Hollywood Pivoting To Non-Political Content To Win Back Red States
It's no secret that the entertainment industry is filled with individuals and projects that advance far-left political objectives.
The political leanings of creative talent, directors and back office executives have permeated throughout its recent releases, even if CEO's like Bob Iger refuse to realize it.
READ: Bob Iger Claims Disney Isn’t Political, In Reality Defying Interview
Those recent releases have generally been financial failures. Disney in particular has churned out politically charged content like "Strange World," "Lightyear," "The Marvels," and any number of other projects. But after billions in losses appealing to a nonexistent left-wing audience, it seems like Hollywood may finally have learned its lesson…if it's not too late.
The New York Times reported on a trend in the industry, exemplified by the Universal release "Twisters," that there's now an avoidance of injecting unnecessary left-wing messaging into big-budget movies. The Times of course, thinks this is a bad thing.
"So it was startling when the weather-focused "Twisters" arrived from Universal Pictures this month with no mention of climate change at all," the article reads. "If ever there was a perfect vehicle to carry Hollywood’s progressive climate change messaging — a big-budget movie about people caught in worsening storm patterns — wasn’t this it?"
The Times, seemingly unaware that there are no worsening storm patterns, or worsening tornadoes because of "climate change," was furious. But the film's director, accepting reality, had said in a pre-release interview that movies should not be about "preaching a message." Incredibly, the article frames this as a "dog whistle" to conservative viewers, instead of an obvious fact.
But if more viewers take the director, Lee Isaac Chung's, view, does Hollywood have a chance of winning back red state audiences?
ORLANDO, FLORIDA, UNITED STATES - 2019/07/17: Cinderella Castle in Walt Disney World. (Photo by Roberto Machado Noa/LightRocket via Getty Images)
Some In Hollywood Learning Their Lesson
Iger in 2017 said in Disney's shareholder meeting that "We can take those values, which we deem important societally, and actually change people’s behavior," foreshadowing the trend of left-wing Disney movies that followed. And immediately flopped.
Now in 2023, he admits "We have to entertain first — it’s not about messages."
Who would have expected that movie goers wanted to be entertained and not lectured or preached to? Except virtually everyone who's ever been to the movies, a group of people that apparently doesn't include top industry executives.
"Twisters" has been a smash financial success, as has "Deadpool and Wolverine," and "Inside Out 2." It's been a good summer for Hollywood, mostly because those movies have no progressive political messages weighing them down. But is it enough?
Disney lost the benefit of the doubt with audiences, and especially with original content. People know what to expect with sequels, but when most original properties, even children's movies, are laced with far-left messages, it pushes viewers away. Hollywood likes to view itself as a vehicle for promoting "important societal messages," but it is still a business that requires money to survive.
Like it or not, audiences in Kansas and Florida and South Carolina have money to spend on the movies too. It's just that the entertainment business hasn't cared about them because they disagree with their political beliefs. Not only is this shift desirable, it's necessary.