d say that sort of defines me, though in these five years, I’ve come closer to faith than I’ve ever been.”
So clearly he’s not anti-faith/religion and neither is his film… subject over, case closed.
Good point. I wasn’t really trying to say it was anti religion. It may have had a few things to say about organized religion, but the X Files series has always been about faith so I never questioned the spiritual nature of the series of Carter
I wouldn’t say that the characters in Tiny Furniture represent left-wing sensibilities at all. They’re too self-centred to grasp any connection to the rest of the world at large in any way. Where does Hedonism fall on the political scale? Also, it’s an awful, awful (did I mention awful?) film.
Agreed. The less we talk about it, the better.