The first thing that struck me about Twisters was how normal it looked. Not in a way that would have been striking back in 1996 when the original Twister with Bill Paxton and Helen Hunt was a hit, but definitely shocking in 2024 because the sequel somehow involved a dominant white male lead full of toxic masculinity and a cast that did not look as if it had stumbled out a Megan Thee Stallion music video.
Somehow Twisters got made without anyone asking where the BIPOC people are, including a long speech about sexual identity or lecturing about global warming. And the media is not happy.
‘Twisters’ Director on Not Mentioning Climate Change: Movies Shouldn’t “Preach a Message – Hollywood Reporter
There’s A Reason “Twisters” Doesn’t Address Climate Change Even Though It’s A Movie About Extreme Weather – BuzzFeed
You won’t hear about climate change in ‘Twisters.’ Here’s why – CNN
It’s 2024 and a movie not pushing a political agenda is headline news.
“I just wanted to make sure that with the movie, we don’t ever feel like (it) is putting forward any message,” director Lee Isaac Chung explained in an interview with CNN. “I just don’t feel like films are meant to be message-oriented.”
To his credit, there is some scientific justification for the omission, too. Generally, scientists are the least certain about the connection between tornadoes and climate change as it’s unclear how warming temperatures are changing storms themselves or the outbreaks.
However, evidence is growing of the potential impact of planet-warming pollution.
Sure, sure.
How and why did Twisters avoid the same woke gutter as so many other movies? Maybe the producers decided they wanted to make money. Who knows? The story does come from Joseph Kosinski, who directed Top Gun Maverick, another movie that tried to appeal to audiences with some old-fashioned 80s’ movie making, and was originally due to direct this one, The script is from Mark L. Smith who had previously written the well-received The Boys in the Boat.
Somehow the world will have to go on ending without Twisters.
Article posted with permission from Daniel Greenfield
