"According to [David] Thomson, movies — especially American movies — have whitewashed history, glorified violence and made role models out of thugs, narcissists... (opens in new tab)

"The consequences shape our public life. Donald Trump 'is our movie man,' Thomson writes, meaning that Trump’s presidency, which Thomson sees as a catastrophe, was foretold and to some extent made possible by Hollywood. Not just bad movies.... Turning our humanity upside down and our values inside out is what good movies do.... 'We are no longer the selves we hoped to be,' Thomson concludes. 'We are not exactly alive any longer.' It’s the movies that condemned us to this limbo."Writes A.O. Sc...