W post. What are some shows or films that talk about capitalism without doing capitalist realism? I can think of a couple movies that are shamelessly anticolonialist like RRR and Parasite (with the interpretation that it's about the Korean war), but all this media about capitalism tends to do what you described where they talk about capitalism's failures but ultimately don't say anything about how to overcome it, or even why it came about in the first place.

[–] ComradeMonotreme@hexbear.net 14 points 4 days ago* (last edited 4 days ago) (2 children)

I’m a Virgo by boots Riley. One character has a super power of psychic theatre where they explain Marxism to other characters and the watcher,

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lpagmvYZKRc

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PUq-bk-x6tw

[–] FunkyStuff@hexbear.net 11 points 4 days ago

That is a great show. Wish it was possible for it to get more than just those 7 episodes, but as long as Boots keeps making stuff I'm sure it'll just continue to get better and better.

[–] HexReplyBot@hexbear.net 1 points 4 days ago* (last edited 4 days ago)

I found YouTube links in your comment. Here are links to the same videos on alternative frontends that protect your privacy:

Link 1:

Link 2:

[–] piggy@hexbear.net 12 points 4 days ago* (last edited 4 days ago)

You're basically asking for solidarity movies: They Live is a classic one. Sorry to Bother You. Hackers. Planet of the Apes Trilogy (the 2010's version). O Brother Where Art Thou. Ip Man 1. Stalker.

I think just to clarify. Capitalist realism doesn't necessarily doom these shows to being bad. The thing that dooms these shows is the combination of capitalist realism and the need to appeal to the broadest possible audiences in a simplistic way. You can have a show trapped in capitalist realism and still have a good show. Squid Game Season 1 (I'm avoiding Season 2 it's irrelevant, there's nothing more they can say) was perfect in that sense. It was a great critique of capitalism where victory is hollow. Your characters in the story can get crushed by the system! It's a real thing that happens, it has emotional weight and it's a human understanding of the problem. Writers rooms avoid this shit because Americans love treats not art, they simply want their treats to pretend to treat them like adults who can handle art. So you get these "high concept" things that run into a brick wall fairly quickly.

For example: The Good Place could have explored Kiirkegaardian ethics where Kiirkegaard says that humans in aggregate are responsible for the systems under which they live, and they can be punished by God for it in aggregate. The Good Place character arcs could have explored that within how to live with being in a position where you're constantly being unethical in a way you have no real choice in, and how the characters deal with it.