June 16, 2006
Hollywood Metapolitics
James Pinkerton makes an interesting assertion in his TCS column
Recently I participated in a TCS-sponsored panel entitled "The Creative Class vs. Capitalism", in which I freely conceded that when Hollywood makes a consciously political movie, that film -- think "Erin Brockovich," or "Wall Street," or "Syriana" -- consciously leans left. But as I argued in this companion piece for TCS, the unconscious "metapolitics" of Hollywood are often completely different.That is, in the relatively few films in which moviemakers climb on their soapbox, the movie invariably touts some politically correct cause, such as global warming; but much of the rest of the time, Hollywood makes films celebrating the individual hero, the loner who bucks the system in pursuit of a dream -- and who usually wins. And "The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift" is no exception: This film, destined to be seen by millions of young Americans, is a paean to individualism, entrepreneurship, and risk-taking. There's not a lefty to be seen anywhere. And as noted, one would think that if environmentalists get wind of this film, they'll be picketing out front. But chances are that the Greens, as well as fans of mass transit, won't bother, because a) they know it wouldn't do any good, and b) films such as "Furious" are ubiquitous; this is what Hollywood cranks out routinely. And that's my point: The metapolitics of movies lean right.
I cannot agree that it is so rare for Hollywood to climb on the leftist soapbox, but agree with his point. Hollywood must capture a spirit that is non-leftist to excite and entertain.
All the same, I doubt that "The Fast and Furious: Tokyo Drift" will be coming soon to one of my review corners, but I don't have any exclusives on reviews.