Hollywood's problem: Pushing propaganda, forsaking art

As a history buff and an old soul in regards to music, when I first saw the trailer for Baz Luhrmann’s "Elvis," I couldn’t wait to go see it. When it premiered in theatres, I thoroughly enjoyed every second of the sensational film. The performances from Austin Butler and Tom Hanks were astounding, and Baz Luhrmann’s vision for the film didn’t disappoint. When it ended, my first thought was, “I want to buy another ticket and watch it again.” 

I called my parents that night and told them about how amazing it was and we ended up having a 90-minute historical discussion that spanned from Cab Calloway and Al Jolson to Marilyn Monroe and the Civil Rights era. My point is the movie did exactly what a movie should do: Cause the viewer to take their time and money to watch the movie, entice them to want to see it again, and stimulate conversation about the movie.

I also enjoyed my 100 minutes spent watching "Minions: The Rise of Gru," and so did other moviegoers, as the movie pulled in $108 million domestically in its opening weekend. People could enjoy watching their favorite characters while laughing and having a good time without being indoctrinated. 

However, modern Hollywood’s goal now seems to be to push propaganda to the point where the art of the movie is not there anymore. Hollywood is now so focused on pushing Leftist doctrine onto their audiences, that many of their projects are now nearly unwatchable.

Here are some examples.

On July 1, "The Princess" debuted on Hulu and I decided to watch it. 

To be clear, I like Joey King and wish her nothing but the best. She is young and talented, and I do believe she has a very bright future ahead of her. This criticism is not an attack on King.

With that said, "The Princess" was an execrable movie that is a waste of time, money, and effort. My qualms lie with the fact that this movie is simply King’s character running around killing people and saying some witty lines here and there. The movie had zero depth and everything was terribly underwritten. Her character was nameless as she was constantly referred to as “the princess.” There is little to no background on important aspects of the movie. As the movie progressed, I became more and more confused about the point of the film and ultimately regret watching it. 

King, who also produced this movie, is a fine actress and could’ve done so much more with this role, but her acting skills were handicapped by the propaganda of the film.

It appears to me that director Le-Van Kiet and writers Ben Lustig and Jake Thornton had a simple goal of telling the audience to not underestimate women and that women can do anything men can do – and even better.

In short, "The Princess" is just a feminist propaganda vehicle with no regard for the art of filmmaking and storytelling. And I’m not the only one who thinks this. Three women, writer Lena Wilson, entertainment reporter Fletcher Peters, and lead news editor at Collider Maggie Lovitt, who gave the movie an “F”, all share my opinion on this film. 

Similarly, many Disney movies have recently also sacrificed their magic, creativity, and timeless stories in exchange for leftwing propaganda. 

This can be seen in the movie "Lightyear," which was an utter flop with a meager $51 million from the United States and Canada in its opening weekend. To put that into perspective, that is worse than the "Cars 3" opening weekend of $53 million and Pixar’s second-lowest opening since "Ratatouille" debuted 15 years ago with a $47 million weekend. 

I contend that this took place for four reasons. The first reason is that the Toy Story franchise is over and viewers never asked for or wanted a movie focusing on Buzz Lightyear. The second reason was not having Tim Allen as the iconic voice of Buzz. The third reason has to do with Disney’s recent commitment to pushing the alphabet mafia’s agenda. The final reason would be that actor Chris Evans, who voices Buzz Lightyear in "Lightyear" (2022), insulted potential viewers that didn’t share his and Disney’s woke political and social views.

We also saw this problem in the NFL with a 7% drop in audience viewership during the 2020 regular season. The same year, this issue was seen in the NBA where 38% of sports fans were watching fewer NBA games. Nearly 40% of participants in a Harris poll stated that the NBA had become too politicized. 

It is certainly possible and acceptable for entertainers to teach their audiences various lessons. But when teaching becomes the prime directive of entertainers, then the entertainment will consistently fall flat. 

To close my argument, movies like the box office behemoth "Top Gun: Maverick," "Elvis," and "Minions: Rise of Gru" encapsulate what Hollywood should do. People watch movies, television shows, sports, documentaries, and other visual mediums for the sake of entertainment. The burden of life is taxing and heavy and when a person sits down and turns on whatever they choose, it is to forget the troubles of their lives and the issues of political and civil discourse. It is the job of those in the business of entertainment to entertain their audience, not force-feed them any particular beliefs or messages.