Hollywood is abandoning political films: what has changed in the Trump era.

Main conclusions

• Some critics believe that films vying for Oscars, such as One Battle After Another and After the Hunt, offer insufficient political commentary, reflecting growing expectations for clear and instructive conclusions.
• Seeking hot takes in films can be interesting for online debates, but it is not the best way to enjoy watching movies.
• While political films were once popular in Hollywood, there are fewer of them during the Trump era, as works that express political protest face risks.
• Right-wing commentators claim that any film featuring diverse characters or feminist plots is leftist propaganda — yet another example of how online discourse demands filmmakers take a stance in the culture war.

According to Vox: One Battle After Another may seem obvious. Paul Thomas Anderson's epic portrays revolutionaries of the past and present who are fighting against a heavily militarized regime of white supremacy, which seems to reflect reality in the United States during the film's theatrical release in late 2025. Characters rescue immigrants from detention centers, blow up the office of an anti-abortion politician, and engage in fierce conflicts with the police.

However, as the author notes, One Battle After Another is not a manifesto. The script, which he started working on two decades ago, was not intended as a response to a specific moment. The film is based on Thomas Pynchon's novel Vineland, a dark satire unfolding after Reagan's reelection. Anderson noted that the film reflects the eternal nature of fascism, but focuses more on the journey of its characters. He does not consider Trump an inspiration for the film.

“The biggest mistake I could make in such a story would be to put politics first,” Anderson said in the

Los Angeles Times

Nonetheless, the question of whether One Battle After Another is radical remains relevant online. This is just another example of the growing trend of audiences evaluating films from a political perspective, regardless of their content or the intentions of the directors. People expect clear and instructive political messages and then evaluate the work based on this criterion.