The cultural dearth of tact or dignity in the American film industry truly began to simmer in 1988 when President Ronald Reagan vetoed Bill H.R. 3966, known as the “Children’s Television Act.” This piece of legislature would have limited advertising on children’s television networks to 10.5 to 12 minutes per hour.

Ever the staunch defender of privatization and the first amendment, Reagan rejected the bill on the basis that it would allow the federal government to promote certain kinds of advertising over others.

“While I applaud efforts to increase the amount and quality of children’s television programming, the Constitution simply does not empower the Federal Government to oversee the programming decisions of broadcasters in the manner prescribed by this bill,” Reagan said in his official disapproval of the bill.

Take us to the modern day and we see the direct results of that policy: mass marketing campaigns driven by children’s characters like Optimus Prime, Captain America and Sonic the Hedgehog. Many of these icons are decades old, carried over from the days of yore by an audience that has grown with them and continues to watch new interpretations of the characters within narratives and as mascots for brands. The term “advertainment” has been coined in recent years as an effort from production companies to merge the two worlds.

Looking at the 2024 box office confirms that this is what people want. The top ten domestic box office winners for the year is host to nine direct sequels and one adaptation of a musical which itself is an adaptation of a film which is itself an adaptation of one of the most famous children’s novels of all time. Not coincidentally, “Wicked” was also the subject of one of the largest marketing campaigns in recent memory, at least since “Barbie,” itself a toy brand aimed at young girls.

Reagan’s doctrine on deregulation isn’t the only thing that’s carried over from his administration. In the wake of President Donald Trump’s reelection, there’s been a concerted effort by major Hollywood players to bend to the former entertainment tycoon’s conservative vision for the industry.

The Motion Picture Association, which represents seven major Hollywood studios including Disney, Netflix, Universal and others, issued a statement in which they were excited to work with Trump on “a wide range of important issues.”

Tech magnates Tim Cook and Jeff Bezos, the CEOs of Apple and Amazon respectively, were present at Trump’s inauguration, with Cook himself donating $1 million to the event. Both companies have a major stake in the entertainment industry, investing billions of dollars into their own streaming services each year.

“Major studios are terrified of this new administration,” said J.D. Connor, associate professor of cinematic arts at the University of Southern California. “Large players are looking at the landscape and seeing that this is probably the most auspicious time for them to do significant deals and consolidations that they’ve had in a while. The flip side of that is that they won’t be allowed to do them if Trump doesn’t like them.”

Trump’s push against diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) initiatives has manifested in a number of major studios downsizing their departments focused on equitable hiring practices.

Disney recently pulled a storyline from their series “Win or Lose” which centered around a trans character out of concern that “parents would prefer to discuss certain subjects with their children on their own terms and timeline.”

Netflix’s awards campaign strategy for “Emilia Perez,” a film focusing on a trans woman undergoing her transition in Mexico, was not to focus on the trans angle of the film when giving speeches at press events.

“All these large companies are looking around, wanting to make significant deals. They are willing to trade their moral spines to do so,” Connor said.

Tommy O’Haver, director of films such as “Ella Enchanted” and the queer Sundance hit “Billy’s Hollywood Screen Kiss,” isn’t particularly worried.

“I lived through the 80s. Reagan was in office for eight years,” O’Haver said. “I think that when the Republicans are in power, it tends to make the art better in a way, because there’s something to fight for. Some of the best art comes through times of chaos.”

Despite the major blockbusters being geared towards children, there is an effort by major studios to invest in original entertainment for adults in 2025. Films from directors Bong-Joon Ho (“Parasite”), Ryan Coogler (“Black Panther”), Paul Thomas Anderson (“Licorice Pizza”), Maggie Gyllenhaal (“The Lost Daughter”), Joseph Kosinski (“Top Gun: Maverick”) and Josh Safdie (“Uncut Gems”) will be released by major studios, all with sizable budgets ranging from $10 million to $200 million.

While the larger industry may be in disarray, local film scenes make an effort to support indie cinema that the mainstream may eschew. Facets, a repertory theater in Lincoln Park, frequently works with filmmakers both local and abroad to screen films for an audience.

“The major demographic are people who want to find either films that they would never think would be on a big screen and be able to interact with and see something in a communal sense,” Paul Gonter, director of marketing at Facets, said.

Facets, and other repertory theaters around Chicago like Music Box and the Gene Siskel Film Center, tries to build a community out of appreciation for film through screenings of older films and uplifting indie filmmakers.

February will be host a variety of series: Chicago director Henry Hanson’s presentation of Irish Trans cinema, the Big Teeth Small Shorts film festival which highlights “micro-films” under 5 minutes, two mystery screenings of animated cyberpunk films as a part of their monthly Anime Club, and a series of second run films like “Babygirl” and “Flow.”

“We recently launched our 50th anniversary campaign and a ton of people showed up,” Gonter said. “There were people from Siskel, from DCASE (Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events), all supporting us. That’s what the film community in Chicago should be doing: supporting each other and allowing each other to grow, instead of competing for little, tiny slices.”

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