Would you shoot someone if you knew they were a racist? Do animal poachers deserve to die? Here’s what to watch in honour of last month’s Social Justice Day, if you want to imagine a world where bad things actually happen to bad people.
Back on February 20, we saw Social Justice 2022, and the urge to submit to my inner humanitarian and write a soul-wrenching article advocating for world peace and equality nearly took over.
Alas, it didn’t seem appropriate in the current climate to write about social justice in a way some may perceive as a tedious act of virtue signalling.
By current climate, I mean when Tinder Swindler and Inventing Anna are more popular work topics than what’s happening in Ukraine.
Every day, the news reminds us that the cost of living is rising exponentially. But Molly Mae tells us ‘we all have the same 24 hours in a day’ and Kirsty Allsopp cancels our Netflix subscription and suddenly that £6.56* an-hour job has bought us a £274,712** home.
There are plenty of articles about the Best Social Justice Movies that include political thrillers such as V for Vendetta or drama miniseries When They See Us, that are equally enlightening as they are brilliant.
Nevertheless, tragedy has been so tangible for most of us after enduring a pandemic. I felt it’s more fitting to recommend a film that’s been described by Donald Trump of all people as intending ‘to inflame and cause chaos’.
Because how could that not be brilliant?
That’s why my top recommendation for this year’s Social Justice Day was satirical horror The Hunt. Released in 2020 the film, directed by Craig Zobel, redefines the term “Social Justice Warrior”.
Wealthy elites create an arena to cull enemies of the cause or “deplorables” as they’re referred too. Crystal Creasey, played by Betty Gilpin, doesn’t care why they’re being hunted, only who’s in charge, and how she can get to them. Unlike similar narratives, such as Hunger Games, or Squid Game, ‘ the cause’ is a pretty vague concept here.
Entertainment? No. Money? No. Social Justice? Yes, kind of.
Excuse me for sounding like an insufferable millennial and saying many things that are wrong with society are still very much taboo. Without context, and living in the UK, it’s difficult to see why this film had a storyline so inflammatory it was criticised by the then-President of the United States.
The 2019 shootings in Dayton, Ohio, and El Paso, Texas inevitably sparked uproar, and shone a spotlight on the media’s role in fetishising and glorifying violence. This postponed the release of “The most dangerous game” adaptation until the following spring, which was originally meant to premiere in September 2019.
Debates surrounding the right to bear arms and gun control meant a film about weapon-wielding elites airlifting ‘normals’ to Eastern Europe for a game of gore didn’t sit well with politicians in favour of the second amendment rights.
*National minimum wage for 18-20 year olds in the UK [correct February 2020]
**Average House price in the UK [Correct December 2021]