I don’t study politics, but I do study culture, and there have been some signs that a cultural shift leading to this election result has been brewing for years in America. Most of the professional political analysts just completely missed it.
Some of these may seem absurd, but hear me out.
1. The Popular Success of ‘Top Gun: Maverick’
After the killing of George Floyd and the subsequent protests and rioting in 2020, it seemed to many in the intelligentsia that “culturally relevant” films needed to directly address DEI or “systemic race issues” to find wide appeal. But by the time we could comfortably get back into theaters in 2022, the biggest box office success in America didn’t do any of that.
“Top Gun: Maverick” instead leaned heavily on classic modernist heroism themes, embodied by a white, male protagonist (Tom Cruise as Maverick) who is a traditional, rule-breaking figure dedicated to honor, duty, and meritocracy.
Maverick represented the more traditional American values of meritocracy over aristocracy amid what was supposed to be a cultural revolution intended to set up a new inverted aristocracy.
2. The Mass Cultural Influence of ‘Anti-Woke’ Comedians
While it seems that many of the political talking heads had no idea who Tony Hinchcliffe was until his Puerto Rico joke at Trump’s Madison Square Garden rally, Hinchcliffe’s show “Kill Tony” is one of the most watched and listened-to podcasts in America.
His show has sold out Madison Square Garden and other major arenas numerous times, and he is just one of many popular comedians of major cultural influence that completely subverts the traditional “legacy media” routes for fame and influence.
Hinchcliffe, Joe Rogan, Theo Von, and others have far more influence with everyday Americans (especially men) than the old comedic vanguard of “Saturday Night Live.”
None of these guys would get along well with Franklin Graham or any of the older cultural bastions of the Republican Party, but their total disdain for what became known as “wokeism” and complete disregard for any sense of politically correct language appeals to many working-class men.
3. Major Corporations Making Cuts to DEI Programs
After 2020, major corporations made concerted efforts to increase funding and attention to “diversity, equity, and inclusion” programs (DEI).
By 2024, we began to see corporations making cuts to those same programs.
Only one candidate and party was running on being the anti-DEI option. If people were beginning to reject these initiatives, it would make some sense that their views would also be expressed at the ballot box.
4. Enrollment Surges at K-12 Christian Schools
If you talk to just about anyone who works in a private, Christian school, the post-Covid spike in enrollment has been unprecedented.
But it wasn’t just that many Christian schools found ways to provide more in-person education during the Covid years, it was that many families who weren’t even explicitly professing Christians were looking for educational environments that simply weren’t teaching experimental, progressive ideologies on the sexes and sexuality.
It is hard for those in coastal, urban areas to understand how big of an issue this has been for most families living in the heartland of America.
5. The ‘Star Wars’ Wars
Since Disney’s release of its divisive “Star Wars: The Last Jedi” in 2017, “Star Wars” has been embroiled in an online culture war. Silly as it may sound to some, “Star Wars” has become an important myth in our culture, and challenges to mythos mean challenges to cultural power and influence.
One faction of the “Star Wars” Wars wanted the storytelling to reflect more progressive, postmodern, and postcolonial values.
The most quintessential iteration of this vision for “Star Wars” was the recent series “The Acolyte.” The divide between professional reviewers and average fans was emblematic of the cultural divide between the intelligentsia and middle America.
“The Acolyte” was canceled. It appeared this particular faction had lost the “Star Wars” Wars.
6. The Metamodern Resurgence of Creed
I talked about this ad nauseam last year when I became the guy who predicted the resurgence of Creed before it happened, so I won’t repeat all my talking points here. But you can’t understand the metamodern shift unless you get “vibes.” Our cultural vibe shifted to Creed, so if you ask yourself which party seems to give the most pro-Creed vibes, it’s a pretty easy answer. If you have no idea what I mean when I use the word “metamodern,” I’ve given extensive (but accessible!) talks on the subject of metamodernism starting back in August of 2023.
If you can learn to read culture as a student of cultural texts, you won’t need political polls. As Bob Dylan famously sang, “You don’t need to be a weatherman to know which way the wind blows.”
This article was originally published on the author’s Substack.
Paul Anleitner is a writer and public speaker whose work focuses on the intersection of religion and culture, philosophy, and science. He has degrees in history from the University of Michigan and a Master of Christian Thought from Bethel Seminary (St. Paul, Minnesota).
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