There are a lot of things we have every right to be scared of in a second term of Donald Trump as president. Racism, xenophobia, reproductive injustice for people with uteruses, facism, and so much more. In regards to entertainment media, another thing I fear, personally, is another era of movies and television that make viewers have to face narratives about Nazis or “recovering” Nazis.
I know that between 2016 and 2020 did involve a lot of celebrities who gained more opportunities for saying things like “Screw Donald Trump.” Hasan Minhaj’s Patriot Act had a successful six seasons by referencing him without saying his name. However, the majority of the demographic that may be a left-leaning media industry does not mirror the demographic outside of it. That’s why the election ruined and helped the careers of celebrities such as Roseanne Barr. In order to appease the majority of a public that allowed a second Trump presidency to happen back in 2016, it unfortunately made sense that led to some films and TV shows being made specifically for that public.
Let’s look back at a couple of films released in 2018 as examples.
Burden is based on a true story about a Black pastor (Forrest Whitaker) who is moved to protect a former KKK member (Garrett Hedlund) and his family. After the opening of the white nationalist owned Redneck Shop, the white family leaves for a better life, which causes the Klan to go after them. This film is an example of how white viewers may want to feel vindicated for their responsibility in oppression when they see how a white person can absolve themselves of their sins, especially if a Black person is willing to forgive them and help them. It also doesn’t help that this film was written and directed by white filmmaker, Andrew Heckler.
Where Hands Touch is not based on a true story. It is about a biracial sixteen year old (Amandla Stenberg) in Nazi Germany who falls in love with a Hitler Youth (George MacKay). In the end, for wanting to escape with his now pregnant love, the Hitler Youth is murdered by his father. Although I can appreciate that the biracial character is able to escape with her family, I don’t like how white viewers are able to romanticize a white savior type of ending by a young person who once enabled a Nazi regime.
Another thing worth noting is that this film is written and directed by a Black woman, Amma Asante, who directed the 2013 film Belle, which also centered a biracial woman having to face a predominantly white world in a historical time period. Her only directing credits after that were shows such as The Handmaid’s Tale and Miss America, content attempting to highlight the politics in conversation with a Trump era. This is telling about the type of projects studios were more willing to accept from Black creators at the time.
Speaking of television, 2020’s season two of The Boys has viewers viewing the character arc of an actual Nazi, not someone forced into it or choosing to leave it.
Season 2 of The Boys focused on the actions of the character Stromfront (Aya Cash), a member of the publicized team of superheroes, the Seven. As a character who lived through many timelines, she was a member of the Nazi party, and used those beliefs to perpetuate the plot of wiping out marginalized people and people without superpowers using the support of the leader of the Seven, Homelander (Antony Starr). Homelander temporarily empathized with her because of their sexual affair influenced by the kink of others’ suffering along with the belief of wanting to be recognized for being “special” for having powers. If Homelander is capable of being willing to see Stormfront’s problematic motives, viewers can too.
Even though all of these examples show how nervous I am for what entertainment media will bring between now and 2028, I’m actually excited about certain themes of content that will come too.
The 2016 election is responsible for great content too. Jason Sudeikis even said how important it was that Ted Lasso centered joy after being surrounded by cynicism because of the election. So even though most of these examples show how nervous I am for what entertainment media will bring between now and 2028, I’m actually excited about certain themes of content that will come too.
Since Wicked Part 1 was already super successful in 2024 for being a story about a phony wizard’s regime terrified of Black woman’s power, Wicked Part 2 will only continue that dialogue.
I’m also excited for content that I know will include more QTBIPOC filmmakers, cast actors who are vocal about the desire for a free Palestine, include more narratives that actively critique law enforcement, and support reproductive rights of people with uteruses.
When it comes to writers like myself who write about oppression, the common misconception we receive is that we like to talk about it so much. We actually want to talk about content that fills us with joy and the content that is possible to make to include more people in that joy. We have every right to be cynical in another Trump presidency, but we also have every right to be hopeful too.
