One cannot judge a film only by its trailer, though plenty of people do every day all around the world. Just look at the outrage over the upcoming cinematic adaptation of Cats (2019). Who knew a feline Jennifer Hudson warbling a famous Broadway tune could cause such enragement? Enragement has become almost a default setting for so many of us these days, which such atrocities as two mass shootings occurring within days of each other being just two of the likely culprits behind such unbridled unrest. Who fans these fires and who puts them out? This is not an easy question as it more than likely has no singular answer. People who often believe they are defusing a situation are often actually only exacerbating its results and those who wish to make it worse even more often succeed in their endeavors as well.
The Hunt (2019) is a film from the producers of Get Out (2017) and the Insidious franchise at Blumhouse Productions. In the film, several strangers awaken in a clearing on a lavished estate and soon discover that they have been kidnapped by psychotic wealthy socialites who are paying good money to hunt them like animals. The film is obviously inspired by the beloved American short story "The Most Dangerous Game" by Richard Connell in which a big game hunter is trapped on an island with a crazed Russian man who intends to hunt and kill him for the sheer pleasure of it. I had not heard of this film before today after I saw it passively referenced in one of the President's tweets. Apparently, it has garnered some serious outrage from many conservatives over its apparent depiction of liberal elites senselessly murdering those from Middle America for fun. Many are calling for it to be pulled from its expected late-September release date. They are arguing that this is not an appropriate time for such a violent film to be released, following two horrible mass shooting in El Paso, Texas and Dayton, Ohio, respectably. The film's marketing team has already pulled several ads off of television out of respect for the victims of the shooting and their loved ones. However, this is not the only reason people are upset. Many people, including the President of the United States, believe that the film is specifically targeting Trump Supporters as its intended demographic in terms of its body count. Now, this is an argument we've been having in this country for a very long time, violence in media, and it is one we will likely never completely solve. What impact does violence in cinema have on us as a larger society? I'm not sure about the answer to this. As long as humans have existed there has been violence and excuses have been made to precipitate it. What is it about this film than, at this particular time in history that has people so riled up? Are these conservatives justified in their anger? I give you the age-old diplomatic answer:
Yes AND No.
Of course, no one wants to see themselves vilified on screen in front of thousands, potentially millions of people across the country, or even the world. Unequivocally it is not permissible to advocate for the deliberate harm of any particular group of people, whether they are coupled together by race, religion or even political affiliation. On this subject, I believe many of us on both sides can agree.
The problem is, from my perspective, after watching the film's trailer, that does not seem to be what is going on here.
Watch the trailer for yourself and consider what is laid out for audiences. In the trailer it is made abundantly clear that the protagonist of the film is those that are being hunted, the Middle America citizens who are just trying to live their lives in peace. They are kidnapped and transported to an unknown place and face a terrifying and uncertain future. Gee, I would hate that to happen to me, especially in the so-called "Land of the Free." Isn't it a shame that we are currently inflicting such similar pains onto immigrants, including small children? Of course, we aren't hunting them for sport. Still, we do treat their lives with a degree of carelessness that makes one question the moral high ground a society really has to argue what is and what is not appropriate for entertainment consumption. We watch the news and hardly blink, and yet some of us watch fictional events in the form of a film trailer and go on a Twitter tirade.
Anyways, the point is that immediately the trailer establishes the "heroes" of the narrative to be the oppressed, not the oppressors. I've been reading online that the protagonists in the film are referred to as "Deplorables" a reference to a statement Hilary Clinton made on the campaign trail regarding those who applaud and accept Trump's perverse ideology. I've watched the trailer three times, I have not heard this reference explicitly in the dialogue, but that does not necessarily mean that it is not there. If it is, in fact, true, I believe this to be in extremely poor taste on the parts of the filmmakers. It is this kind of overt gaslighting that divides us further as a nation rather than unites us to have a useful and substantive discussion on anything. A film can be political, but not for the sake of a pointless jab that only gives the opposition more leverage in the form of pity points. I'd like to think those in the industry are better than that, but I'm sure that some are not. Whatever the main characters are being called, the film's central plot seems to involve them getting revenge on their aggressors and doing so in a violent fashion. The "elite" are clearly being punished and criticized in this trailer for their actions, not praised or sanctified. Though it is difficult to tell for sure as the character development available in the trailer is minimal on both sides of the fight. I doubt the film will end without the victims getting some justice, much like the conclusion of the original short story itself, sorry for the 50+ year old spoiler.
So what is my primary issue with the outpouring of visceral outrage thrown towards this film, which has not even been released yet? Those who claim that the film is divisive to people with unpopular political views and insulting to survivors of recent violent shootings may seem admirable in their righteousness until you examine their anger under a closer lens. They don't seem to be upset that the film perpetuates violence, only that it points this violence towards them. They fear for their safety, for their place in the world being disturbed and displaced. They don't want to be the protagonist, even if that means being the "good guy." Good guys hold little power at least not until the end of a film, and they do not intend to wait that long to cash-in on their privileged existence. They want the cozy security of being the antagonists right now. If the roles were reversed there would still be an uproar from the right, but this would merely be a mask of discontent. At the end of the day as long as they are being perceived as powerful, who cares if the depiction is less than flattering. It's not like they are going to pay money to see it anyways, so they say. If conservatives had a serious issue with cinema endorsing violence against mass populations, where was this onslaught of outrage when The Purge franchise began? If I had to guess the reason certain conservatives are complaining about this film is that it places them in the seat of the oppressed and not the oppressor. When The Purge films depict the continuous torture and degradation of countless black, Hispanic and lower economic class people there was no Fox News special dedicated to deriding the filmmakers.
I wonder why?
The message at the end of the day isn't really "can't we all just get along" its "can't we all just stick to the status quo."
That all being said, this film's trailer undersold and underwhelmed me. It seems like a tawdry survival flick with two-dimensional heroes and villains that will likely have little to no depth to their overall character arcs. It will likely have a predominate focus on its action and underutilize the thematic material that is present within its intriguing, scandalous premise. The Hunt may be a blip on the screen, but the bitterness in opposition to its release will remain palpable for years to come. While we all are arguing about what should and should not be put on the big screen another hateful soul is plotting, another firearm is being purchased, and another news crew is on the way to cover the horrifying scene. Blaming the blood on screen is not going to cease the bloodshed in reality, but that's not the conversation everyone wants to have yet, because it's so much easier not to.
Update:
Since beginning to work on this blog post, it has been announced that The Hunt has been pulled from Universal Pictures release slate. The studio is citing the recent mass shootings as their reason behind opting not to release the film at this current tumultuous time. While their respect for those grieving is admirable, one can't help but be slightly disturbed at the notion that is Big Brother Wannabe President has the standing clout to complain a film off of the box-office market. Had there been no uproar, the film likely would have been released to mild reviews and ho-hum audience numbers. Now it will live in infamy, regardless of its artistic merits and whether or not it ever even graces a movie screen.
