The easiest way to identify political or social agendas in movies is to simply pay attention. When you hear a character refer to a political party, politician or social movement (global warming, homosexual marriage, immigration, etc.), just turn your brain back on.

An example can be found in the movie Julie and Julia. In the film, the main character Julie has skipped out of work. When busted, her boss scolds her and warns her that her behavior will not be tolerated. During his scolding her boss explains "Anyone else would fire you. A Republican, would fire you. I'm not a schmuck."

The line is completely obtuse and it was inserted to support other anti-Republican sentiments threaded through the movie. Even if you're a Democrat and don't mind hearing Republicans being bashed, this kind of insertion should give you pause. It is political propagandizing in a film presumptively about cooking and relationships.

Will hearing that Republicans will fire you cause the average viewer to hate Ronald Reagan? No. But the ocean is made of drops of water. It is another supporting moment in our culture which builds a stereotype - it provides direction on how the audience should think on a group of people.



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You Are What You See:
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