Senate Has Cancel Culture Gone Too Far?

Right wingers loving Brazil is unexpected to say the least.

Btw I love how I nailed M&C characterization without ever reading that article.

 

Right wingers loving Brazil now is quite expected, though

 

It's a bizarre list, to be sure.
And I should've made it clear, this wasn't a poll of readers, or whatever. Each one was chosen by a conservative "luminary" - Team America by the founder of Brietbart, for instance.

 

The entire list is quite expected, with some of them showing how little conservatives understand art.

 

Elaborate please? What does "understand art" mean? Exactly? Isnt it more interpreted? Do left-wingers "get" art more? Is that it?

 

What, just because it was a savage commentary on the Thatcher administration, or because it was a perfect description of the Bush administration's endless "War on Terror"?

 

CS Lewis wrote several books on Christian apologetics, and has commented extensively on how the entire Narnia series was supposed to be an extended metaphor for his faith. The book/film you are mentioning in particular was meant to parallel the book of Revelation, and those points of similarity become pretty obvious to those who have read it.

 

It’s more that generally speaking, because of what they do, artists aren’t typically conservative people, and therefore art isn’t very conservative when it’s created. I’ve noticed a few trends when it comes to conservatives and art:

a) it’s some that they have nostalgia for, and now try to justify it as being conservative later in life (there are a lot of Star Trek and Star Wars fans like this).

b) they’ll take something that’s generically ‘old fashioned’ and say it’s conservative, when really it’s pretty apolitical (people do this with The Lord of the Rings).

c) they’ll just miss the point of the art (Starship Troopers and Star Trek come to mind).

 

I mean, the inclusion of the demon looking things from the Indian subcontinent riding their elephants was pretty racist, so fair to call LOTR part of the conservative tradition.

 

I was kidding. I've read the series, and other fiction and non-fiction of his. It was more of a joke on Lewis' lack of subtlety.
My confusion about the conservative writer talking rapturously about the "anti-utopian" message is genuine, however.

 

You mean a guy born in the Victorian era was slightly insensitive, even if it wasn’t his intention to be. That’d make most art before 1990 conservative.

 

Yeah The Chronicles of Narnia actually ARE metaphors for Christianity. Although Conservatives don't own Christianity.

 

Well..... OK I guess. Im a huge star wars & Trek fan but dont find either overly Liberal or Conservative. The former is a fantasy saga set in space. The latter does touch on some political themes & situations but it never came to mind for me to matter. They just entertain and the ride I take with the characters is what keeps me coming back.

I believe there is a valid point to be made that some old fashioned concepts are more conservative in nature. Thats OK. Doesnt mean they all are though.

Art is 100% subjective and missing the point is really a fancy way of saying that it didnt resonate with you. Its not understanding, IMO. Its interpreting, being touched by it, etc. Just because art doesnt do those things for someone doesnt mean there is anything wrong with them. Perhaps some people werent moved by Starship Troopers or Trek?

 

I guess it can be open to interpretations but I'd personally argue that Star Trek is blatantly left wing and the creator doesn't even try to hide it.

 

(and I believe to remember that Lucas in an interview said something in the line of "Bush son presidency inspired some elements of the prequels", but I'd like to be double-checked on this)

 

If we're going to be serious about it, I think the real deciding point is an unknowable one. We're all insensitive sometimes. The real test is how we choose to respond when someone points that out.

 

the first two were filmed before Bush 43 was in office. He made a comment later comparing Anakin to Bush and the Emperor to Cheney turning him to the dark side

 

Every one of us will be conservative by the standards of 2121's youth.

 

The "democracy dies to thunderous applause" was supposed to be a parallel of the War on Terror or something, as I recall him laying out in some interview.

Vivec: Eh, maybe? But I don't really care. "Hey all beings native to an entire subcontinent are monstrous non-human things sworn to evil" is a bit more flatly wrong than any Twitter controversy has ever been.

 

We've mentioned this before, but Star Trek's Federation is a left wing, multicultural utopia. Earth is ruled by one world government. Starfleet HQ is in San Francisco. The President of the Federation is seated in Paris. Money doesn't exist. Every basic need, and much more, is completely free with no strings attached. There is no desire to accumulate wealth. Oh, and humans are predominantly atheists. Starfleet doesn't even call itself a military, they prefer to think of themselves as explorers.

It couldn't be any more blatant. Choosing SF and Paris as major cities seem like particular middle fingers to American reactionaries.

 

Yeah, I had in mind something like that.

 

Can you imagine watching The Incredibles and your main takeaway is how much it owned the libs about the whole "everybody is special" idea?

 

Star Trek is explicitly left wing. That’s not even debatable.

Star Wars is more apolitical, but Lucas’ intention is clearly of the liberal variety (I mean, the villains in TPM are literally named after two Republicans).

That’s not to say conservatives can’t enjoy these things. I think people should just be honest about what the authors of these works meant to say.

No there is a certain point where an interpretation of art does miss the point. For instance not understanding the satirical nature of Starship Troopers, or thinking that Star Trek is not left wing is absolutely missing the point.

I mean definitely, but I don’t think Tolkien’s more insensitive moments classifies his work as ‘conservative.’ It’s as apolitical for a Western audience as it can get I think (because it’s basically just a fun fantasy based upon the myths of Western Europe, with some Near Eastern concepts thrown in).

 

I get the general point you're making and I agree with it, but to be pedantic, the Easterlings and Haradrim are human. Evil humans, but still human.