Posted on: Friday, July 23, 2004

Box office success is getting political

By Cary Darling
Knight Ridder News Service

Eight summers ago, the White House was best known on the big screen for being blown up by angry space invaders in "Independence Day."

This season, the White House has a different starring role. It's the focal point or backdrop for a variety of movies — from a big-budget thriller to small-scale documentaries — as politics from the left and the right make a play for the multiplexes.

Their chances of striking mainstream appeal seem greater in the wake of the breakout success of Michael Moore's "Fahrenheit 9/11," which is closing in on $100 million at the box office. In the coming weeks and months, viewers can expect more politics at the theater: the remake of the 1962 classic "The Manchurian Candidate," updated to the world of post-9/11 power politics, opening July 30; "The Hunting of the President," a documentary suggesting a right-wing conspiracy against former President Bill Clinton; and the documentary "Michael Moore Hates America."

Also on tap this year is "Silver City," director John Sayles' tale of a corrupt candidate for governor. Even the new film by "South Park" creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone, "Team America: World Police," due this fall, is said to have a political edge.

The small screen isn't being left out. On Aug. 1, Showtime introduces "American Candidate," a reality series in which viewers will pick a winner from 10 candidates for the presidency, and that person will mount a campaign. MTV reports that 23 million viewers have watched its "Choose or Lose" political shows this year, its largest audience for this programming, which it airs every four years.

No one is more surprised by the public's increasing appetite for political entertainment than Paul Dergarabedian, president of Exhibitor Relations, a company that tracks box office receipts.

"It used to be that politically themed films appealed to older audiences, and they weren't frequent moviegoers, so (these films) were not box-office draws," he said.

But because of the success of "The Passion of the Christ" and "Fahrenheit 9/11," Hollywood is re-evaluating how it views both religion and politics. "There's been a cultural and paradigm shift in the perception of these movies by Hollywood and the audiences," Dergarabedian said.

Harry Thomason, co-director of "The Hunting of the President" and a well-known liberal activist, agrees.

"It constitutes a sea change in the taste of the audience," he said. "On the one hand, you have to hand it to the big studios for helping change it because they keep making so many bad movies."

Even author Christopher Hitchens, a critic of Michael Moore, is enjoying the effect of "Fahrenheit 9/11." "To that extent, I'm glad Moore made his film," he said. "By all means, let's bring it on."

Why American audiences are spicing up their cinematic diet with politics and policy is no mystery: "Most of the documentaries are motivated by the war in Iraq and the competitive, high-stakes election," said Thomas Mann, a senior fellow at the liberal Brookings Institution.

"It's a very frightening world, and there's a great deal at stake in the coming elections, whatever your political proclivities," said Barbara Grossman, chairwoman of the drama and dance department at Tufts University, who has studied the intersection of arts and politics.

"Post-9/11, there's been a shift in the perception of politics and how it affects young people," said Jaime Uzeta, MTV's senior director of strategic partnerships and public affairs. "It's beyond 9/11, especially with the war in Iraq, the jobs, the economy. All of these things are conspiring to deliver the message that politics is critical."

Yet opinions are mixed on how deep this newfound politicism runs. By November, viewers may have had their fill, said Brian Doherty, a senior editor at the libertarian-leaning "Reason" magazine. "Americans are a very apolitical people," he said. "That's something that's easy to forget if you're a big media watcher."

Mann added that "While there is an intense, highly motivated audience for political films, it remains relatively modest in size, compared with that for such summer blockbusters as 'Spider-Man 2.'"