Never discuss politics or religion in polite company, if recent cultural practice is anything to go by. There is a belief that entertainers should “shut up and entertain.” It’s a sentiment that used to float around every awards season or any time a celebrity decided to take a stand on an issue. 
 

Now there is perpetual outrage, where almost any media commentary or messaging is controversial and frowned upon. It seems impossible for a major project to be announced without being met with some form of complaint. 

 

The Barbie movie is a great example of this. While it was a well-received film with both audience and critic Rotten Tomatoes scores -- in the 80s percentile -- there was a distinct conservative backlash regarding the film's commentary on gender. Greta Gerwig, the film's famously feminist director’s clear appeal toward social commentary made it an easy target for anti-woke criticism.

 

In the most literal terms, Barbie isn’t really a political film. It comment on social issues, which have become political in the de facto sense; considering culture wars have become much of our political battlegrounds. However, in terms of hard and fast politics, Barbie’s depiction is minimal at best. 

 

 

This is why it is baffling that so much of the anti-politics discourse in film often follows some delusion that media wasn’t always this way.

 

There are plenty of famous films that comment on more overtly political topics. Invasion of the Body Snatchers comments on the red scare and communist paranoia. Citizen Kane satirizes William Randolph Hearst, the sensationalist news publisher who frequently pushed political agendas. 

 

Robocop, The Terminator, The Matrix, and countless war films like Apocalypse Now, and Full Metal Jacket all comment on more direct political topics. Star Wars creator George Lucas even revealed the original trilogy was largely an allegory for the Vietnam War with America representing the Empire. That’s without mentioning the prequel trilogy's depiction of the rise of a dictator and drawn-out senate scenes.

 

 

This notion of “keeping politics out of storytelling” is antithetical to storytelling when our definition of politics now encompasses general moral, ethical, and social values. All of which are part of what makes good conflict and thus good storytelling.

 

This is not to say watching films should be treated like an English class, but rather that the statements a story makes or questions it poses are part of what makes it compelling.

 

This frustration with commentary is not necessarily an unwarranted reaction. The trendiness of activism and the recent push by companies to present themselves as socially aware have actually contributed to the problem.

 

 

Recall Pepsi’s egregiously tone-deaf ad featuring Kylie Jenner, which inserted Pepsi into the touchy discussion around police and the Black Lives Matter movement. Another famous effort, such as companies rainbow-fying their logos for pride month, has been criticized as performative and termed “rainbow-washing.”

 

Superheroes and mega franchises have been some of the biggest focal points. Both Black Panther and Wonder Woman were widely praised for their status as big franchise films with a black lead and female lead, respectively. 

 

Both films have high Rotten Tomatoes scores with 93% for Wonder Woman, and 96% for Black Panther, the highest score for a Marvel Cinematic Universe film -- not to mention the only one nominated for best picture at the Oscars.

 

 

While I have no intention of implying either film is bad or unimportant, I would argue these films are overpraised and valued more for their contribution to the conversation of Hollywood diversity than for their actual quality or messaging.

 

The narrative around these films became largely absent of their actual content, instead being a self-aggrandizing celebration of their companies’ efforts at showing interest in social issues.

 

This rings hollow when you consider the continued actions of Hollywood and Disney, specifically with allegations of minimizing John Boyega’s character in Star Wars promotional material in the Chinese market for allegedly racist reasons; and the fact that Black Widow, the MCU’s long-standing major female character, did not get her own movie until 2021. 

 

 

It isn’t difficult to see how these shallow appeals to social topics poison the well for any media where social commentary takes a larger role. It is a shame, however, since it tears down films like Barbie, which are indeed thought-provoking.

 

Love or hate all the arguments social commentary films make, they often set the stage for great discussion and analysis. Barbie specifically is a film I enjoy but find things to disagree or grapple with. The considerable discussions the film has sparked between me and my girlfriend and friends about gender relations reminds me of why I love media. 

 

***Yet, as much as I praise Barbie for being a thoughtful commentary I must note it too falls into the same trap as Black Panther and Wonder Woman -- with its ties to a massive corporation like Mattel.

 

 

But it’s important to remember that the reduction of stories to singular talking points is a blunder committed by all sides of the political spectrum and ultimately makes us lose out on the beauty of storytelling, the way in which we reflect upon not only on the argument made by the medium in question, but the dialogue we have with it.

Stories do not have the binary meanings we often attribute to them. Agreeing with an intended message is not a prerequisite to enjoying an artistic work. Everyone sees a story with a unique world view, and examining a story, especially one we disagree with, makes them that much more compelling.

 

Author Bio:

Garrett Hartman is a contributing writer at Highbrow Magazine.

 

For Highbrow Magazine