History Analysis / WhatDoYouMeanitsNotPolitical

Certain political theories and ideologies, such as various forms of Marxism, also adopt a perspective that ''everything'' is to some degree political, as the political informs and governs every aspect of our lives in some way, shape or form. According to this approach, nothing can be truly apolitical, as to be apolitical is to tacitly condone the status quo; even if you disagree with the status quo, by not speaking up against it you are essentially condoning it, since nothing's going to change.

The other thing is that popular mass media entertainment does not exist in a vacuum. It is inspired by fashions, currents, fads, tastes and all kinds of novelties. Much of this is ephemera, but some of these ephemera can and do have UnfortunateImplications. Advertising in the 50s and 60s, for example, as well as popular entertainment of that time is riddled with sexism, chauvinism, and racism. At the time, this was not much commented on, and did not receive a great deal of scrutiny. While the question of the influence it had in enforcing stereotypes or if a critical work of art can make a difference is a bigger can of worms than this page can handle, such media can't really claim to be innocent by any means. It was for this reason, that a lot of contemporary media, hastily in some cases, is judged politically for stereotypes, assumptions and UnfortunateImplications.

The other thing is that popular mass media entertainment does not exist in a vacuum. It is inspired by fashions, currents, fads, tastes and all kinds of novelties. Much of this is ephemera, but some of these ephemera can and do have [[UnfortunateImplications.]] Advertising in the 50s and 60s, for example, as well as popular entertainment of that time is riddled with sexism, chauvinism, and racism. At the time, this was not much commented on, and did not receive a great deal of scrutiny. While the question of the influence it had in enforcing stereotypes or if a critical work of art can make a difference is a bigger can of worms than this page can handle, such media can't really claim to be innocent by any means. It was for this reason, that a lot of contemporary media, hastily in some cases, is judged politically for stereotypes, assumptions and UnfortunateImplications.

The other thing is that popular mass media entertainment does not exist in a vacuum. It is inspired by fashions, currents, fads, tastes and all kinds of novelties. Much of this is ephemera, but some of these ephemera can and do have {{unfortunate implications.}} Advertising in the 50s and 60s, and popular entertainment of that time is riddled with sexism, chauvinism, and racism. At the time, this was not much commented on, and did not receive a great deal of scrutiny. While the question of the influence it had in enforcing stereotypes or if a critical work of art can make a difference is a bigger can of worms than this page can handle, such media can't really claim to be innocent by any means. It was for this reason, that a lot of contemporary media, hastily in some cases, is judged politically for stereotypes, assumptions and UnfortunateImplications.

One factor that leads to things being interpreted as political allegories is that writers read the same newspapers as the rest of us, and have opinions just like everyone else; just because a writer doesn't run for office (like Creator/NormanMailer and Creator/UptonSinclair did) doesn't mean he or she doesn't have political beliefs, and those beliefs often subtly (or [[AuthorTract not subtly]]) show up in their works. Another is that many politicians are buffoons, and many fictional politicians are portrayed as buffoons, and there's inevitably overlap in the buffoonery -- particularly if the author has a specific party's antics at the back of his or her mind.

Some countries also have got a tradition that intellectuals should largely discuss political issues of important historical events like UsefulNotes/WorldWar2 or contemporary events in fiction. Because of this, in these countries, authors of certain genres may also get the reputation of integrating political messages in their works no matter if they really did that or not.

The other thing is that popular mass media entertainment does not exist in a vacuum of society. It is inspired by fashions, currents, fads, tastes and all kinds of novelties. Much of this is ephemera but some of this ephemera can and do have unfortunate implications. Advertising in the 50s and 60s, and popular entertainment of that time is riddled with sexism, chauvinism and racism. At that time this was not much commented on, and did not receive a great deal of scrutiny. While the question of the influence it had in enforcing stereotypes or if a critical work of art can make a difference is a bigger can of worms than this page can handle, such media can't really claim to be innocent by any means. It was for this reason, that a lot of contemporary media, hastily in some cases, is judged politically for stereotypes, assumptions and UnfortunateImplications.

One factor that leads to things being interpreted as political allegories is that writers read the same newspapers as the rest of us, and have opinions just like everyone else; just because a writer doesn't run for office (like Creator/NormanMailer and Creator/UptonSinclair did) doesn't mean he or she doesn't have political beliefs, and those beliefs often subtly (or [[AuthorTract not subtly]]) in the work. Another is that many politicians are buffoons, and many fictional politicians are portrayed as buffoons, and there's inevitably overlap in the buffoonery -- particularly if the author has a specific pol's antics at the back of his or her mind.

One factor that leads to things being interpreted as political allegories is that writers read the same newspapers as the rest of us, and have opinions just like everyone else; just because a writer doesn't run for office (like Creator/NormanMailer and UptonSinclair did) doesn't mean he or she doesn't have political beliefs, and those beliefs often subtly (or [[AuthorTract not subtly]]) in the work. Another is that many politicians are buffoons, and many fictional politicians are portrayed as buffoons, and there's inevitably overlap in the buffoonery -- particularly if the author has a specific pol's antics at the back of his or her mind.

Some countries also have got a tradition that intellectuals should largely discuss political issues of important historical events like WorldWar2 or contemporary events in fiction. Because of this, in these countries, authors of certain genres may also get the reputation of integrating political messages in their works no matter if they really did that or not.

The other thing is that popular mass media entertainment does not exist in a vacuum of society. It is inspired by fashions, currents, fads, tastes and all kinds of novelties. Much of this is ephemera but some of this ephemera can and do have unfortunate implications. Advertising in the 50s and 60s, and popular entertainment of that time is riddled with sexism, chauvinism and racism. At that time this was not much commented on, and did not receive a great deal of scrutiny. While the question of the influence it had in enforcing stereotypes or if a critical work of art can make a difference is a bigger can of worms than this page can handle, such media can't really claim to be innocent by any means. It was for this reason, that a lot of contemporary media, hastily in some cases, is judged politically for stereotypes, assumptions and UnfortunateImplications.

Certain political theories and ideologies, such as various forms of Marxism, also adopt a perspective that everything ''is'' to some degree political, as the political informs and governs every aspect of our lives in some way, shape or form. According to this approach, nothing can be truly apolitical, as to be apolitical is to tacitly condone the status quo; even if you disagree with the status quo, by not speaking up against it you are essentially condoning it, since nothing's going to change.

The other thing is that popular mass media entertainment does not exist in a vacuum of society. It is inspired by fashions, currents, fads, tastes and all kinds of novelties. Much of this is ephemera but some of this ephemera can and do have unfortunate implications. Advertising in the 50s and 60s, and popular entertainment of that time is riddled with sexism, chauvinism and racism. At that time this was not much commented on, and did not receive a great deal of scrutiny. While the question of the influence it had in enforcing stereotypes or if a critical work of art can make a difference is a bigger can of worms than this page can handle, such media can't really claim to be innocent by any means. It was for this reason, that a lot of contemporary media, hastily in some cases, is judged politically for stereotypes, assumptions and UnfortunateImplications.

----

One factor that leads to things being interpreted as political allegories is that writers read the same newspapers as the rest of us, and have opinions just like everyone else; just because a writer doesn't run for office (like NormanMailer and UptonSinclair did) doesn't mean he or she doesn't have political beliefs, and those beliefs often subtly (or [[AuthorTract not subtly]]) in the work. Another is that many politicians are buffoons, and many fictional politicians are portrayed as buffoons, and there's inevitably overlap in the buffoonery -- particularly if the author has a specific pol's antics at the back of his or her mind.