I believe the media will deliver information about politics since media as a form of entertainment that was accepted by the masses from its beginning. Politicians will not let go of the media, because the content that media contained is readable and impressive to influence people accepting their political ideas. Of course, most directors or producers want to convey their interpretation of the world to the public, such as anti-war, anti-colonialism, anti-terrorism, or anti-bullying.
In that way, the audiences who believe it will empathize with the characters and stories. And they are willing to share their good experience to their friends in order to build a word-of-mouth advertising. But there is no doubt that the expression of opinions will be loved and hated by different people, and for those who simply enjoy stories, they don’t want too many political metaphors in film, animation or games. Also, I think it’s good to consider whether the producers are trying to convey political metaphors in their work before we praise or belittle it. This can also give us a better idea of what the author is trying to express.
For well-known films, I naturally thought of Batman series and its political ideas of gun control and anti-terrorism. In fact, Batman originally used gun to kill criminals in the comics. Then Batman’s creator changed his mind for many political reasons. It was the Saint Valentine’s Day Massacre of 1929 and the subsequent presidential assassination that lead the American people to think of gun legislation for safety. Writing about gun-toting vigilante killings when all guns are required to be registered is not in keeping with the policy. So, under the criticism of viewers, Batman has since adopted the no-kill and no-gun rule.
In addition to gun control in Batman, fighting terrorists at all costs is an important element in the latest Batman films. It is also influenced by USA Patriot Act, which allows the government to invade individuals’ privacy in order to fight terrorism. As shown in the film, Batman installed sonar detectors on every cell phones in Gotham to find Joker.
So it’s not hard to see that politics is everywhere in the media. Even the famous board game Monopoly was originally created to educate the masses about the disadvantages of monopoly. And I think the content creator himself will create the work with his own subjective bias. So, any piece of art that tends to tell a story will partly have sort of political element in it.
Reference:
- NerdSync, 2016. Why BATMAN Doesn’t Use Guns (Except When He Does) || Comic Misconceptions || NerdSync. [online video]. Available from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s6U7xSgYR30 [Accessed 23 Oct 2021].
- United States Department of Justice, 2001. The USA PATRIOT Act: Preserving Life and Liberty. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Dept. Available from: https://www.justice.gov/archive/ll/highlights.htm [Accessed 23 Oct 2021].
- LaFrance, Adrienne, 2016. How ‘Gun Control’ Became a Taboo Phrase. [online] Available from: https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2016/01/word-choice-and-gun-culture/423108/ [Accessed 23 Oct 2021].