Let’s talk about politics and movies. Anthony Mackie, during an interview about his role as Captain America in the upcoming Brave New World, said, “To me, Captain America represents a lot of different things, and I don’t think ‘America’ should be one of those representations.”
Because of the sensitive nature of US politics today, Mackie’s comments triggered a firestorm. Some moviegoers sided with him because they don’t like the direction their country has gone since Trump came to power. Others lambasted the actor for his unpatriotic views because they like the current regime.
They questioned why Mackie would accept a role so intimately tied to America’s identity if he was vehemently opposed to the country’s values. You also had those who dismissed Mackie’s comments as harmless.
They criticized the squabbling masses for making a mountain out of a molehill, arguing that Mackie’s words had nothing to do with American politics. Rather, he wanted moviegoers to realize that ‘Captain America’ was not a distinctly American symbol. Instead, he belonged to the world as a whole and sought to represent all that was good and fair.
I don’t buy that argument, primarily because Captain America is not Superman. He can’t zip back and forth between nations, fighting crime on every continent and bringing peace to the entire planet.
The Mackie controversy has highlighted two notable points. First, US politics is so loud and all-consuming that it is threatening to infect every aspect of our entertainment. Is that bad? Yes, because most moviegoers go to the cinema to escape the noise of real life.
Some of you deliberately gravitate towards politically charged entertainment, which is fine. many of us prefer to shut those conversations out when we watch movies. Fantasy is particularly strong in this area.
It divorces viewers from the trials and tribulations of life for a few hours. But that type of escape is becoming more difficult to attain because directors and screenwriters keep inserting their political beliefs into the stories they tell.
That is not to say that Brave New World is politically charged. We are yet to see it. But if the movie attempts to shoe-horn American politics into the plot, it may irritate viewers like me who don’t live in the United States and couldn’t care less about their political wrangles.
That brings us to the second point, which directly opposes the first one. People were not merely triggered by the content of Mackie’s words. The fact that he made a political statement in the first place rubbed them the wrong way.
They want the actor to keep his political beliefs out of the public eye, because anything he says is bound to alienate someone. The people he repelled with his comments this time around wanted to watch Brave New World, but now feel compelled to boycott the film (or so they claim) because they can’t support an actor who hates the country they love.
Remaining ignorant of Mackie’s beliefs eliminates this problem. However, Mackie is human. Like any other human being, he has opinions and the right to express them.
Disliking Mackie’s opinions should not change your perception of his movies. The world is so divided right now that people act as though anyone with opposing views is the enemy.
I don’t want politics in my entertainment. But at the same time, I don’t think political talk is as big of a deal as so many moviegoers seem to think. We should all just grow up.
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