Ever since The Purge exploded into our popular consciousness a decade ago (yes, ten whole years!) it’s been copied as a creative concept, parodied, and everything in between. But one thing that creator James DeMonaco never thought would happen would be that it would be hung up as a shining example of how to run a society. Sadly, he didn’t account for the idiocy of everyone’s least favorite Georgian congresswoman/conspiracy theorist/bigot, the reptilian Marjorie Taylor Greene.
In a recent interview with WeGotThisCovered to celebrate a decade of his creation, DeMonaco discussed several aspects of the film and its legacy, including how he felt certain members of our society seemed to have taken the completely wrong message from it (see also: American Psycho, Wall Street, and basically anything that has a psychopathic bad guy as a main character):
“[on The Purge potentially becoming a reality] Oh yeah. It’s terrifying, man. It’s very scary. I hate that. Listen, I believe the metaphor; the right audience sees. This is what’s so hard about being a filmmaker or any kind of person creating any kind of art, I would say, or book/TV show/movie where something could be misinterpreted from the original intent.”
He also went into detail about how the newest film in the franchise (Purge 6, yet to be released) was hitting a little too close to home in terms of its plot points reflecting the current state of America:
“The complete reflection – a hyperbolic reflection – of what the discord in American society. It takes place 10 years after Purge 5, where America is broken completely at the end of Purge 5. And now I take that notion of discord, and I reap America based on ideology, sexuality, and religion. So the states; a very religious state, the LGBTQ states. And oddly, recently, Marjorie Taylor Greene here in America actually, she said that’s what she wishes America would be; to be broken down by ideology and sexuality and religion.”
We might not be at Purge point yet, but DeMonaco isn’t just fearmongering, as there is plenty of appetite on the right for some kind of social breakdown. Also, Greene isn’t the only Republican woman to have potentially shown support for what most would consider a terrifying view of society, with Ron DeSantis’s wife Casey recently cosplaying as a Handmaid’s Tale baddie while her husband and his fellow politicians strip rights from America’s most vulnerable, especially women.
However, the Georgia congresswoman is a particularly toxic brand of dumb and dangerous, spreading unsubstantiated conspiracy theories and sewing division as she knows it riles up her base, and therefore will make them continue to vote for things that harm them and most other Americans. And, given her depressingly large platform (and the fact that dumb dumb daddy’s boy and Twitter owner Elon Musk seems to be pals with her), we’re likely going ot have to keep hearing her bleat on about random nonsense while pushing for a hellish version of the country.
A short list of some of the most horrific things Greene has advocated for includes: the removal of trans people’s rights, turning America into an ultraconservative Christian theocracy, a new civil war, banning books, and trying to force Tucker Carlson back on air. Of course, the holier-than-thou preacher has done all of this while not exactly being the best Christian, so perhaps she would be one of the first few to suffer under a regime of her own making.
While there’s plenty to be despondent about with Greene and her fellow hardliners in positions of power, DeMonaco has chosen to take a slightly more positive line of thought. When further discussing his issues with breaking down America into smaller ideological factions, he said:
“To me, that’s a nightmare. That goes against everything America is. So we’re just in a really scary, I think, place. And yeah, people always say to me, ‘Isn’t it cool that you predicted this?’ I’m like, ‘No, I wish The Purge was fantasy and had no reflection upon our society in any way, shape, or form!’ But I guess – hopefully – that’s what good science fiction does. Maybe it makes us think a little bit, and maybe makes some good changes. Who knows?”
Let’s just hope that The Purge remains a fantasy, as much as Greene and co. are pushing for it.
