Anti-Intellectualism

There has been a big anti-intellectual movement recently, particularly in movie watching. Anti-intellectualism is the idea that people can read too much into a work and miss the obvious point of a piece of media. It is the idea of over-reading a text and using words that no one really knows or understands.

             There are some issues with how anti-intellectualism is used and what ideas it perpetuates in the audience of media we have in America. Anti-intellectualism has its roots in anti-SJW groups in the 2010s, which criticized the creation of media (usually video games or film) with non-cis white male narratives and conflicted with standard storytelling. Anti-intellectualism now criticizes people who claim that media has deeper meanings that question their worldviews. This phenomenon can be seen with two recent films. Across the Spider-verse and Godzilla Minus One. Before the release of the second movie in the Spider-verse trilogy, there was an uproar on the conservative people about the depiction of a trans flag in Gwen Stancy’s room in one of the trailers. This even reached the notice of Ben Shapiro. Most of them said that the movie was going to be horrible and shove Wokeness down their throats and that they would hate it. When the movie was released, and it was great, these people who were so against the film backpeddled and claimed that the movie had no wokeness attached to it and that anyone finding these deeper meanings in the file was reading too much into it and fabricating ideas in the film. Actions like these show how Anti-intellectualism is a reaction to defang progressive media to claim it as their own.

             With Godzilla Minus One, the reaction is less obvious. Godzilla Minus One is an incredible film that is about the people’s power to combat the sacrificial nature of their past nation. This is such a great film because it actively fights against Asian stereotypes held by Western people about East Asian people. It also depicts a side of Japan that is not often times seen in American Media. These are big themes and ideas that benefit the viewer by interacting with them. However, Anti-intellectual people will tell you it is just another Godzilla film and will only take the surface-level details with them. This is a failure to be a part of the film. Criticizing, complementing, and discussing the film on higher levels helps the film live on and also can help construct a better film by sharing your deeper ideas with others. When people share these higher-level ideas and criticisms of work, it makes those making these pieces of media think harder and more carefully about what they do and, in doing so, improve their work. Interaction between the intellectual audience and the creator will always improve the work and create a better love for it.

             Anti-intellectualism has an adverse effect on becoming creatives. When people spread the idea that things are not as deep as others claim and the importance of a piece is stripped from it, then those who were inspired to do work like it will be discouraged. They will begin to think that their wishes and dreams about making such things will be unimportant and not additive to the human experience. That is not true. The work of creatives is just as important as any other in the proportion of humanity. What you make and put out into the world changes it and has an effect on people, not only those watching it passively but also those who will be inspired to do better.

             Thank you for reading this week. I am going to start also releasing some of my fiction work on this site. Please stay tuned for next week's entries.