What Makes a Film Political?

If you’re wondering what makes a film political, perhaps you’ve never watched a movie before?  Films can take on many meanings, and may deliver a host of underlying messages, but in almost all cases, no matter what the film is that you’re watching, it’s political in some way. So what makes a film political you ask?

Films are politically driven. The aesthetics, economics, and underlying values of many films are clearly political in nature. For example, you might wonder how that can be.

But think of any film you’ve recently watched and the underlying values, the economics, the societal norms, and the “sides” that are showcased. Films are political in nature by default.

What Makes a Film Political?

Politics play a key role in the story line for films of all types. Many Hollywood films are political in their assumptions and in their characters. For example, a film might have characters that are political.

In a sense that they show the typical status quo of marriage, being parents, or heterosexuality. Films are political when they showcase societal norms such as holding a 9-5 job or representing power struggles that are common to society.

Political films portray various society conditions and partisan perspectives. You might not even realize some of the political elements of a film, even children’s films are political. 

Consider This

For example, many children’s films have political messages of anti-gun policies or other conservative groups. Consider Finding Nemo, the message is that people are bad and that humans hold disinterest in the well-being of animals.

Ice Age, the Meltdown is also political in nature representing global warming and the horrors of the industrial revolution.

Identifying Politics in Film

What makes a film political? The underlying politically driven concepts that are produced in the film. For example, a film might deliver the message of conforming to society, or it may target institution or ideological bias.

All of these concepts are politically driven. So how can you identify the political underlying of a film? 

Look for political messages in the films that you watch. They might be hidden, but they’ll be there! For example, the message might be of opposition, war, or the aftermath of societal impact.

In Summary

Identifying political elements in a film begins with taking a look at the ideologies of the film. Almost all films will have ideologies either implicit or explicit in nature. Many of these are politically driven even if you don’t think that they are. 

So, what is it that makes cinema so politically driven? People are naturally drawn to stories that have the underlying political values and beliefs that apply to their society. Thus societal norms, and politics, are bound to play out in everyday filmmaking.