I still believe that people who complain about “politics in entertainment” don’t mind politics. They just mind politics they disagree with in entertainment. They don’t want neutrality. They want validation. A human need, to be sure, but not how the argument is framed.

I love a lot of 80s cinema, and people often cite that cinema as the glory days before “politics” and “wokeness.”

Sure, the 80s weren’t especially “woke” but they weren’t apolitical either. They were dusted in Reagan glitter so people that like that sheen don’t mind.

If Disney’s distancing from “Song of the South” bothers you, it bothers you because you want to enjoy the work without being asked to consider the history. You’re protecting nostalgia and the antebellum myth.

That’s a political point of view.

If Bender in THE BREAKFAST CLUB speaking in a “blaccent” saying “Ima get me a scholarsheeep” is just funny to you, and I say “look, I like the movie but that’s a needlessly ugly moment” I’m not injecting politics. I’m engaging what’s already there.

I still like the movie.

Maybe as a black kid actually ON a scholarship, when I saw that on cable — it kind of made me feel shitty. It made me care about Bender less because I’m like “oh, that’s what he thinks of me.”

Don’t cancel the movie, but it’s not a crime to say “that stuff has an effect.”

Went on a bit of a rant. Sorry. Morning coffee tweeting while I’m waking up.