Over the past few weeks, many Americans have felt as if they were actually living in a movie when Donald Trump, real estate mogul and reality television star, overcame all odds to win the presidency of the United States.

For one thing, this election is extremely different because America has chosen a president from the world of entertainment. Ronald Reagan was a movie star, but by the time he was elected president, he was an experienced politician and governor. Trump, on the other hand, is fresh out of the entertainment industry.

In fact, one could argue that he utilized his celebrity and ability to entertain to land himself the desk in the Oval Office. The industry is extremely liberal, so while Hollywood might have a president they dislike, they also have one who understands the work they do, and how to do it effectively.

“This is a whole different kind of relationship from anything we’ve seen,” said Robert Thompson, director of the Bleier Center for Popular Culture at Syracuse University.

President-elect Trump — which is odd just typing — has vast experience with film and television. Everyone looks at his marquee show “The Apprentice,” which, despite recent circumstances, is still a great show.

“Trump had a hit TV show of his own, but he has also made cameo appearances on everything from ‘The Jeffersons’ to ‘The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air’ to ‘The Nanny,’” Thompson said. “We should not forget that the president-elect of the United States has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. He’s literally been institutionalized in Hollywood.”

Now, just because Trump likes entertainers does not mean entertainers like Trump. As I said before, the entertainment industry is an extremely liberal one, so it’s safe to say the film and television world is less than thrilled about this election. I think Hollywood will react to this election on two different levels: the content level and the legislative level.

Producers always love creating stories that feel relevant to the times. Thus, a Trump administration will certainly gear content creators to specific types of stories.

“We can already see the first wave of reaction, even before the election was officially decided, in late-night comedy,” Thompson said, referring to shows like “Late Night with Stephen Colbert” and “Full Frontal with Samantha Bee.”

While films might take longer, I expect we’ll see an increase of movies and TV shows about immigration and refugees, as Hollywood will likely tell tales opposing Trump’s rhetoric. I would additionally expect to see content focusing on women’s reproductive rights, and a reignited emphasis on the LGBTQ community. Hollywood historically loves taking on subjects when it is not necessarily popular to do so. This type of advocacy filmmaking comes around every now and again, but will probably be at its most inspired during the next four years.

Finally, on the level of legislation and physical production, these next four — or eight — years will be absolutely fascinating. Recently, tax credits and rebates have created a pretty solid working relationship between filmmakers and the American government, so it will be interesting to see if this relationship continues to thrive under a Trump administration. Many of these relationships work on the state level though, so they might be somewhat exempt from presidential interference. The biggest question mark of all is Hollywood’s relationship with China, or “Jina,” as the president-elect likes to call it.

“China is an enormous market for movies and is on the way to being the world’s largest market,” Thompson said. “China is a big investor in Hollywood, they are buying various properties, they are a source of money and capital — so that’s a big one people in Hollywood are looking at.”

Overall, these next four years will be a bumpy ride for all Americans, regardless of where you stand on the political spectrum. But in these times of division, entertainment is often what brings us together. Republicans and Democrats, and everything in between, can often sit in one theater and just appreciate the magic of a movie. For all of the political hostility, some things will never change.

“Hollywood is going to continue, no matter what, to blow things up and expand the universes of various comic book worlds,” Thompson said.

Erik Benjamin is a junior Television, Radio, and Film Major. His column can be found weekly in Pulp. You can reach him at ebenjami@syr.edu, or @embenjamin14.

Published on November 29, 2016 at 8:25 pm