It's Just Entertainment, Why are You Making It about Politics?

Most of society, who has the privilege to do so, thinks that novels, movies, and television shows are purely for entertainment. They are the folks also under the belief writers, actors, and other people in the arts don't have "real jobs."

I write full time. It is a real job. I don't get paid until the product is finished, but I have the privilege of a situation where I don't have to write to eat. I do plenty of other things to safeguard that. But, that is not the point of this blog entry.

Politics or social issues make their way into the arts because that is how creative types process the world around them. You may or may not agree with their stances, but like many things in life, it's not about you.

I was recently lurking in a meme group for the fandom of What We Do in the Shadows. Someone in a comment thread went on about how this was a shitpost group and why are people making it political?

Um...Taika Waititi is one of the creators of What We Do in the Shadows. ALL of his work is political and about social issues. Hunt for the Wilderpeople is about the broken foster system in New Zealand (and quite frankly, the world). It exploits gun happy nuts while showing what responsible gun owners use their weapons for--hunting and living off the land. He even took jabs at George Bush Jr and "No Child Left Behind." It was all done with humor and great story telling so it didn't feel preachy, but believe me. The message was there.

JoJo Rabbit is a darkly funny satire about hate. It shows that even the Nazis were complex and human, and a product of their time, but many were truly awful. Through the lens of a child unlearning hate, he teaches hate and prejudices can be unlearned.

Even What We Do in the Shadows touches on feminism, toxic masculinity, internet trolls, and other social issues.

Entertainment isn't just stories without a purpose, they're about humans and their issues whether they're regular people or ancient vampires living in modern Staten Island...like regular people.