Kowtowing to Donald Trump’s political machinations by censoring artists is not the way to go and commentators should condemn it
In a sign that US cinema is going through a bit of a rough patch right now, the cancelled release of Universal Pictures’ The Hunt following a tweet by
Donald Trump has met with little uproar.
It seems Universal had already been going through something of a nightmare to market the premise of the film, which sees “elite liberals” hunting “deplorables” with guns. Following the shootings in Dayton and El Paso, the studio came under further pressure, due to the movie’s subject matter. After the president called the film “racist” (sight unseen, of course), the studio promptly nixed it altogether, sayingthat “after thoughtful consideration, the studio has decided to cancel our plans to release the film. We stand by our film-makers and will continue to distribute films in partnership with bold and visionary creators, like those associated with this satirical social thriller, but we understand that now is not the right time to release this film.”