In the advent of Biden’s win, what has cinema learnt from Trump’s presidency?

As people anxiously await Biden’s inauguration and Trump’s departure, the future of film is probably not on most people’s minds. Yet, cinema is at a crucial point in its 120-year history. People are changing how they watch content and public moviegoing might now be a thing of the past. Though cinema is a global artform, America’s filmic output has been the most prolific.

Simultaneously, American movies have been defined by their politics. Regardless of the film stock or actors starring in them, you can always tell when a movie is set just through its philosophy.  

The 1970s cinematic era was defined by urban decay and political corruption. The decade of ‘Taxi Driver’, ‘Network’, ‘Dog Day Afternoon’ etc. A distrust in institutions and politicians gripped the minds of Hollywood’s best filmmakers. New York now is depicted as the model American city. Back then, it was far sleazier and grimy than the tourist hotspot it is today.

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Even ‘Star Wars’ seemed to fit right at home in the Nixon years (when George Lucas first conceived the idea). Swap the counter-culture protestors and Black Panthers with Han Solo and Princess Leia and you have the rebel alliance. Swap Tie Fighters for “Hueys” and you have the Empire.

Reaganism also made a lasting impact of the 80s Hollywood establishment. Unlike Trump, this administration was welcomed with open arms by the studio executives.   Maybe it was Reagan’s own movie star persona. He was usually confined to playing heroic cowboys and soldiers and he kept up with that tough, persona, much to the derision of his critics. Whilst the Reagan administration suffered from heavy racial and LGBT inequality, it never seemed to address this. After the decline of “New Hollywood”, the big studios were determined that the American hero was still something to strive for. It was the time of macho men, though sleaze did creep its way into movies like ‘Wall Street’ that critiqued this exceptionalism. The 80s went back to that Golden Age era of the Hollywood ending. There was little dourness or ambiguousness. No 70s nihilism found here!

In Clinton’s era, things progressed even further. Though Clinton may have had a different face behind closed doors, many saw him as the laid back, sax slinging, sunglass wearing President that charmed the world stage, especially in his first term.   Even the huge onslaught of legal thrillers and dramas seemed to embody the legal whizz that Clinton liked to think he was.

Now, we come to Trump. Whilst Reagan and Clinton now suffer from unsurprisingly polarizing legacies, they were both (mostly) liked by the American electorate during their tenure (though voter turnout was far smaller than it is now). On the other hand, Trump has embodied polarization in its truest form.  For some, he represents the outsider that beat all odds to become the most powerful man on the planet. Trump and his supporters probably view him as a modern-day Rocky Balboa or Jefferson Smith (though the comparison between Donald and Jimmy Stewart is an abhorrent one).  On the other side, he was a figure of bigotry and racism. To them, he was Charles Foster Kane or Tommy from ‘Goodfellas’, the ultimate capitalist that took for himself, caring little about the country that elected him.

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Many speculated whether Hollywood would go back, to the macho era of Reaganism. Would Dwayne Johnson become our new Arnold Schwarzenegger? Instead, it seemed to push back against the Trump administration. Movies like ‘Green Book’ were rightly called dated pieces on racial issues, whilst directors like Spike Lee made fantastic comebacks with ‘BlackKlansman’ and ‘Da 5 Bloods’.

Even the Marvel films seemed to adopt the liberal and progressive agenda that would make Trump shudder. Captain America, perhaps the perfect example of American nationalism and flag waving, is far different from the patriotism from Trumpian patriotism. Trump is certainly not “America’s ass”, at least to Kevin Feige.

There was one big surprise that came with the Trump presidency. Whilst we got the biggest film of all time in the form of ‘Avengers Endgame’, it was a little film from South Korea by a successful, but not universally known director that may define this era better than anyone. ‘Parasite’ became the most talked about movie of the past four years. It was one that rattled Trump’s brain. Perhaps it is time to look away from America and look what the rest of the world has to offer. With China looking like its going to beat America in the box office game, things are starting to change.

In Sacha Baron Cohen’s comedy classic ‘Borat’, the titular protagonist goes to the USA as it is seen as a staple of democracy and liberty. By the end of Borat 2 (SPOILER ALERT), Kazakhstan has turned on America, with the infamous “Running of the Jew” becoming the “Running of the American”. Maybe Parasite’s win and Trump’s loss are indicative of this. Perhaps, we should set our cinematic vision away from America and look out over the horizons of the Atlantic and Pacific oceans.

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